In cataract surgery, monofocal lenses are the most typical lens type implanted. It only has one focusing distance, hence the name monofocal. Depending on what you need, it can be set to focus on things close up, in the middle, or far away. You could set it for clear-distance vision, as most people do, which is ideal for walking, running, driving, and seeing people far away. Most of the time, glasses are needed to read or do close work. Like your eye’s natural lens, an IOL focuses light that comes into your eye through the cornea and pupil onto the retina, the sensitive tissue at the back of the eye that relays images through the optic nerve to the brain.

Most IOLs are made of a flexible, foldable material and are about one-third of the size of a dime. Like the lenses of prescription eyeglasses, your IOL will contain the appropriate prescription to give you the best vision possible.