Cataract surgery is the single most common procedure in all of medicine. During this surgery, your clouded natural lens is removed and replaced with an intraocular lens (IOL). The choice of lens implant is one of the most important decisions you’ll make for your vision outcome, as it determines your visual quality for years to come.
Once your cloudy lens is removed, a new intraocular lens (IOL) will be gently inserted into your eye. In the past, a monofocal IOL was the only option for vision improvement. Although these lenses are still available, many patients opt for lenses that can more closely restore youthful vision and help to reduce or eliminate the need for reading glasses.
Selecting the right type of lens implant is very important for your improved vision. Special eye measurements will provide important information for your cataract surgeon to determine implant power.
Your doctor will discuss your best options so that you can select the right one for your vision goals together.
Multifocal, Trifocal, EDOF — toric versions available
The Light Adjustable Lens (LAL) is an intraocular lens designed to replace the natural lens that is removed during cataract surgery. Like all IOLs, it improves vision after cataract surgery. What sets it apart is something no other standard IOL can offer: its refractive power can be adjusted after the lens has already been implanted.
Those adjustments are made using controlled patterns of ultraviolet (UV) light applied to the implanted lens, typically beginning about three to four weeks after surgery. The UV light gently reshapes the lens, changing how it focuses light in your eye. It’s delivered by your physician using the RxSight Light Delivery Device (LDD): a precise, in-office tool designed specifically for this process.
Jervey Eye Group is proud to offer the Light Adjustable Lens (LAL) as part of our cataract surgery services in Greenville, SC. Unlike other lens options, your LAL prescription can actually be fine-tuned after surgery — using controlled UV light treatments — before your result is permanently set. For patients who want the highest degree of precision in their vision outcome, this is an excellent potential solution.
After cataract surgery, your physician will assess your healing and visual response to determine how many adjustment treatments are right for you. Each session uses UV light from the RxSight Light Delivery Device to incrementally refine the lens’s correction — think of it as dialing in your prescription with your surgeon, step by step.
Once you and your surgeon are both satisfied with your vision, the same device is used to “lock in” the lens, making the correction permanent. After lock-in, the lens no longer responds to UV light and functions just like a standard IOL for the rest of its life.
From the time of your cataract surgery through at least 24 hours after your final lock-in treatment, you’ll be required to wear physician-prescribed UV-protective eyewear during all waking hours. This protects the lens from unintended exposure to environmental UV light — including sunlight and some indoor sources — which could cause unintended changes to your prescription before it’s permanently set.
Your care team at Jervey Eye Group will provide your UV-protective glasses and thorough instructions before you leave the surgical center. This is an important commitment, and our team will make sure you feel fully prepared.
Patient Advisory: Skipping or inconsistently wearing your UV-protective eyewear before lock-in can lead to unintended and permanent changes to the lens’s correction. Your surgeon will walk you through everything before and after surgery.
A Light Adjustable Lens isn’t the right fit for every cataract surgery patient. However, for some patients, it’s an exceptional option. An LAL may be a great choice if:
Your cataract surgeon at Jervey Eye Group will review your full clinical picture and help you determine whether the Light Adjustable Lens is the right path forward together.
The Light Adjustable Lens is not covered by Medicare or private insurance. Like all premium IOL upgrades, LAL includes features that go beyond what insurance considers medically necessary for cataract surgery. The additional lens fee is a separate out-of-pocket cost, billed apart from your insurance-covered cataract surgery, which includes the surgeon’s fee, facility fee, anesthesia, and a standard monofocal lens.
The out-of-pocket cost for the Light Adjustable Lens includes all post-surgical UV light adjustment treatments and the final lock-in procedure. There are no additional per-visit charges during the adjustment phase of your care.
Our team will guide you through a full breakdown of your covered and out-of-pocket costs before surgery, so you can make a fully informed decision. If you have questions, we’re happy to talk through it — just give us a call or schedule a consultation below.
If you’re preparing for cataract surgery and want to explore whether the Light Adjustable Lens is right for you, the next step is a conversation with one of Jervey Eye Group’s cataract surgeons. Our team will review your eye measurements, talk through your vision goals, and help you find the lens that gives you the best possible outcome.
The Light Adjustable Lens is not covered by Medicare or private insurance. It is classified as an elective lens upgrade, meaning the additional cost beyond a standard monofocal IOL is an out-of-pocket expense. Your insurance will still cover the underlying cataract surgery, including the surgeon’s fee, facility fee, anesthesia, and a standard monofocal lens. Our team at Jervey Eye Group will provide a complete breakdown of covered and out-of-pocket costs before your surgery.
The number of UV light adjustment treatments varies by patient and is determined by your physician based on your clinical condition and visual response after surgery. Adjustments typically begin approximately three to four weeks after cataract surgery and continue until the desired refractive outcome is achieved. Once the result is reached, a final lock-in procedure is performed to make the correction permanent. All adjustment and lock-in appointments are included in the cost of the lens.
Unlike Toric, Multifocal, and EDOF lenses, which deliver a fixed refractive correction at the time of implantation, the Light Adjustable Lens can be adjusted after surgery. This means your surgeon can evaluate your actual post-surgical vision and fine-tune the correction before it is permanently set. For patients who want the highest level of precision, or whose IOL calculations may be less predictable, this adjustability is a significant advantage over other premium lens options.
Uncontrolled UV exposure before the lock-in procedure can cause unintended and permanent changes to the lens’s refractive properties. This is why UV-protective eyewear must be worn during all waking hours from the time of surgery through at least 24 hours after the final lock-in treatment. Your care team will provide UV-protective glasses and detailed instructions before you leave the surgical center. Indoor UV sources, including some specialty lighting, also require protection.
Yes. The Light Adjustable Lens can address astigmatism as part of the post-surgical adjustment process. Your surgeon can use the UV light adjustment treatments to fine-tune the lens’s correction for astigmatism, reducing or eliminating the need for glasses for distance vision. This is one of the features that makes LAL particularly valuable for patients with astigmatism who want a highly customized outcome.
Our modern, efficient facilities include four offices in Greenville, Simpsonville, and Easley. Each offers one-stop convenience for examinations, eyewear selection, purchase, and fittings.
