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What is the best intraocular lens (IOL): AcrySof IQ PanOptix (Alcon), Acriva Trinova (vsy biotechnology), LISA Tri (Zeiss), Mini Well (SIFI Medtech)?

There is no single "best intraocular lens," whether single vision, toric, or presbyopia-correcting. All IOLs vary in optical performance, with incremental improvements over time from advances in technology. What is the "best" IOL for a particular individual often depends...

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How does the pupil of our eyes help us to see?

The pupil is a central opening in the iris of the eye, The iris is a muscle sphincter that dilates or constricts in reaction to things like brightness, glare, shifting one's attention to close-up reading distance, etc. The smaller the pupil, the less that small...

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Why do ophthalmologists go to med school while optometrists do not?

Mostly for historical reasons during the parallel development of the two fields. Optometry developed out of the optical business when opticians would make and grind lenses. Certain opticians developed further training programs so as to be able to "refract," (measure...

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What prescription is considered partially blind?

Almost no association at all. "Blind" is an emotionally loaded word that has no place in Ophthalmology (except perhaps to scare a patient who is non-compliant with medical treatment). The degree of focusing problem a person has, can and should never be called "legally...

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Why are some eyes deep set and others seem so big they bulge?

People have different size globes (eyeballs) which is often an indicator of being near- or farsighted (myopic and hyperopic). Hyperopic eyeballs are almost by definition smaller than normal, having failed to grow to the normal size (+23.0 mm). While vision can be...

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What limits visual acuity to 20/20?

20/20 is not the limit of human visual acuity! "20/20" (or 6/6/ in the metric system) just means "normal distance vision." Young people often can see better than 20/20 with or without help from glasses or contact lenses. The lines of print on Snellen eye chart get...

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How has cataract surgery changed in the last 20 years?

Cataract surgery has changed tremendously over the past 20 years or. And it is almost unrecognizable now when compared to how the operation was performed when I started my training over 40 years ago! Cataract surgery was originally an operation to remove the cloudy...

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What does a prescription with SPH=plano, CYL=-0.25, and AXIS=90 on both eyes mean?

It means your glasses are as close to plain window glass as it is possible to be. If these glasses were prescribed for protection from strong light (tinted) or if this was part of a progressive glasses Rx (with a bifocal section at the bottom for reading), this might make...

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