08:43 PM CST on Tuesday, December 6, 2005

By JANET ST. JAMES / WFAA-TV

WFAA-TV

The lens placed in by a doctor replaces the cataract.

Eye surgery is becoming more common every day, and now there is a new lens that's doing double duty.

The problem with a lot of the artificial lenses on the market, or even laser surgery, is that it only corrects certain types of vision. Patients often still need glasses.

However, a new lens could help some patients get rid of cataracts and their glasses at the same time.

Rosemary Roman said she looks forward to life without glasses or cataracts.

"I am so excited, and oh am going to be so glad to get rid of these," said Rosemary Roman, a cataract patient. "Oh, I really will be."

In a 15 minute procedure, Dr. Jeffrey Whitman will replace the cataract in Roman's eye with a new kind of lens.

Dr. Whitman removes the cataract through the cornea and replaces it with a ReSTOR lens.

In the past, other artificial implants only allowed patients to see far away.

"The ReSTOR lens is a lens that has different zones of focus build into the plastic of the lens," Dr. Whitman said. "When this lens is placed into the eye, it allows the patient to focus distant, intermediate and close-up."

Janet Wendland's said her cataracts were driving her crazy at work.

"It still was blurry and fuzzy, and it just wasn't really clear," she said.

A few weeks after having ReSTOR lens placed in both eyes, she now has 20-20 vision.

And as new patient Roman said, the procedure was painless.

"I didn't feel anything," she said.

Doctors said Roman should see results quickly.

"They'll already have better vision the next day," Dr. Whitman said. "But usually in a couple of weeks, they should be fully healed and off of drops."

About 80 percent of patients who got ReSTOR lens no longer needed glasses.

Many insurance plans and Medicare will pay for cataract surgery. The costs for the lens run about $2,000 per eye.

E-mail jstjames@wfaa.com