For most of us, our vision is the primary sense through which we take in our world. Unfortunately, some of us have a harder time seeing things clearly than others. For centuries, people who have struggled with their vision had to simply deal with it or use glasses or contact lenses. Just over 20 years ago, all of that changed, thanks to LASIK eye surgery being approved by the FDA. Since its approval in 1999, LASIK eye surgery has helped millions of people with certain eye conditions see life more clearly.
Myopia
Myopia, or nearsightedness, affects over a third of the world’s population, and about 25% of Americans. It’s caused by your eyeballs being longer than normal or your cornea curving too sharply. Because of this, rays of light focus in the front of the retina. This is why people with myopia are able to see close objects clearly, while those far away are blurry.
Light rays are supposed to focus directly on your retina, rather than in front of them. LASIK eye surgery can correct myopia caused by a steep cornea by flattening it with a finely tuned precision laser. This is the most common vision problem corrected by LASIK eye surgery procedures. The success rate for LASIK eye surgery procedures done to correct myopia is quite high: between 94%-100% of nearsighted patients get vision that is at least 20/40, if not better. Few find themselves needing a follow-up surgery to make further corrections.
Hyperopia
Hyperopia, or farsightedness, is far less common than myopia, but still a fairly common vision abnormality. It impacts roughly 5%-10% of Americans. Hyperopia is the opposite of myopia. People who have hyperopia have eyeballs that are shorter than average or have a cornea that is too flat. This causes rays of light to focus behind the retina. Because of this, people with hyperopia find near vision tends to be blurry. Sometimes distant vision is blurry as well.
LASIK eye surgery can be used to correct hyperopia if it is caused by a flat cornea. It’s important to note that if your hyperopia is caused by the shape or curve of your lens, however, LASIK eye surgery may not be the ideal treatment option for you. If you are a good candidate for LASIK, the laser will be used to precisely reshape the cornea, allowing the light to focus better on the retina. The end result is that vision comes into focus better. Most patients who are good candidates for LASIK eye surgery for hyperopia no longer need glasses or contacts after the procedure.
Astigmatism
Sometimes corneas aren’t even. If it curves or flattens unevenly, an astigmatism is the result. This condition is more prevalent than you might expect, impacting one in every three people to some degree. It’s not uncommon for it to occur alongside myopia and hyperopia. Astigmatism disrupts the focus of both near and distant vision.
LASIK eye surgery corrects astigmatism by addressing the unevenness of the cornea. Tiny amounts of tissue are removed with extreme precision by the laser. This corrects the shape of the cornea to make it more symmetrical. Depending on your pre-surgery measurements, your vision may be fully corrected in a single visit. If they exceed 3.0 diopters, there is a higher chance that you’ll need a follow-up visit in order to fully correct your vision. The second visit will be used to fine-tune the results of the initial visit to give your vision better focus and clarity.</p> <p>If you suffer from a condition like myopia, hyperopia, or astigmatism, you may have used glasses or contacts to correct your vision. While these devices are certainly an option, wouldn’;t it be better if you could just see clearly without needing them? That’s exactly what LASIK eye surgery offers. If you’re ready to ditch glasses and contacts and see better without them, it’s time to see what LASIK eye surgery can do for you.
Are you ready to see the world clearly? Do you need LASIK eye surgery in Utah? Davis Vision Center can help! Contact us today to set up a free LASIK consultation!
