Light Adjustable Lens / Light Adjustable Lens+
Light Adjustable Lens / Light Adjustable Lens+
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How the Light Adjustable Lens™ Works

By the time we reach our mid-60s, most of us will develop cataracts—clouding of the eye’s natural lens that may cause blurry, dull, and distorted vision.1 If you’re preparing for cataract surgery and want to optimize your vision for your lifestyle, there’s an innovative option that gives you more control over your results: The Light Adjustable Lens (LAL®/LAL+®). It’s the only intraocular lens (IOL) that allows your prescription to be adjusted in the eye after surgery, giving qualified patients the opportunity to achieve customized vision.

Fixed IOLs Versus the Light Adjustable Lens

Traditional IOLs are known as fixed lenses—that means your surgeon must select the lens power before surgery, and once it’s implanted it can’t be changed. This process requires you to decide what kind of vision you want before your cataract procedure. The Light Adjustable Lens is different. Most of your decisions are made once your eye has healed after surgery, giving you the ability to preview and adjust your vision for your lifestyle and preferences.

How It Works

The Light Adjustable Lens is made from a special photosensitive material that gently changes shape when exposed to ultraviolet (UV) light. After your eye has healed from surgery, your doctor uses a novel Light Delivery Device™ (LDD™) to precisely adjust your lens based on your desired visual outcome. Each treatment takes only a few minutes, using UV light to reshape the lens and fine-tune your prescription to your desired visual outcome.

What to Expect After Surgery

About three weeks after surgery, you will return to your doctor’s office to begin the customization process with light treatments. During these visits, you’ll work with your doctor to decide what visual outcome is best suited for your lifestyle.

To protect your vision during the adjustment period, you’ll wear RxSight UV-protective glasses to help prevent unintended changes to your lens before final lock-in. You’ll receive three types of protective glasses—tinted, clear, and clear readers—for your comfort and convenience. Learn more about the RxSight UV-protective glasses and how they can help you here.

Treatment Timeline

Once your eye has healed, you may have up to three light adjustment treatments. This is followed by two “lock-in” treatments to preserve your customized results. All treatments are performed in your doctor’s office.

A Long-Lasting Solution

The Light Adjustable Lens—like all IOLs—is intended to be a permanent replacement for your eye’s natural lens. It will not wear out or become cloudy over time and typically will not need to be replaced. After your final lock-in, your vision with the Light Adjustable Lens will be how you see for the rest of your life.

Your vision should reflect the way you live. With the Light Adjustable Lens, you’re not locked into a fixed outcome after surgery. Instead, you experience your vision and work with your doctor to customize it to fit your unique lifestyle and preferences.

Interested in learning if the Light Adjustable Lens is right for you? Find a provider near you to schedule a consultation.

  1. National Eye Institute. At a glance: cataracts. Accessed April 4, 2025. http://nei.nih.gov/learn-about-eye-health/eye-conditions-and-diseases/cataracts
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Important Safety Information

Approved use: The Light Adjustable Lens™ (LAL®), Light Adjustable Lens+™ (LAL+®), and Light Delivery Device™ (LDD™) system is approved for patients who have a cataract and need surgery for it, have corneal astigmatism (at least 0.75 diopters) before surgery, and do not have preexisting macular disease. Who should not receive this treatment? The LAL/LAL+ and LDD system should not be used if you are taking medications that may increase your sensitivity to ultraviolet (UV) light; if you are taking a medication that is considered harmful to your retina; if you have a history of herpes eye infection or uncontrollable eye movements (nystagmus); or if you are unable to comply with your doctor’s schedule of LDD light treatments and instructions for wearing special UV-protective glasses for several weeks following cataract surgery. What warnings should I be aware of? Preexisting macular disease and certain eye conditions may increase the risk of complications. Your doctor will determine if you are a good candidate for the LAL/LAL+. If you have any complications during your cataract surgery before the LAL/LAL+ is implanted, you may need to have another intraocular lens (IOL) implanted instead of the LAL/LAL+. What precautions should I be aware of? The safety and effectiveness of the LAL and LDD have not been established in patients with certain preexisting eye conditions or in patients who experience certain complications during cataract surgery. The safety and effectiveness of the LAL+ has not been substantiated in clinical trials. The effect of the LAL+ optical design on quality of vision, contrast sensitivity, and subjective visual disturbances have not been evaluated clinically. You should discuss these issues with your doctor. Following surgery, you must wear the special UV-protective glasses during all waking hours for about 4 to 5 weeks and comply with your doctor’s schedule of LDD light treatments. Failure to wear the UV-protective glasses can result in an unpredicted vision change or loss of vision quality after exposure to UV light, such as from sunlight. This may require a second surgery to remove the LAL/LAL+ from your eye and replace it with another IOL. What are the potential risks? As with any surgical procedure, there are risks associated with cataract surgery and IOL implantation. Please discuss these risks with your doctor. Potential risks associated with LDD light treatments include mild alterations to color perceptions; temporary scratchiness, irritation, or dryness to the front part of your eye; and activation of a previously undiagnosed herpes eye infection. Longer lasting and serious adverse events related to the UV light exposure are possible, but rare. There is a small chance that your vision could be made worse or that you may require additional surgery as a result of a complication. Caution: Federal law restricts this device to sale by or on the order of a physician. Click here for more patient information

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LAL patients saw nearly as well without glasses (UCDVA) as control patients did with glasses (BCDVA).

The Light Adjustable Lens provides optimized vision for patient satisfaction.2

Light Adjustable Lens patients saw nearly as well without glasses (UCDVA) as control patients did with glasses (BCDVA).

Since the Light Adjustable Lens is a monofocal lens, there is low risk of dysphotopsias caused by splitting light, leading to potentially enhanced vision and patient satisfaction.

LAL patients are approximately two times more likely to achieve 20/20 vision or better without glasses at 6 months.

The Light Adjustable Lens offers LASIK-like accuracy in cataract surgery.2,3

92% of eyes (N = 391) achieved results within 0.50 D of target manifest refraction spherical equivalent (MRSE).

Patients are approximately two times more likely to achieve 20/20 vision or better without glasses at 6 months.

The study was a prospective, controlled, multicenter, 12-month study of 600 patients (ITT population) randomized to receive implantation with the RxSight LAL (N = 403) or a commercially available monofocal IOL (N = 197). Effectiveness analyses included 391 LAL patients and 193 control patients. Primary safety variables included best spectacle-corrected visual acuity (BSCVA) at 6 months and incidence of sight-threatening complications and adverse events. Primary effectiveness variables included percent reduction in manifest cylinder at 6 months, percent mean absolute reduction in MRSE at 6 months, and rotation of meridian of LAL at 6 months. Percent of eyes with an uncorrected visual acuity (UCVA) of 20/20 or better at six months post-operatively compared between the LAL treatment group and the monofocal control group was a secondary endpoint.

The Light Adjustable Lens corrects as low as 0.50 D of astigmatism, which is the lowest level approved to be treated.

The ability to treat 0.50 D of postoperative cylinder makes the Light Adjustable Lens the only IOL in the United States approved to correct this level of vision-altering astigmatism. Astigmatism of as little as 0.50 D can reduce visual acuity by one line, and the impact on dynamic, functional visual acuity and low-contrast acuity is even greater.1