
What is Presbyopia?
Presbyopia, commmonly known as "Lao Hua Yan", is the gradual loss of one's ability to focus on near objects as we age. The natural lens in our eyes, when fully functional, behaves like an auto-focus camera to help us see clearly when objects are moved from a distance towards us.
This auto-focus function is also known as 'accomodation' - the ability of the eye's lens to change shape to focus on objects at various distances. Unfortunately, this ability diminishes as we age, causing us to become dependent on bifocals or reading glasses.
The aging process causing Presbyopia is believed to be the result of changes occuring in the proteins within the lens, making the lens stiffer and less elastic with age. Another contributing factor may be age-related changes affecting and weakening circular muscle fibres that hold and support the lens.
EEC is reputed for our expertise in treating presbyopia and cataracts. Our centres presently offers all the various Presbyopia Treatment Options available in the market today.

Being a one-stop comprehensive eye specialist centre in Singapore, we provide all forms of Presbyopia treatments available in the market today including: Lasik & Monovision, Multifocal Lens Implants, Multifocal Contact Lens, Spectacle Progressive Lens, etc.
Highly Experienced Ophthalmologists in Presbyopia
EEC is managed by our very own team of highly experienced ophthalmologists with decades of experience in Presbyopia Treatment. Together with Dr. Julian Theng, EEC published its definitive guide on Presbyopia entitled "A Long-Sighted Look at Presbyopia (Lao Hua Yan) - Facts, Fiction and Hope" .
Selected Site for Clinical Trials in Singapore for IOL implant surgeries
With our established repute in the field of Intra-Ocular Lens (IOL) implant surgeries (ie. Cataract Surgeries), EEC was handpicked by Alcon - the world's largest eye care company - to conduct a Phase 4 Clinical Trial outside of the US to evaluate the efficacy and performance of the latest designed multifocal lens implant (Aspheric Restor +3.00 Add). Read more about our Phase 4 Clinical Trial.
LASIK and Monovision
Monovision addresses the problem of Presbyopia that most people start to experience at the age of 40-45 when they begin to need reading glasses or bifocals for close vision. With monovision, one eye is corrected for far vision and the other is corrected for near vision. With this, the eye corrected for near tasks will not see objects as clearly when farther away. Usually but not always, monovision works best when the dominant eye is focused for distance vision and the non-dominant eye is focused for near to intermediate vision. The 'dominant' eye is the eye our brain tends to favour for 'sighting'.
One way of dealing with Presbyopia is to use LASIK to produce monovision. However, one should be careful of this technique of monovision as not everyone can get used to it as there is a loss of binocular vision. We would recommend patients to try out monovision with contact lenses to be sure they can adapt to it. This 'trial' period is usually for one to two weeks.
Multifocal Lens Implant
Multifocal Intraocular Lens (IOL) have different ring zones to allow the patient to simultaneously see near and distant vision. Although these types of implants have been available for years, recent improvements in design have made them much more popular today.
One of the most prominent designs of multifocal lens implant is the Acrysof ReSTOR Multifocal IOL. Special rings on the implant are designed to offer 2 sharp points of focus and this unique technological innovation provides one with quality vision throughout the entire visual spectrum from near through distance - with increased independence from glasses.
The Multifocal IOL is suitable for patients who:
• Have cataracts
• Like reading or doing a lot of close work without glasses
• Like independence for distance vision
• Are not fussy about possible side-effects of glare and halos especially at night
• The Multifocal IOL is not suitable for patients who:
• Have no cataracts (controversial)
• Drive at night for a living
• Work at the computers daily
• Are fussy about night vision side-effects
• Have high astigmatism
Multifocal lens implants are excellent for selected patients with cataracts and can help achieve total spectacle independence and may be the best treatment option for presbyopia and cataracts today.
Visit EEC to find out if you are a suitable candidate for the Phase 4 Clinical Trials on the latest multifocal lens implants for Presbyopia and Cataract patients.
Multi-Focal Contact Lens
A multifocal contact lens possesses several zones of differing power to assist the eye gradually as it changes focus on different objects at different distances. Therefore these lenses are designed to function well for seeing objects at a near, intermediate or far distance. Wearers of multifocal contact lenses are expected to need time to adjust to sorting out the different powers and to adjust to the lenses.

What's available in Singapore?
For soft contact lens, only monthly disposable multifocal lenses are available. They are Bausch & Lomb Soflens Multifocal and CooperVision Proclear Multifocal.
For rigid gas permeable presbyopic contact lens, both bifocal and multifocal types are available. The common ones are Renovation Multifocal, Boston Multivision and Menifocal Z lenses.
Spectacle Progressive Lenses

There are many methods to correct Presbyopia. The vast majority of presbyopes wear some types of spectacles. There are monofocal (reading glasses for near vision only), bifocal (for distance and near vision, separated by a visible horizontal line) and multifocal progressive spectacles (for distance, intermediate and near vision without a visible horizontal line).
Multifocal spectacles are also known as progressive addition lenses (PALs) that allows one to focus on objects through different prescriptions for different distances through the same lens. One segment is for distant, the middle part for intermediate vision and the lower portion for near vision.
To learn more about our services, contact us now at (65) 6456 1000 or drop us an email here.
Presbyopia (commonly known as “Lao Hua Yan”) is a symptom caused by the natural course of aging. The natural lens in our eyes starts to lose its elasticity and stiffens; the auto-focus function (‘accommodation’), or the ability of the eye’s lens to change shape to focus on objects at various distances, starts to diminish.
Another contributing factor may be age-related changes affecting and weakening circular muscle fibres that hold and support the lens.
Eagle Eye Centre (EEC) is a well-established, one-stop comprehensive eye specialist centre in Singapore which provides all forms of Presbyopia treatments available in the market today.
Staying ahead of the times, EEC has introduced a few other treatment options for Presbyopia patients. With the leading edge technology and equipment, Presbyopia patients can now look forward to enjoying improved vision without the need for reading glasses. These treatment options cater to pre-Cataract, existing Cataract and post-Cataract Patients.
Pre-Cataract Patients (usually 40-55yrs)
One of the new developments at EEC is the KAMRA™ Inlay (by AcuFocus); a safe and effective procedure to help restore everyday vision while maintaining distance vision. The pin-hole effect of the KAMRATM Inlay (implanted in the non-dominant eye) uses the same principle as the camera lens to reduce the blur when viewing near objects, and to focus light rays to increase range of vision.
How does it work?
The Corneal Inlay of 3.8mm diameter and about 5 microns thin, is implanted in the non-dominant eye of the presbyopic patient.
- The small aperture created by the AcuFocus Corneal Inlay reduces the blur when viewing near objects
- Light rays pass through the small aperture over a small angle, which increases the depth of focus
- Distance vision is minimally affected
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| The KAMRA Inlay |
KAMRA Inlay implanted in the non-dominant eye |
The KAMRA Inlay is also suitable for patients with short-sightedness & presbyopia; the procedure can be done simultaneously with LASIK.
You are suitable if: You are in your 40s and have the problem of Presbyopia, without Cataract
Click here for patient information on the KAMRA™ Inlay
For enquiries on the procedure at Eagle Eye Centre, email eec@eagleeyecentre.com.sg or consult our Eye Specialist today.
Cataract (usually > 55 yrs)
The Crystalens AO
A lens that can “auto-focus” in the eye when replacing or removing your cataractous lens.
Crystalens was the first presbyopia correcting IOL introduced into the United States market. With the Crystalens, one can now can treat both a person's cataracts and presbyopia—loss of near and intermediate vision. You probably noticed in your forties that you started to lose some of your up-close vision and had to start wearing reading glasses (Lau Hua Yan). Crystalens not only treats your cataracts (a clouding or hardening of your lens), but can also reduce or eliminate your dependence on glasses. It does so by recreating accommodation similar to your eye's natural lens. The unique Crystalens can reduce or eliminate glasses for most activities, including: reading a book, working on the computer, and driving a car.
The Crystalens AO (launched by Bausch & Lomb) has prolate aspheric surfaces and is designed to be free of spherical aberration. It is designed to improve retinal image quality without compromising depth of field and therefore provides greater quality of distance and intermediate vision.
How does it work?
Crystalens was modelled after the human eye. Like the natural lens, it uses the eye muscle to flex and accommodate in order to focus on objects in the environment at all distances. Crystalens dynamically adjusts to one’s visual needs.
- Provides a Broad Range of Vision: Crystalens moves and changes shape using the eye's natural focusing mechanism, instead of remaining fixed and stationary within the eye. This movement, or accommodation, allows the eye to focus on objects across a broad range of distances to reduce or eliminate dependence on glasses. In particular, this accommodation provides significant advantages in addressing intermediate vision.
- Maintains Clarity of Vision: Unlike multifocal lenses, Crystalens directs all available light received by the eye to a single focal point, comparable to that of a healthy natural lens.
- Patient Adjustment Not Required: Crystalens produces a single image consistent with normal vision, meaning patients do not need to neuroadapt to viewing multiple images. Patients also do not need to tolerate or adjust to high levels of halos and glare often associated with multifocal IOLs.
Visit the manufacturer’s website http://www.crystalens.com for more information
contact Eagle Eye Centre for an appointment today.
You are suitable if: You are about 55 years and above, and have existing Cataract
Post-Cataract Surgery
Sulcoflex® Pseudophakic Supplementary IOLs
A multifocal lens that slips over your existing lens implant. This works almost like a “clip on” or a ‘piggy-back’ lens.
Following cataract surgery with implantation of an IOL, there is often a high patient demand for near-perfect visual outcomes and an exact refractive result.
Unlike with conventional “piggy-back” IOL implantations, the unique design of Rayner Sulcoflex® Pseudophakic Supplementary IOLs ensures that the potential for contact between the two implants is minimised. This reduces the likelihood of induced refractive error and optical aberrations due to optic surface distortion at the area of contact between the IOLs.
Sulcoflex® Multifocal
Sulcoflex® Multifocal IOLs are indicated for the correction of pseudophakic presbyopia,
thereby significantly reducing the need for additional near correction by the use of
spectacles or contact lenses. With its carefully calculated combination of refractive power and aspheric design, the Sulcoflex® Multifocal IOLs are associated with excellent visual outcomes, with a remarkably low incidence of halos and glare and, compared with conventional diffractive multifocal IOLs, significantly less loss of contrast sensitivity.
How does it work?
Rayner Sulcoflex® Pseudophakic Supplementary IOLs are designed to be implanted in the ciliary sulcus (as illustrated below) to correct any residual post-operative refractive errors following the primary implantation of a conventional IOL in the capsular bag.
Visit http://www.rayner.com/products/multifocal/sulcoflex-multifocal or contact Eagle Eye Centre for an appointment today.
You are suitable if: You have had previous Cataract surgery and currently have problems with Presbyopia; or if you are unhappy with vision without glasses
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