Advantages & disadvantages of Multifocal lenses for Cataract Surgery - Dr. Sirish Nelivigi

There are good varieties of advantages as well as the same time disadvantages when we use multifocal lenses in cataract surgery. The biggest advantage of a multifocal lenses is that it gives simultaneous focus for the distance as well as the near for a cataract surgery. What this means is that he neither needs to wear glasses for far, nor does he needs glasses for near when he is looking are objects or reading things or reading books. On contrary the monofocal lenses which we use commonly focus only for the distance and not for the near. The other advantage of the multifocal lens is that it not only gives you a correction for far as well as near, but also intermediate. What this means that is if we keep a book pretty nearer to us, then we look at a computer, we look at a distance quite far. So we need to have a focus both for far near as well as the intermediate distance as well as for the far. This advantage makes the multifocal lenses a big hit among the people especially the older people who hate to wear glasses. The disadvantages of multifocal lenses can be double the cost of the monofocal lenses. Secondly some of the people may end up with a glare with multifocal lenses, though it is temporary but it can be present in anything between 10 to 20% of the people and number three disadvantages of multifocal lenses is it can give rise to halos. Even the incidence of halos formation with multifocal lenses is anything between 10 to 20% of the patients undergoing multifocal surgeries. Even these disadvantages, the halos as well as the glares usually reduce over a period of time and anything between 3 to 6 months, a patient with multifocal lens will usually be quite happy.