Eyeworld

EW CATARACT 22 August 2011 by Jena Passut EyeWorld Staff Writer Patients describe their experiences with IOLs L ike many presbyopic pa- tients, Marjie Kargman was fed up with glasses. She had several pairs of reading glasses and spectacles for hyperopia and corneal astigmatism as well. "Life for me was a series of en- cumbrances because of the para- phernalia I needed to see," the 67-year-old non-profit arts volunteer said. "If I was in a car and my cell phone rang and I needed to know who was calling or press the button so that I could speak, I would have to fumble around in my purse to look for the right pair of glasses. Also, I cannot tell you how many pairs of very expensive glasses that I have lost." Contacts weren't a good fit ei- ther because of dry eyes. This is when Mrs. Kargman turned to surgi- cal intervention. "I wanted to have LASIK so I could eliminate at least one pair of glasses," she said. Mrs. Kargman made an appoint- ment with Bonnie An Henderson, M.D., partner, Ophthalmic Consult- ants of Boston, and EyeWorld cataract editor, who told her that her cataracts and her desire for presby- opia correction made her a candi- date for bilateral ReSTORs (Alcon, Fort Worth, Texas) with peripheral corneal relaxing incisions in both eyes. "I got excited about that," said Mrs. Kargman. She didn't do any outside research on the lenses, in- cluding internet searches, but in- stead put her faith in her doctor's recommendation. "I trusted her implicitly," Mrs. Kargman said. "This is what she thought I should have, and I agreed." The first operation was per- formed Feb. 9 on her left eye. "When I was in the operating room, I could sense what a dramatic impact this was going to have on my life," Mrs. Kargman recalled. "I wanted to do the second eye imme- diately." Two weeks later, while operating on the second eye, Dr. Henderson discovered a weakness in the capsu- lar bag and inserted a capsular tension ring for improved lens centration. Despite the minor alter- ation, Mrs. Kargman has been happy with the results in both eyes. "I'm the lucky recipient of two M ost of the articles regarding the use of premium IOLs are written from the ophthalmolo- gist's or manufacturer's perspective. However, an important viewpoint that is not often heard is the patient's. Insight into patients' decision-making process of these IOLs (what type of information was helpful, how they analyzed the in- formation and decided on the IOL or surgeon, what, if any, surprises oc- curred, what they wish they knew in advance, etc.) can be useful for sur- geons as they attempt to counsel pa- tients pre-op. Two patients who recently underwent cataract surgery and implantation of presbyopia-correct- ing IOLs were interviewed here. Bonnie An Henderson, M.D., cataract editor Cataract editor's corner of the world Nicholas Deane Marjie Kargman 22-27 Cataract_EW August 2011-FINAL_Layout 1 7/27/11 3:41 PM Page 22

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