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Cataracts
What is IOL?
A lens implant (intraocular lens or IOL) is a man-made, clear plastic lens approximately 6
millimeter in diameter which is placed inside the eye at the time the cataract is removed.
It replaces the natural lens and remains permanently within the eye. The lens has small
spring-like arms called haptics that prevent the lens from moving out of place.
Because of the problems associated with spectacles and contact lenses, many
ophthalmologists in the past sought a more optically effective means of correcting vision
after cataract extraction. In 1949, the English surgeon Dr. Harold Ridley suggested that an
effort be made to replace cataracts with a manmade lens. During World War II, he observed
that aviators, with bits of windshield plastic embedded in their eyes as a result of combat,
tolerated the plastic quite well. Although Dr. Ridley's methods are now outdated, his
concept and technique provided the basis for further research and development over the next
quarter of a century.
In 1956, Dr. Cornelius Binkhorst from Holland developed a lens that utilized a
series of loops to hold the lens more securely in place. His original lens and procedure
have since been modified and greatly improved, resulting in implants with very few
complications. Current implants result from a series of technical advances from Binkhorst's
methods. Today, American technology has provided sophisticated, safe, and well tolerated
lens implants that provide excellent vision for a lifetime.
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