What Types Of Vision Problems Does Refractive Surgery Correct?

Refractive surgeons perform refractive surgery procedures – such as LASIK, PRK, lens implants and cataract surgery – to improve the focusing ability of their patients’ eyes. They can reshape the cornea or implant a lens inside the eye to correct a variety of common vision problems, such as myopia, hyperopia, astigmatism, presbyopia or cataracts.

For instance, if you are nearsighted (myopic) you have a steeper cornea, making it difficult to see things far away, refractive surgery can reduce the curvature of the cornea to improve your distance vision.

If you are farsighted (hyperopic) you have a cornea that is too flat, making it hard to see things up close. Refractive procedures increase or steepen the curvature of the cornea to sharpen your reading and near vision.

With astigmatism, the cornea is irregularly curved, causing vision to be out of focus. Astigmatism can be corrected with refractive surgery techniques that selectively reshape portions of the irregular cornea, making it smooth and symmetrical, thus improving the focus of light into the eye to provide clear, crisp vision.

Presbyopia is an age-related vision condition that causes blurring in the near-vision range. Typically around the age of 40, vision for reading, sewing and other close-range activities is no longer crisp and clear. It is caused by a stiffening of the eye’s lens, resulting in a lack of flexibility to accommodate a range of focus. Surgeons use a variety of refractive surgical techniques, including LASIK, PRK and lens replacement to treat presbyopia.

A cataract is the clouding of the eye’s lens, which blocks light to the retina resulting in poor vision. Surgery to correct cataracts involves removing the damaged lens and replacing it with a clear artificial lens. Today’s lens technologies do more for cataract patients by correcting nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism.

If you have vision problems and are interested in your surgical options for vision correction, schedule a consultation with a refractive surgeon. In our next post, we’ll tell you how to prepare for your consultation and what to expect when you meet with the surgeon.