Trifocal IOL provides good intermediate vision

Chicago-A trifocal IOL (FineVision, PhysIOL) provides good uncorrected near, intermediate, and distance visual acuity, said Sunil Shah, FRCOphth, FRCS(Ed), FBCLA, who shared his experience with this lens.

The design of this diffractive trifocal IOL combines two diffractive structures that give patients three levels of vision: far, intermediate with a +1.75-D add, and near with a +3.5-D add, explained Dr. Shah, professor, Aston University, Birmingham, England.

Dr. Shah and his colleagues conducted a prospective study that included 20 patients (40 eyes) to determine the visual acuity outcomes after bilateral implantation of the trifocal IOL. Dr. Shah performed all of the surgeries. The patients were followed for 3 months and the uncorrected distance, intermediate, and near visual acuity and the defocus curve were evaluated.

The visual results with this new lens were all good, he noted. The defocus curve results indicated that the IOL provides a clear area of intermediate visual acuity that is not available with other types of multifocal IOLs.

The patient satisfaction level was assessed using a scale of 0 to 4, with 0 indicating complete satisfaction and 4 indicating complete dissatisfaction. The overall patient satisfaction level was a mean of 0.9.

“This level of satisfaction is very similar to the new multifocal IOLs that are becoming available,” Dr. Shah said. “[This] trifocal IOL seems to work extremely well at all three visual acuity levels. This is a very interesting lens for future use.”

The IOL is not approved for use in the United States.

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