Cataract — Intraocular implants
Cataract surgery replaces the clouded crystalline lens with an implant. Its type decides which distances you will see sharply without glasses. Choose a distance below: you will see what each implant allows you to perceive.
The € symbols indicate an order of magnitude of the out-of-pocket cost. Details of pricing and coverage.
ESCRS / ISO classification — 2024
Implants are no longer judged on their optical principle alone, but on the vision they actually provide — measured on the defocus curve (the range of distances over which the eye stays sharp). The ISO 11979-7 (2024) standard distinguishes four broad categories: monofocal, toric, simultaneous vision implants and accommodating ones. Simultaneous vision implants are grouped according to the range they cover:
In 2024, the ESCRS Functional Vision working group refined this approach by grading each implant according to the sharp range of its curve (partial or full field of vision) and the gain in vision from intermediate towards near — a functional reading, based on clinical performance rather than on design.
Sources: ISO 11979-7:2024 · ESCRS Functional Vision Working Group (Fernández et al., J Refract Surg, 2024).
In summary
There is no “best” implant, only the one that matches your lifestyle and your eye. The more distances an implant covers, the more the night may come with halos; the monofocal remains the benchmark for sharpness at one distance. The choice is decided case by case after the assessment.
Astigmatism is corrected by combining a toric version with one of these implants. Dr Moïse Tourabaly performs cataract surgery at the Clinique Sainte-Geneviève.
Educational diagram — Dr Moïse Tourabaly, ophthalmologist. For information only, does not replace medical advice: only the assessment determines the implant suited to your eye.