Abstract
Cataract surgery has evolved from a vision-restoring procedure to one of the most successful refractive interventions in modern medicine. Continuous advances have led to the development of a broad spectrum of intraocular lens technologies (partial depth-of-field and full depth-of-field), which has expanded surgeons' ability to personalize visual rehabilitation according to patients' ocular characteristics, visual demands and lifestyle expectations. The mounting range of intraocular lens technologies however, has increased the complexity of comparing their clinical performance and selecting the most appropriate lens for each patient.
This review aims to provide a clinically oriented overview of the outcomes of contemporary intraocular lens technologies using the functional depth-of-field classification. Beyond visual acuity at different distances, the review examines clinically relevant measures of visual performance including contrast sensitivity, optical aberrations, dysphotopsias, spectacle independence, and patient reported outcomes. Contemporary intraocular lens technologies provide different balances between range and quality of vision; therefore, no single optical strategy is optimal for every patient and potential optical trade-offs must be known.
Ultimately, successful cataract surgery should be defined not simply by excellent visual acuity or spectacle independence, but by the restoration of high-quality functional vision that meets each patient's expectations and enhances their quality of life.