The long-awaited approval of Alcon Surgical’s ReStor Lens by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has finally occurred. Twenty-three of my patients have experienced first-hand the benefits of this implantable lens. They received the lens during surgeries I performed – along with 14 other select surgeons nationally – during the past two years as part of the FDA trials.
The most impressive result of the ReStor Lens is enhanced up close reading. The special lens – made of a proven material called AcrySof – features a series of stair steps that help divide light in a process called “apodization”. The steps in the diffractive structure are larger at the lens center, the step height decreases away from the lens center and the smaller the step, the lower the proportion of energy that is directed to near focus. In other words, the lens helps individuals 40 and older see near, intermediate and far – without corrective eyewear, including reading glasses. Additional benefits are patients will not need cataract surgery and according to other national studies fewer complaints about halos.
As I have mentioned in previous articles, the root cause of presbyopia (not being able to read fine print after age 40) is the aging of the material in the eye. Previously, LASIK surgeons utilized monovision – correcting one eye for distance, the other for near. But not everyone could tolerate this. Replacing the natural lens with the ReStor lens truly addresses the problem. I will be presenting my ReStor results along with the other surgeons at the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons meeting in Washington, D.C., shortly – after which I will update this article to provide more details about this exciting breakthrough in vision surgery.
IF YOU WOULD LIKE YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED PERSONALLY
If you would like to learn more about the aforementioned or to email questions, visit our website at www.doctorwhitsett.com. Or better yet, call Poppy, our laser vision coordinator, at 713-365-9799 to set a time for your free consultation. During that consultation, I will meet personally with you and answer your concerns one-to-one.
Dr. Jeffrey C. Whitsett 
Jeffrey C. Whitsett, M.D., has twice been named a VISX Star surgeon, an honor bestowed on the top 100 providers of Laser Vision Correction in the United States. A 1986 graduate of the University of Oklahoma Medical School, he has been in private practice for more than a decade specializing in refractive and cataract surgery.
Dr. Whitsett is Board Certified by the American Board of Ophthalmology and the Texas State Board of Medical Examiners. He is involved in several major national and international ophthalmology organizations.
| 
