Intraocular lens Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
An intraocular lens (or IOL) is an implanted lens in the eye, usually replacing the existing lens because it has been clouded over by a cataract. They usually consist of a plastic lens with plastic side struts called haptics to hold the lens in place within the capsular bag.Insertion of an intraocular lens is the most commonly performed eye surgical procedure; cataracts are the most common eye disease. The procedure can be done under local anesthesia with the patient awake throughout the operation which usually takes less than 30 minutes in the hands of an experienced ophthalmologist.
There are foldable intraocular lenses made of acrylic or silicone which can be rolled up and inserted through a tube with a very small incision not requiring any stitches; inflexible lenses (typically made of PMMA) require a larger incision.
Unlike the natural lens, the curvature of current intraocular lenses cannot be changed by the eye. Standard intraocular lenses provide good distance vision and the patient needs reading glasses for near vision. Newer bifocal intraocular lenses give distance vision in one area and near vision in another area of the vision field.
There are also experimental intraocular lenses whose curvature can be changed by the ciliary muscles of the eye, allowing for natural focusing.
History
Sir Harold Ridley was the first to successfully implant an intraocular lens on November 29, 1949, at St Thomas' Hospital at London.
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