Lens Information

During cataract surgery, your eye’s natural lens is removed and replaced with a new lens implant (called an intraocular lens, or IOL for short). Your new intraocular lens implant will be chosen specifically to match the prescription required for each eye and can help correct long or short-sighted vision where required.

With the NHS, you will usually be offered a monofocal IOL.

We’ve put together some frequently asked questions about lenses to help you understand more about how they work.

Monofocal IOLs are lenses with a single point of focus. The IOL will be fixed to give you your preferred vision. For example, many people choose a distance vision lens which gives good distance vision without glasses, and reading glasses used to correct near vision

If your lens is set for near vision, it means you will be able to see objects that are close-up clearly after surgery, but you may still need glasses to see objects that are further away (e.g. for watching TV or driving).

If your lens is set for distance vision, it means you will be able to see objects that are far away clearly after surgery, but you may still need glasses to see objects that are close-up (e.g. for reading, writing or looking at your mobile phone).

It’s unlikely that you will be completely glasses-free after cataract surgery, although your near/distance vision will still be much improved depending on what point of focus your lens has.

Our specialist team will be able to advise you which kind of lens is right for you.

At SpaMedica, we primarily use Bausch and Lomb’s Akreos Lens for NHS patients.

The Akreos lens is an acrylic IOL designed for flexibility, stability, and micro-incision delivery.

For patients undergoing NHS cataract surgery, you will have a monofocal IOL in most cases.

However, should you wish to be less dependent on glasses post operatively, you may wish to consider using our private Freedom Vision service, where a greater range of lens options are avaialable. These include:

  • Enhanced monofocal lenses, which give you a greater range and depth of vision than standard monofocal lenses
  • Toric lenses, which are especially designed to correct astigmatism (curvature of the cornea that requires additional correction, separate to correcting long or short sightedness)
  • Multifocal lenses, which allow the eye to focus on near, intermediate and distant objects and therefore increase your chances of being glasses-free after cataract surgery.

If you’re interested in learning more about private cataract surgery, you can visit our private patient website at Freedom Vision.