Can lenses from cataract surgery (IOLs) be replaced?

Yes, but it can be difficult to do so. It is quite possible (and not particularly risky) to remove and replace an IOL early after surgery -within the first 2-3 months or so. But if you wait a whole lot longer than that, the IOL will have had enough time to become firmly adherent to the surrounding clear "envelope" (called the capsule). It can be quite challenging to even the best surgeons to remove the IOL once this has occurred without damaging the capsule or the immediately adjacent tissue. This can make placing a new IOL in place quite difficult. Even tiny differences in the position of the new IOL will significantly change the optical outcome from what is expected. Sometimes, though, there is no other good choice and an IOL exchange has to be done.

In general, even with today's advanced IOL technology, you should consider the IOL you receive during your cataract surgery a fairly permanent thing. If you are considering getting a new technology presbyopia-correcting IOL but are thinking you will wait until they are not so expensive and then upgrade, you will probably not have the option.

_Written by J. Trevor Woodhams, M.D. - Chief of Surgery, Woodhams Eye Clinic