IOL unfolding inside the eye
This photo was taken during a cataract surgery showing the IOL unfolding inside the eye. Artificial intraocular lenses, or IOLs, replace the eye's natural lens that is removed during cataract surgery. This is the most commonly performed eye surgical procedure for the treatment of cataract. IOLs have been around since the mid-60s, though the first FDA approval for one occurred in 1981. Before that, if you had cataracts removed, you had to wear very thick eyeglasses or special contact lenses in order to see afterward, since the natural lens that had been removed wasn't replaced with an artificial one. They are implanted during cataract surgery, after the cloudy crystalline lens (the actual cataract) has been removed. The pseudophakic IOL replaces the original crystalline lens, and provides the light focusing function originally undertaken by the crystalline lens. The second type of IOL, known as a phakic intraocular lens (PIOL), is a lens which is placed over the existing natural lens, and is used in refractive surgery to change the eye's optical power as a treatment for myopia or nearsightedness. Photo contributed by @doftall eye clinic.
