The consulting room: Making sense of IOLS

Multifocal and toric intra-ocular lenses (IOLs) have been around for a while, and while opticians may worry that if all over 50s had lens exchange they would soon be out of business, the fact is these ‘premium’ lenses do have drawbacks alongside their benefits.

The first obvious one is cost. NHS rules do not allow part funding; the decision to have a premium lens is accompanied by the full private cost of the procedure and not just the IOL upgrade. Premium lenses do not suit everyone – parallels can be drawn with multifocal contact lenses. Furthermore, the promise of a spectacle-free future can be misplaced – patients often need specs for fine tuning or in the longer term.