Premium IOL options
For compromised, and potentially compromised eyes.
When it comes to implanting a premium intraocular lens (IOL), there are two groups of patients that surgeons are typically wary of - those with preexisting ocular disease and those with the potential for developing an ocular disease down the road. As we all know, it's generally impossible to predict which patients are going to go on to develop a problem. In this article, we'll look at the contraindications for some presbyopiacorrecting IOLs, as well as the alternatives that are available.
Contraindications
When it comes to some types of premium IOLs, primarily multifocal lenses, the list of patients that are not good candidates is lengthy and includes:
Glaucoma has a similar impact with the prevalence increasing with age, going from an annual rate of 0.9% in those 43 to 54 to 4.7% in those 75 and older.1
The point is that we know a substantial portion of our patients will not only be living longer, but may also go on to develop an eye disease during the last decades of their lives. As we currently don't have easy-to-use genetic testing to screen patients, it's difficult to predict who will be affected. As we can't really do more than guess in this respect, a better option may be to use an accommodative IOL or monofocal IOL in patients we consider higher risk for developing these ocular conditions.
