Presbyopia 24/03/2013

Presbyopia, sometimes known as "eye strain", is the gradual loss of accommodation, involving difficulties in being able to focus on near objects. This affects everyone as from 40-50 years of age and is normally corrected with reading glasses or varifocal glasses or contact lenses.

Why does it happen? 

It's due to the crystalline lens, the eye's natural lens which is located between the cornea and the retina, losing elasticity. This lens can accommodate; i.e. focus on objects according to the distance at which they are located, but with age it loses its elasticity and ability to focus, giving rise to presbyopia.

What are the symptoms? 

Presbyopia makes it difficult to focus on near images, initially causing a blurring sensation when reading and, as it increases, it can lead to difficulty in seeing at middle distances.

Can it be corrected? 

Surgery for presbyopia includes different techniques depending on the age, correction required and characteristics of the eye. Each case is evaluated via a series of tests that help us decide the most suitable technique for each patient.

Although many projects are currently being developed to treat presbyopia, the only definitive treatment available for its correction is extraction of the crystalline lens which is, due to the age-related loss of accommodation, the cause of the appearance of presbyopia. This lens can be replaced with a monofocal (monovision) lens or by multifocal (bifocal/trifocal) lenses.

Of all the techniques being used to correct presbyopia, at the Institut de la Màcula we recommend replacing the transparent crystalline lens with a multifocal lens implant (bifocal/trifocal) or a monofocal lens with monovision, or advanced monovision, as these are the safest, most stable, effective and definitive methods available today.