The choice of IOL is not simply based on price, but depends on the condition of your eyes, your economic status and your daily needs.
1. Hard crystals are inexpensive and can basically meet the demand for restoration and improvement of vision after cataract surgery, with the disadvantage of large incisions and long recovery time.
2.Ordinary folding IOLs are popular in large and medium-sized cities or economically developed areas because of the small incision and fast recovery time, and the price is generally between one thousand and three thousand dollars.
3.The aspheric folding IOL obviously improves the imaging quality, especially the imaging quality of dark light and peripheral vision at night, and the price is generally between three thousand and four thousand dollars.
4. Higher priced ones, which we often call high-end crystals, usually double in price because of their special improvements at some point, such as multifocal, corrected astigmatism, adjustable IOLs, etc. The price is around seven thousand to fifteen thousand.
With the increase of economic level and the pursuit of high quality of life, the usage of high-end IOLs is gradually increasing. But isn’t it true that the more expensive the IOL used, the better the post-operative vision and the more satisfactory the results? The answer is of course no. One is the patient’s own eye condition, such as the degree of corneal transparency, whether there is corneal astigmatism, the degree of vitreous transparency, and the health condition of the retinal optic nerve, and the second is whether the degree of IOL calculated before surgery is consistent with the actual demand. Although our calculation formula has improved a lot with the development of technology, as an empirical formula, all calculations have a certain deviation, usually within 200 degrees, so whether the degree of the implanted lens is exactly the required degree will also affect the post-operative vision (this situation can be improved by post-operative lens prescription).
Therefore, we know that the price of the IOL is not the determining factor for post-operative vision. But more expensive IOLs often mean smaller wounds, less postoperative astigmatism, and better quality of vision. Therefore, the choice of IOLs is usually made by the surgeon according to the patient’s eye condition, and the patient will do what he or she can according to his or her needs and financial situation, at least the folded spherical lens in general, and the folded aspheric lens as much as possible if the financial situation permits. For example, multifocal and adjustable IOLs are to improve the ratio of seeing near and far without glasses after cataract surgery, and toric crystals are to correct corneal astigmatism. So the choice of IOLs is not the more expensive the better, but the best fit.