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Background Independence from all optical aids, and freedom from unwanted symptoms, following cataract and lens surgery remains the ultimate goal of both patient and surgeon. The development of trifocal IOL technology provides an ever-increasing range of options. The purpose of our study is to understand the predictability, safety and efficacy of a new trifocal intraocular lens (IOL) following cataract or refractive lens exchange (RLE) surgery. Methods This was a retrospective consecutive case series of patients undergoing cataract extraction or RLE followed by implantation of the Alcon IQ Panoptix IOL. Pre and postoperative refractive and visual parameters were recorded and evaluated. As the cohort followed a normal distribution, standard parametric tests were used. Paired t-test was used to compare the difference between target and postoperative refractive errors. The incidence of intraoperative and postoperative complications was also reported. Results The IOL was implanted in 66 eyes of 33 patients. Mean postoperative spherical equivalent (SE) refraction was -0.08 ± 0.25 dioptres (D). This was not significantly different from the target refraction (p = 0.841). Sixty-five percent of patients were within ± 0.25 D of the target SE refraction with 100% within ± 0.50 D of intended correction. Mean postoperative uncorrected distance visual acuity (UDVA) was 0.01 ± 0.10 LogMAR. All patients achieved an unaided distance acuity of 20/40 or better postoperatively. Binocularly, 100% saw 0.20 LogMAR or better at near without correction and 88.9% achieved this level for uncorrected intermediate visual acuity. No intraoperative complications were noted. Five patients complained of moderate haloes in the early postoperative period. Conclusion The AcrySof IQ Panoptix IOL provides functional uncorrected visual acuity at distance, intermediate and near positions. Our results remain equivalent with existing trifocal IOL outcomes and provide surgeons with a further IOL alternative for the patient motivated to obtain true spectacle independence. Surgeons should consider individual reading and working requirements when counselling patients preoperatively to optimise postoperative patient satisfaction. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s40662-017-0076-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.