Tecnis IOL can provide spectacle-free vision after cataract surgery

Lisbon, Portugal – Reading visual acuity and reading speed may depend of the type of IOL, according to one surgeon. Werner Huetz, MD, and colleagues compared three IOLs: the Array SA40N (AMO), the Tecnis ZM001 (AMO), and the AcrySof ReSTOR (Alcon Laboratories).

They found that the three IOLs provided markedly different visual function, with the Tecnis IOL being the best overall, he said. He reported his findings Saturday at the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons.

Sixty patients were included in the study. Twenty patients were implanted with one of the three IOLs studied. All patients were younger than 50 years. Dr. Huetz and colleagues evaluated their uncorrected visual acuity, best-corrected visual acuity, and the reading vision and reading speed with Radner reading charts. The patients were tested in photopic and scotopic conditions. Dr. Huetz is from Klinik fur Augenheilkunde, Klinikum Bad Hersfeld, Germany.

Analysis of the results indicated that while none of the IOLs is perfect, the Tecnis IOL is the best multifocal system, with the highest reading visual acuity and the highest reading speed, according to Dr. Huetz. The ReSTOR IOL provided very good visual acuity, low reading speed, and good uncorrected visual acuity, he said. The Array IOL provided good distance uncorrected visual acuity, with an add that is too small,  he said.

“Spectacle-independence after cataract surgery is no longer an illusion. It is possible for patients to read without spectacle correction,” he stated.