The Johnson & Johnson Symfony OptiBlue IOL is a second generation Symfony IOL with extended depth of focus (EDOF) that is designed to target good distance and intermediate vision following cataract surgery.
Dr. Raviv’s Take:
Pros:
- Great range of vision from distance to computer/intermediate.
- Typically eliminates the need for distance and computer glasses
- This IOL maintains high contrast preservation similar to a monfocal IOL - but with more range
- The IOL can be used in imperfect eyes (such as mild macular degeneration, macular pucker, dry eye, or mild lazy eye etc..)
- The IOL is well suited for post LASIK, post PRK, or post SMILE eyes, as it tolerates some imperfection and unexpected residual astigmatism.
Cons:
- Most patient still require light readers for closer, fine print, even phone
- There are some mild nighttime starbursts around street lights. These are less than multifocals, and hardly noticeable in most. The Symfony OptiBlue replaced that original Symfony and has improvements that minimize nighttime symptoms compared to the original.
I place this IOL in cataract surgery patients that desire spectacle independence but don’t have perfect eyes and are therefore not candidates for multifocals. For example, they may have mild macular degeneration, or irregular cornea due to chronic dry eye.
I also use this IOL frequently in eyes that have had LASIK for near-sightedness. I frequently leave one of the eyes slightly more focus on intermediate and near - allowing for blended or monovision that gives a full range of spectacle free vision.
Finally, for patients with visual needs at distance and at 2-3 feet, such as musicians, artists, and athletes (esp golf and tennis players), the range of vision with the Symfony OptiBlue is wide and continuous- leading to it’s nickname “the lifestyle lens”.
