Spanish news divison Informativos Telecinco published an article on the outstanding participation of Dr Duch in the meeting organized under the name New Trends in Multifocal Surgery, which took place on May 12th.
Francesc Duch, the conference coordinator and also Director of the Refractive Surgery Department at Institut Català de Retina (ICR), stated that the use of multifocal lenses for cataract treatment is going to rise substantially in new generations to come.
The expert made this statement during the meeting organized by Alcon under the name New Trends in Multifocal Surgery, whose aim was to share experiences on the concept of new technology in multifocal lenses and to allow room for discussion and information exchange between panellists and attendees regarding the concept of trifocal lenses, which currently represent the most advanced choice for multifocal lenses.
Cataract surgery is one of the most usual surgical procedures, with almost 22 million interventions a year in the world. Nowadays, loss of vision due to cataracts can be reverted by means of a surgical extraction of the affected crystalline lens and its replacement by an intraocular lens (IOL). Moreover, thanks to the latest developments in intraocular lenses, it is possible to correct refractive errors during the same cataract intervention.
Dr Duch stated: “The use of multifocal lenses is gradually extending. Probably due to patients’ age, in cataract surgery we are still at an early stage. Therefore, monofocal lenses still prevail. However, even though it’s clear that multifocal lenses are not suitable for all cases, its use is going to increase substantially in new generations to come”.
ADVANCES IN TRIFOCAL LENSES
Similarly, meeting attendees highlighted the importance of the improvement that implies the use trifocal lenses. As specified by the expert, multifocal lenses have been a step forward to a “better visual recovery” for patients, and he emphasized that trifocality implies an advance to a more natural vision, as it provides a third focus for intermediate vision which is really useful for regular activities, such as working with computers or using mobile phones.
Likewise, Joaquim Cabot, Medical Director of Oftalmoplus and IOCAB, stated that these lenses provide “clear advantages” when compared to previous multifocal lenses: wider focus distances, higher use of the light and an easier adjustment.
Furthermore, regarding the current situation in Spain in terms of multifocal procedure in crystalline surgery, Dr Duch has emphasized that it is one of the most advanced countries with respect to the use, study and evaluation of current multifocal lenses technology. Dr Cabot agreed to those remarks, and he added that the percentage of patients who have undergone multifocal lens implantation within Spain’s private medical sector is “much higher” than in other European countries.
Article published in “Informativos Telecinco” on Wednesday 18 May, 2016.