When it comes to choosing an intraocular lens (IOL) to replace the eye's own natural lens, many cataract patients go with a multifocal option that allows them to see both far away and close-up.
While they're useful for the great majority of people, new research by John A. Moran Eye Center cataract surgeon and Intermountain Ocular Research Center Co-Director Nick Mamalis, MD, details an uptick in multifocal IOL removals.
Mamalis has surveyed physicians to examine trends behind IOL explantation surgeries. His 2017 survey found the number of multifocal removals had increased, with ophthalmologists citing glare or optical aberrations experienced by patients as the most common reasons for removals.
The survey noted that overall, the most common complications involving foldable IOLs have changed little over the past several years and may continue to be avoided by excellent surgical technique, quality manufacturing, careful IOL folding and insertion, and accurate IOL measurements.
Mamalis will present the complete results of the survey, ASCRS/ESCRS Survey on Foldable IOLs Requiring Explantation or Secondary Intervention: 2017 Update, at this month's annual meeting of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery. The international educational society has more than 9,000 members, and Mamalis is slated to serve as its president in 2019-2020.
Mamalis is currently vetting a new laser technology called refractive index shaping that stands to make explantation surgeries a thing of the past. While not yet in human clinical trials, the technique would allow physicians to adjust the power and type of an IOL multiple times once it has been placed inside the eye months and even years after surgery all without cuts or ablations.
At the internationally renowned Intermountain Ocular Research Center located at Moran, Mamalis studies not only IOL technologies and design, but examines IOL-related complications, surgically removed IOLs, and eye tissue with lens-induced disease. He directs Moran's Ophthalmic Pathology Laboratory, and serves as the editor of the Journal of Cataract & Refractive Surgery.
Mamalis lectures all over the world and was selected by Cataract and Refractive Surgery Today as one of the 50 international opinion leaders.