Today’s patients expect almost perfect vision after cataract surgery. They want to see near without glasses, and they desire comfortable vision without any complications such as halos and glare.
Because the Symfony IOL (Abbott Medical Optics) is pupil independent, quality of vision does not change as the pupil expands in dark conditions. For those who drive at night or enjoy hobbies typically done in poor light, pupil independence is important.
Although multifocal IOLs continue to undergo modifications to enhance distance and near vision, unwanted side effects are still problematic. The Symfony IOL does not cause any disturbance in distance vision and can compensate for chromatic aberrations between the shorter blue and longer red wavelengths. This is because the lens does not have multiple focal points, as other multifocal IOLs do. When light approaches an echellette grating surface, as on the Symfony’s optic, it is diffracted into specific directions that vary according to step height and area. The design of the Symfony, therefore, provides an extended range of vision to the patient without producing glare and halos.
In my limited experience with the IOL, which includes four eyes to date, distance BCVA always remains unchanged or improved after surgery. At the final follow-up visits, distance visual acuity is 20/20 or better in the majority of eyes. Additionally, there have been no significant complaints of visual disturbances.
Unlike multifocal IOLs that create a fixed number of focal points, the Symfony has provided my patients with continuous sharp vision from distance to near. The lens has provided improved contrast sensitivity and sharper distance vision compared with other pupil-dependent multifocal IOLs that I have used. I plan to analyze a larger series of patients with longer follow-up.
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• The Symfony IOL can compensate for chromatic aberrations between the shorter blue and longer red wavelengths.
Aylin Kiliç, MD
- Dunya Eye Hospital, Turkey
- aylinkilicdr@gmail.com
- Financial disclosure: None