Our eyes are very much like a camera and have the same components inside. Like a camera our eyes also contain a lens – the natural crystalline lens that focuses the image of the object of inetrest on to the retina which is the ‘film’ or ‘camera roll’ of our eyes. An intra-ocular lens (IOL) is an artificial lens made of special non-reactive plastic that is placed inside the eye during the cataract operation. It is a replacement of the original lens of the eye that has become non-functional due to cataract. Intra-ocular lens implantation is a standard procedure and millions of lenses have been implanted world-wide in the last 40 years. An IOL is an essential part of the cataract operation and is implanted in all cases except a few exceptions where it is not possible due to some reason.

Advantages of IOL

1. Between 70-95 per cent of the person’s normal eyesight is restored without glasses. He can easily read  headlines or fine print without glasses depending on the type of lens implanted. All routine house-hold works can be done without glasses.
2. Many types of special / premium lenses are available and the patient is advised about the best type of lens suited for him after the eye has been examined by the doctor and some special test have been carried out. By using these lenses it is even possible to make the persons vision better than it was before the cataract developed!
3. These lenses when implanted by a surgeon with required skill and the best type of surgical equipment, lead to instantaneous improvemnt of the patient’s life-style.
4. Patient can use both, the operated eye and the un-operated eyes together without any double vision : ‘binocular vision’ is maintained.
5. The IOL cannot get displaced by rubbing or washing the eye. It lasts for the patient’s life-time. It never needs replacement. It cannot break inside the eye no matter what the patient does.

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