Third Consideration

cost is covered by your insurance fund and there is no extra out of pocket expense for using a Toric Lens. For self-funded cataract surgery patients the lens is provided at cost, but the difference means your cataract surgery is more expensive. This difference is similar to the cost of multifocal spectacles.

Performing cataract surgery with a Toric Lens is the same as standard cataract surgery apart from having to rotate the Toric Lens after insertion. A standard lens does not need to be rotated to a specific position or angle.

To the naked eye, a Toric Lens looks the same as any other lens but under the high magnification of the operating microscope, a Toric Lens has markers indicating the correcting axis. The intraocular lens must be precisely positioned so that the axis aligns with the steepest part of the cornea. Perfect alignment is crucial; for every 3 degrees of misalignment, the Toric Lens is 10% less effective at correcting astigmatism. An Image Guided System is used for precise Toric Lens placement.

There are some risks with Toric Lenses:

A Toric Lens may not fully correct the astigmatism and you may still need spectacles for distance. Further correction of this remaining astigmatism may not be possible.

• If complications occur during cataract surgery, it may not be possible to insert a Toric Lens, and a non-toric, standard monofocal lens may need to be inserted instead. • The Toric Lens can rotate and a second operation may be needed to rotate the Toric Lens back into position for best vision, with the additional risk of further surgery.

THIRD CONSIDERATION

• Monovision (distance vision in one eye and near vision

in the other): Some people want monovision to try and minimise the need for spectacles. If you choose this