This is a great question, and one that I ask my patient to give the most thought to when considering cataract surgery. Namely whether to use a premium multifocal lens, or to consider a monofocal lens.
To be clear, the monofocal lens gives the best quality image / vision for a particular distance (which may be distance or near).
Commonly, patients are given monovision where each eye monofocal lens power is chosen for distance and the other for near / intermediate activities.
This gives the patient very functional near and distance vision without using spectacles, but at the same time the highest quality of image possible. Albeit with monovision (or one eye only for each distance).
This is in contrast to the use of multifocal lenses which give you the convenience of near, intermediate and distance vision. However this is usually at the expense of some image quality, since the diffraction rings that allow the patient to see multiple distances, also cause a degradation of image quality.
Patients usually report this as a loss of contrast, or mild shadowing of lines / edges around objects. In addition, night vision may be noticeably impaired due to the presence of rings, haloes and loss of contrast / color sensitivity.
You should review your options in detail with your attending ophthalmologist who can advise you on your best available options. Best of luck with your surgery!
