Frequently Asked Questions

Cataract and Astigmatism FAQ

What is Corneal Astigmatism?
What is Presbyopia?
How can the AcrySof®Toric IOL lens correct Cataracts and Astigmatism?
What are the Precautions?
What are your options for correcting astigmatism?
What is the AcrySof® Toric IOL?

What is Corneal Astigmatism?
With normal site, the surface of a normal eye’s cornea has a spherical curve, like the shape of a basketball and light rays passing through it bend toward its centre and focus on one spot. With Corneal Astigmatism the surface of the cornea is curved more like a football, with both flatter and steeper curves and the surface of the cornea has an uneven curvature, resulting in distorted vision and blurred vision.

What is Presbyopia?
When your eyes were young, your natural lens was both transparent and flexible. Because of this, your vision was most likely stable until you reached your for¬ties. Around that time, you may have noticed that you had to hold a menu or a book farther and farther away to read it. This condition is called “presbyopia” and eventu¬ally affects everyone, including those who are nearsighted, farsighted, have cataracts or had perfect vision most of their life.

How can the AcrySof®Toric IOL lens correct Cataracts and Astigmatism?

A person who has both a cataract and a corneal astigmatism will not regain high-quality distance vision after surgery to remove the cataract unless the astigmatism is also corrected. If you have a cataract, ask your doctor if you are a candidate for the AcrySof®Toric IOL lens that can help you break free from astigmatism and may allow you to enjoy QUALITY distance vision without eyeglasses or contact lenses and provide the vision correction you have always wanted.

What are the Precautions?
As with any surgical procedure, there are risks involved including visual disturbances and secondary surgical intervention. The effect on vision of the ACRYSOF® Natural IOL in subjects with hereditary colour vision defects and acquired colour vision defects secondary to ocular disease (e.g., glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, chronic uveitis, and other retinal or optic nerve diseases) has not been studied.

What are your options for correcting astigmatism?
The more active you are, the more eyeglasses interfere with your lifestyle by complicating your participation in daily and recreational activities. A better option for quality distance vision Surgery to treat cataracts is an outpatient procedure where an eye surgeon removes the clouded natural lens and replaces it with an artificial lens. Traditionally, the surgeon implants a monofocal artificial lens, commonly called an “intraocular lens”(IOL). If you have astigmatism, however, you may still experience blurred and distorted vision because a standard IOL cannot correct corneal astigmatism. To achieve quality distance vision with a standard IOL, you may still require eyeglasses, contact lenses, or further surgery. If freedom from eyeglasses for distance vision is important to you, you now have a better option. The unique design of the AcrySof® Toric IOL provides significantly improved distance vision and may reduce the need for corrective lenses.

What is the AcrySof® Toric IOL?
The AcrySof® Toric IOL is a foldable, single-piece lens that an eye surgeon implants during cataract surgery to replace the clouded lens. The unique design of the AcrySof® Toric IOL makes it possible to reduce or eliminate corneal astigmatism and significantly improve uncorrected distance vision. AcrySof® Toric IOL provides quality distance vision, independent of eyeglasses and contact lenses and has been successfully implanted in more than 25 million eyes since 1991.

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