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Add-on technology provides useful near vision to patients with maculopathy
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ATHENS, Greece — The Scharioth Macula Lens from Medicontur shows consistent results in patients with macular disease, giving them the ability to see better at near without affecting distance vision.
The lens is a special add-on design with a peripheral optically neutral zone and a 1.5-mm central optical zone that provides a near addition of +10 D. It is implanted in the sulcus in addition to a previously implanted posterior chamber IOL or in combination with clear lens exchange.
Gabor Scharioth
“In patients with cataract, I prefer to perform standard surgery with IOL implantation first, and if the patient needs further improvement, implant the Macula Lens 4 weeks later,” Gabor Scharioth, MD, said at an industry-sponsored symposium during the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons winter meeting.
The Scharioth Macula Lens was meant for patients with dry or wet age-related macular degeneration, but it has also proved useful in patients with diabetic maculopathy or myopic maculopathy or after macula surgery, membrane peeling or macular hole surgery, Scharioth said.
“The important thing is that the disease is in a quiet stage, as we know that with active wet AMD or DME, cataract surgery makes the disease explode. Better treat first, and bring the eye to a dry state with no fluid or edema,” he said.
In contrast with external visual aids, the Macula Lens increases the image size but not the scotoma and produces less refractive error and better visual quality.
“Last but not least, by using it permanently, patients adapt better to the low vision aid and magnification. With training, they significantly improve reading vision,” Scharioth said.
Scharioth has personal experience with 40 implantations in 2.5 years. About 3,000 lenses have been implanted worldwide, and the preliminary results of a multicenter study in eight European countries are consistent with the positive results of the first feasibility study. – by Michela Cimberle
Disclosure: Scharioth reports he is the inventor of the Scharioth Macula Lens and receives royalties from Medicontur.