For those of you that have the Tecnis Symfony lens or lenses, can you read your iPhone? If so how far away and how clearly? I'm 32 years old and had my right lens replaced with a monofocal lens two years ago. My left eye has a cataract that has formed and I'm looking into the Tecnis Symfony in order to still keep some of my near vision without having to use reading glasses. Any information would be greatly appreciated.
I'm sorry I can't help you. I've never heard of Tecnis Symfony lenses. I lucked out and didn't require glasses after my surgery, in spite of the surgeon tellig me I most likely would need them. I too had the monofocal lenses. Good luck. Do you due diligence and research, research, research.
With Symfony IOLs I am able to use a smartphone without any trouble with its usual fonts I've never changed, held at what seems like a normal distance (don't have a ruler handy to measure). I haven't been using an iPhone, I don't know what size screen your model is. After my surgery (in December 2014 for both eyes) it was first an HTC One M7 with a 4.7" screen, now a Samsung Galaxy S7 with a 5.1" screen. On sites with multiple columns like some newspapers, the print may be a bit small in multicolumn mode (to where I'd need to adjust where I hold the phone and concentrate), but usually that isn't how you'd read those anywa. On Android at least double tapping to expand one column to its full width leaves it easily readable (or putting the phone on its side in landscape mode might also work with small multi-column fonts).
In my case I was highly myopic beforehand, which meant there was more room for error in the choice of lens power and one of my eyes wound up slightly farsighted, +0.5D, which reduces its near vision a bit. The other eye was on target at 0D, so its mostly that one eye being used for really near distances so I'm mostly reading the smartphone with one eye I suspect like you would be (though the other eye still has better near than you would with a monofocal so it may be contributing some). I have 20/25 near vision at my best near distance, where I naturally hold the chart, and can read the small print on eyedrop bottles (though for that I do need to hunt for the best distance to hold it). I do need to use reading glasses for rare closeup tasks like threading a needle.
Its often suggested that people get micro-monovision with the Symfony, with one eye adusted slightly nearer in like -0.5D (and I may get a laser tweak to switch my farsighted eye to that someday) since that isn't enough to have much of an impact on distance vision. If you have good distance vision with your monofocal eye then you might consider getting the Symfony with a bit of micro-monovision to ensure you have enough to read your eyephone. Unfortunately everyone's results differ depending on the rest of their visual system and so even studies on lenses merely give guidance as to average results. A small minority of patients with the Symfony do need reading glasses for near. I haven't checked into the issue, but I have to wonder how much of a difference age makes, if younger patients are more likely to have more sensitive retinas and higher quality visual systems to get better results. (I'm not as young as you, but I got my surgery at age 52 which is still atypically young for a cataract patient by a couple of decades or so).
I went for the Symfony due to its lower risk of visual artifacts compared to a multifocal. (actually it wasn't approved here in the US at the time so I went to Europe to get it, figuring I may be living with the results another few decades so it was worth some hassle&expense). However if you wanted to ensure more near vision, then you might consider a multifocal lens (in the US a bifocal, elsewhere a trifocal) if you were willing to deal with some risk of halo&glare issues at night. The risk is lower in the newest multifocals than it used to be, but not as low as with the Symfony. I'd initially planned to go outside the US for a trifocal, but decided the lower risk of the Symfony was a good compromise, though more importantly its better intermediate vision since I use that more. Occasionally I still wonder if I should have gone for a trifocal for a broader range of vision since I could have gotten a lens exchange to the Symfony if I had issues, its hard to know if I'd have noticed the difference with the intermediate or not.
Since you are only doing one eye, that would lower the impact of any halo&glare issues if you did have them if you went for a multifocal. My night vision with the Symfony is better than I can remember it being before surgery with contacts or glasses. I've no glare issues, less than I can remember with contacts&glasses, but I am in the tiny minority that does see a halo with the Symfony but its so light, translucent, that I see through/past it and don't consider it a problem.
I had the Symfony implanted to my right eye one week ago ( in US)-
If you have a monofocal IOL already, you will be functioning as a "monovision" patient and will rely on one eye for reading.
That's how I'm functioning currently while I decide on what to do with my left eye.
I'm finding the range of intermediate vision to be about from 14 inches to 26. I wear readers to get close near vision. It's my feeling that the Symfony is functional as a monovision but would work better if in BOTH eyes. Looking at my iPhone in low light conditions is difficult and I have to enlarge fonts.
There is a reduction in vision in dim light conditions and halos and rings around lights- which does not bother me but may bother someone else. Everyone responds to these changes differently.
You might consider explanting the monofocal and getting a Symfony in that eye as well. There are , of course, risks to removing an IOL.
I am 58, a cataract surgeon myself. I have NO financial relationship with Abbott and paid FULL price for my surgery, and have NO relationship to my surgeon other than as a patient.
Good luck with your surgery!
Hello, Someguy. I am wondering if you had the cataract surgery with the symphony lens. I also had cataract surgery on one eye with a mono lens a few years ago and now need surgery on the other eye. I'd like to get the Symfony lens as I understand that I will be able to retain some ability to read up close without glasses but wondering how my brain will adapt to two different lenses so if you had the surgery I'd love to get your overall feedback including if you experienced halo's, quality of intermediate vision, etc. Much appreciated.
Hi. I'm 42 and had little to no astigmatism before my surgery and just had the Symfony lens implanted in my right eye three days ago. My intermediate and long distance vision have already improved quite a bit compared to what it was with my cataract. However, my near vision is terrible - I can't even guess at what the words are from an arms length using my iPhone. I'm hoping it improves with time but the hasn't improved at all since the surgery. I'd expected at least some minor improvement this early, but I may be expecting too much.
My post op is in four days and I'll discuss it at this time. I really need to have them tell me that my near vision will get better. If it doesn't then I've made a big mistake.
Hello, Brian. I am scheduled to have surgery on Tuesday (!) and wanted to get your thoughts as a Dr and a patient. I have a mono already in one eye and plan to get the Symfony in the other eye. I need reading glasses currently (I can see the iphone with the eye that I am having the rurgery on if I hold the phone andinch from my face). I am hoping that I wont need glasses but I hear that the near vision isnt great with the Symfony. Any thoughts? Thanks!
The results you are describing aren't typical, but I'd suggest not panicking too much since being only 3 days out from surgery its possible you are still healing. Usually most places have a post op the day after surgery, but I'm guessing you didn't have that? If you did, did they tell you what your refraction was?
One likely possibility is that the lens power is off and you were left farsighted, which will cut down on near vision, but stilll leave you with decent distance&intermediate if you aren't. Unfortunately deteremining the lens power to use isn't done using an exact formula. It is based on analyzing statistics of eye measurements of prior patients and the lens powers that worked for them, and the results work well for most people, but they can be off. They tend to be most accurate for those who didn't need correction before surgery, or had low prescriptions. There is more of a risk the power will be off for those with high prescriptions, in part since there are fewer data points and in the case of high myopes they suspect other reasons such as problems with the technology used to take measurements that are less accurate for high myopes. One of my eyes wound up about +0.5D, slightly hyperopic, and so most of my near vision comes from my other eye that hit the 0D target, but its not something I'm aware of most of the time.
The lens can actually move a bit during the healing process the first few weeks, which can make things better or worse. After it has stabilized, if the lens power is still off, they can consdier correcting it via a laser tweak or a lens replacement, or merely using glasses or contacts.
If the problem is the lens power, then if you'd gotten a monofocal lens, you'd likely be struggling even with intermediate vision.
Also it can take time for some people to "neuroadapt", for their visual system to learn to work with the different sort of optics of an IOL to figure out how to see better at near. For standard multifocal lenses that can happen right away, or take serveral weeks or a few months depending on the person. I haven't seen statistics for the Symfony, though one doctor that did a comparision study between the Symfony and the AT Lisa trifocal said that neuroadaptation with the Symfony averaged longer, but he didn't quantify how long that was (and I've not seen any statistics on the issue). I was fortunate and had 20/25 at near by a couple of days after surgery in the eye that hit the refractive target, I didn't notice any need to neuroadapt. I don't know if my visual system was used to the need to adapt, since I'd previously worn multifocal contact lenses before my cataract, more than one model with differing optics, so perhaps I'd gotten used to adapting to optical changes.
The results you are describing aren't typical, but I'd suggest not panicking too much since being only 3 days out from surgery so its possible you are still healing. Usually most places have a post op the day after surgery, but I'm guessing you didn't have that? If you did, did they tell you what your refraction was?
One likely possibility is that the lens power is off and you were left farsighted, which will cut down on near vision, but stilll leave you with decent distance&intermediate if you aren't. Unfortunately deteremining the lens power to use isn't done using an exact formula. It is based on analyzing statistics of eye measurements of prior patients and the lens powers that worked for them, and the results work well for most people, but they can be off. They tend to be most accurate for those who didn't need correction before surgery, or had low prescriptions. There is more of a risk the power will be off for those with high prescriptions, in part since there are fewer data points and in the case of high myopes they suspect other reasons such as problems with the technology used to take measurements that are less accurate for high myopes. One of my eyes wound up about +0.5D, slightly hyperopic, and so most of my near vision comes from my other eye that hit the 0D target, but its not something I'm aware of most of the time.
The lens can actually move a bit during the healing process the first few weeks, which can make things better or worse. After it has stabilized, if the lens power is still off, they can consdier correcting it via a laser tweak or a lens replacement, or merely using glasses or contacts.
If the problem is the lens power, then if you'd gotten a monofocal lens, you'd likely be struggling even with intermediate vision.
Also it can take time for some people to "neuroadapt", for their visual system to learn to work with the different sort of optics of an IOL to figure out how to see better at near. For standard multifocal lenses that can happen right away, or take serveral weeks or a few months depending on the person. I haven't seen statistics for the Symfony, though one doctor that did a comparision study between the Symfony and the AT Lisa trifocal said that neuroadaptation with the Symfony averaged longer, but he didn't quantify how long that was (and I've not seen any statistics on the issue). I was fortunate and had 20/25 at near by a couple of days after surgery in the eye that hit the refractive target, I didn't notice any need to neuroadapt. I don't know if my visual system was used to the need to adapt, since I'd previously worn multifocal contact lenses before my cataract, more than one model with differing optics, so perhaps I'd gotten used to adapting to optical changes.
I also had my surgery when I was 52 and had been used to having less near vision for several years due to presbyopia, which I tried to mitigate using multifocal contacts. At 42 its possible you hadn't really noticed much reduction in your near vision yet, and so any reduction might be more noticeable at first than it would be for someone older, and more of a struggle while you get used to it. I tend to view the Symfony as being like early presbyopia, where you notice a reduction but don't usually need correction (e.g. I've had no trouble using apps and web browsing on my phones without changing fonts, holding it a comfortable distance. I don't know what size screen your iPhone has. I've been using android phones since surgery, the first had a 4.7" screen, my current has 5.1"
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Thanks for the input, softwaredev. I did have a post op evaluation about an hour after my surgery with a different dr (not the surgeon). She said there was swelling on the right side. The formal post op appt is scheduled three days from now and that's where I'll find out my what the vision is for my right eye.
Regarding my phone - Right now I'm using an iPhone 6+. At full arms length I can't read this screen. It only gets worse the closer I move the phone to my face. By contrast, my left eye (20/20) can read it from arms length all the way to about six inches from my face.
Foureyes,
Sorry I'm seeing this a little late, sounds like you've probably already had surgery. I'm having a hard time finding anyone in my area that has experience mixing monofocal and multifocal lenses so I've been hesitant to get surgery. My current plan is to get monofocal lenses in both eyes and wear either one or two multifocal contact lenses to get a similar result. Let me know how the one eye symfony works out for you.
Where do you practice
can you recommend someone in a Boston for a second opinion soon
I am considering the Symfony lens and I hope you will update us on your experience with it over time. thanks
Will do. For reference, I did have my post op last week and now I'm about two weeks out from surgery. The post op went well. They told me everything's my looked good. However I still have no near vision. 
. She told me it might take up to 8 weeks to see if it gets any better. However she said that if it's not better by then - then I probably won't have any near vision. Very upset by that.
I don't know if they told you what your refraction is, your refractive error, since I'm suspecting the issue is that you were left farsighted. Although the lens does sometimes move during the healing process for the first couple of months and change the focal point, it could either make it worse or better. Its possible it is just taking a long time to adapt to the new lens, but I'd guess the odds are that the issue is refractive error. That can be corrected via a contact lens, glasses, laser, or less likely an ICL (implantable contact lens or implantable collamer lens).
I had the first eye done on 12-8-16 and it was a disaster.
Think looking through a glass gallon jug.
I have a appointment 1-6-17 to see what if anything they can do about it.
The second eye was done on 1-22-16 and far and intermediate is almost as good as pre cataract but near isn't good enough to read.
Wow, that sucks. I truly hope it improves for you. But I gotta say...you guys are scaring the crap out of me! I'm ready to schedule, and all the scary stories are freaking me out. I keep telling myself that even partial correction is better then nothing (I am -13d right now), but for $14000, I hope for perfection! An out of pocket expense, as I do not have cataracts.
There are over 20 million cataract surgeries done worldwide each year, > 3.6 million in the US the last figure I'd seen. Those who have problems are more likely to post than those who don't, so even a tiny fraction of people having problems can lead to a fair number of posts. Many people who do have issues initially see them resolved in a fairly short amount of time.
Lens replacement surgery is considered very safe, but no procedure is 100% guaranteed to be without risk. That said, even wearing contact lenses has risk of eye problems like infections, which accumulate over the years of wearing them. Even wearing glasses has a minor risk e.g. wearing progressive glasses while driving has been shown to slightly diminish reaction times (compared to good unaided vision) which can increase slightly the risk of accidents, as can the slight reduction in peripheral vision around the edge of the lenses. Such risks might be trivial, but then so are the risks of cataract surgery.
btw, I suspect if you shop around you can likely get the surgery cheaper than that even from a high quality provider, though I don't know where you are located.
Thank you for your concern. The near vision in the second eye is the same and I have a appointment the 7th to see about the first.
I had cataracts on both eyes so had to do something and the tecnis symfony seemed the best way to go. I'am sure they will correct the first one and so far I think that was the best decision.
$14000 seems like a lot, I was quoted around $5000 for the lens and $4000 for the rest. I would shop around and see if I could get a better deal.
Good luck
I am not very knowleadgeabke and still on medical leave with poor quality vision after symphony's Iol
According to my surgeon my other eye ambliopizef to a degree I can't get near vision with contacts or anything ( never realized this before the surgery )
Anyhow I asked that question can you have one kind of lens on one eye and another kind in the contralatetall eye
Vague answer yes but depends on how your brain araos quite scary vague answers