Which patient might require a Fresnel Press-On Lens?

• A. A phakic patient
• B. An aphakic patient who has had surgery on one eye only
• C. A patient with astigmatism
• D. A patient with presbyopia

Answer: (B)

Fresnel Press-On Lenses are a lightweight, temporary way to change the refractive power of glasses. They’re especially useful when one eye is aphakic—lacking a natural lens after cataract surgery—and the other eye still has its natural lens. In that unilateral aphakia situation, the eye needs a large amount of plus power to focus, and a press-on lens on the glasses provides that correction without the need for bulky glasses or a contact lens. This helps restore binocular vision and reduce the big difference in image focus between the two eyes while a long-term solution is being determined.

If both eyes still have natural lenses, this temporary correction isn’t needed. Astigmatism would usually be corrected with a cylindrical (toric) option, not a simple press-on lens, and presbyopia is typically managed with reading additions or progressive lenses rather than a fixed press-on lens.