In a unilateral prospective clinical trial, 77 cases were randomized to receive a 3M multifocal IOL or a conventional monofocal implant. Multifocal cases had better uncorrected near vision than monofocal cases at the two to four month visit. Thirty percent of the multifocal cases had near acuity J1, while only 4% of the monofocal cases had that acuity. Eighty-seven percent of multifocal cases and 71% of monofocal cases had near acuities of J1 to J3. With distance correction in place, 54% of multifocal cases had near acuities of J1 to J2, while only 28% of monofocal cases had comparable acuities (P = .04). There have been no serious postoperative complications in either group.