A refractive lens exchange is exactly the same procedure as cataract surgery. The only difference is that the lens is still clear and the main aim of the procedure is to reduce a patient’s reliability on glasses and contact lenses.

People with debilitating refractive errors in their 40s and 50s who want less spectacle dependency are good candidates. This is especially true for active people who enjoys sports such as mountain biking, running and swimming.

Your dominant eye provides your brain with more accurate visual information. It is usually the eye people use to look through a microscope or telescope. Monovision is when the surgeon aims to get the vision in the dominant eye clear for distance and then intentionally renders the non-dominant eye nearsighted to allow it to see close by. With both eyes open, the person will then be able to see clearly in the distance as well as near. It may seem like a bizarre concept, but the brain blends these two different images so well that patients are often unable to tell which eye they use for distance and which one for near when both eyes are open. This technique is also referred to as blended vision.

Not everyone can tolerate monovision, and it's therefore very important to select your candidates carefully. Our experienced on-site optometrist, Maretha Basson, performs a series of tests with special lenses to induce monovision and to determine the maximum difference in lens strength successful candidates can tolerate. If there is any doubt, we will induce monovision with contact lenses for a few days before committing to surgery.

The drawbacks of monovision might include a mild decrease in your depth perception. This becomes more prevalent if the focus point between the two eyes is too far apart. “Mini-monovision” is where the focus points between eyes are closer to each other. This is often a good option to give you clear distance vision and some degree of near vision. In these cases, reading glasses for small print will often still be required.

Monovision is also a popular choice for younger people with presbyopia, where their cataracts per se don't necessarily interfere with their vision. Presbyopia is a natural process where most people in their mid to late 40s start losing their sight. Presbyopia is the reason why most people over the age of 50 require reading glasses.

EDOF lenses are a great option for people with active lifestyles, allowing for crisp distance vision during sporting activities and driving but also good enough near vision to see on their computers and mobile devices. Candidates usually still require reading glasses for fine print and to perform closeup tasks such as knitting.

Despite not having the precise near vision that can be obtained with multifocal lenses, EDOF lenses are more forgiving in terms of unwanted side effects such as halos, glare and decreased light sensitivity and don't compromise your distance vision.

Toric lenses are used to correct people with cataracts and pre-existing astigmatism at the same time. Astigmatism, together with far-sightedness and near-sightedness, is a refractive error that causes blurry vision. Glasses or contact lenses are needed to obtain clear vision in people with astigmatism. To put it simply, astigmatism is caused by an irregular surface of your cornea.

Not only do toric lenses improve vision by replacing the clouded lens or cataract, but it has the additional advantage of improving the blurry vision caused by pre-existing astigmatism. These lenses will allow people with astigmatism to regain clear distance vision after cataract surgery, often without the need for spectacles.

Reading glasses will usually still be necessary after toric lens implants.