Multifocal IOLs specifically designed for mix-and-match technique warranted, surgeon says

ALICANTE, Spain — Although the mix-and-match technique of implanting multifocal IOLs provides patients with a high degree of spectacle independence, using the approach involves a do-it-yourself element, which some ophthalmologists do not like, according to a surgeon speaking here.

"I do mix-and-match with Tecnis and ReZoom [IOLs] (Advanced Medical Optics), and 93% of my patients don't use spectacles. Particularly for intermediate tasks, like computer work or daily activities like shopping, it works very well," Werner W. Hütz, MD, said in an interview with Ocular Surgery News at the Alicante Refractiva International meeting. "But, personally, I find that implanting two lenses with two different types of ocular principles is not as professional and scientifically correct as we would like it to be."

In Dr. Hütz's opinion, manufacturers should produce the same lens with complementary design and light distribution for both the dominant and nondominant eye.

"There should be, for instance, a diffractive Tecnis for near and a diffractive Tecnis for far, so we wouldn't have to mix two different principles and implant two different lenses, one diffractive and the other one refractive, in some cases produced by two different companies," he said. "The diffractive principle, in my opinion, works well, and we should have a diffractive in both eyes, one dominant for far and one for near."