Intraocular lenses (IOLs) are soft foldable lenses. Our office provides more than basic MSP covered testing for every patient, believing the standard of care should be higher than what MSP currently pays for. You will not pay extra for this testing, despite it not being covered. All patients are entitled to free basic cataract testing and surgery by the Medical Services Plan in British Columbia. No one is required to pay for services if they do not wish to. MSP covered lenses are good choices for many patients, particularly if he or she has advanced glaucoma or retinal disease such as macular degeneration. Recently, there have been many advances in cataract surgery allowing for patients to take advantage of new improvements to improve their refractive surgical outcomes. These premium lenses will not improve how we perform your cataract surgery, only the function of the finished product. For the best results in many cases, a premium lens can lead to increased patient satisfaction and better uncorrected (without glasses) vision, as well as safer surgical insertion of the lens. 

While reducing the use of spectacles is a goal of cataract surgery, we cannot guarantee to eliminate the need for spectacle use, regardless of the pre-operative testing or lens selected. There is no cataract surgeon or surgical technique that can guarantee the elimination of glasses at distance and near in every patient. We will always attempt to minimize the need for spectacles following surgery, regardless of which lens you choose. 

We offer ALL available IOLs that have been approved by Health Canada for the majority of our patients. Due to other ocular diseases or atypical measurements, our doctors may not recommend premium IOLs for you, but our surgical coordinators will go over why in this situation.

We offer premium monofocal IOLs, toric IOLs, dual zone and dual zone toric IOLs, extended depth of focus (EDOF) and EDOF toric IOLs, multifocal and multifocal toric IOLs, and the light adaptable lens (LAL).

Toric IOLs correct astigmatism, and are monofocal IOLs, similar to a single vision glass.  They will function similar to a regular monofocal IOL but are ideal if one is looking to correct one specific distance with an IOL and there is astigmatism (different corneal shape) in an eye.

A Dual zone/dual zone toric IOL has two "zones" of vision - one for distance and one for about a meter away from a patient - these IOLs work in some specific situations when you wish to correct more than one distance but are not an ideal candidate for an EDOF, multifocal, or LAL IOL.

An extended depth of focus (EDOF)/EDOF toric IOL corrects a range of distances but not the entire range of vision.  These IOLs do not typically cause glare or halo but correct a small range of vision (distance to computer vision typically), requiring only reading glasses for quite near objects - one is typically much less reliant on reading glasses with these IOLs.

Multifocal and multifocal toric IOLs correct the full range of vision.  Unfortunately, they can also cause glare and halo that can be quite bothersome in low lighting conditions.  They do remove the need for glasses at all distances in the daylight for about 90% of people who are eligible for implantation.  While most of our patients are happy with this IOL, there is a chance that a person will be "intolerant" to the multifocal IOL, and require removal and secondary surgery to implant a more basic IOL.

The Light Adjustable Lens (LAL) offers a highly personalized vision correction option following cataract surgery. This extended depth-of-focus intraocular lens (IOL) is designed to provide both distance and near vision, with approximately 95% of patients achieving freedom from glasses. It is more time-consuming and important to follow directions. Unlike standard IOLs, the LAL allows us to fine-tune your vision after surgery. The lens is implanted during your cataract procedure, and over the next 3 to 8 weeks, you’ll need to wear UV-protective glasses at all times. During this period, we will use a special light treatment in our office to adjust the lens prescription based on your visual preferences—allowing you to "test drive" different vision options before final lock in process. The lock in procedure is two separate light treatments at least three days apart to “lock” the IOL. Then you can go outside without the UV glasses. While this option requires more follow-up and patient commitment, it offers the highest level of customization and the best chance at achieving your ideal vision without glasses.