| |
The cornea is the clear tissue in front of your eye similar to the windshield of your car. It has a curved shape and it is this shape that is altered with LASIK to give you better vision.
The iris is the colored part of your eye. It contains a muscle that constricts to reduce the amount of light that enters the eye or dilates allowing more light in. The round center of the iris is the pupil.
The lens is like a camera lens inside of your eye. It focuses pics to be displayed on the back part of the eye known as the retina. As we age the lens will harden and can become cloudy to develop what is known as a cataract.
The retina is a delicate tissue in the back of the eye where the light rays hit and pics are then transferred by electrical impulses to the brain.
|
Clear Vision
Light rays pass through the cornea, pupil and lens and focus directly on the retina.
No need for correction. |
|
Myopia (Nearsightedness) |
|
"I can't see in the distance, but I can read the newspaper without my glasses or contact lenses."
If this sounds like you then your cornea is too curved or your eye is too long and this causes the light to focus in front of your retina, resulting in blurred distance vision. It has been estimated that 25% of the world's population has myopia. Nearsightedness causes poor distance vision; however, most people are able to read without glasses or contacts unless they also have astigmatism.
This condition is correctable by CustomVue™ or other refractive procedures. |
|
Hyperopia (Farsightedness) |
|
"I need glasses or contact lenses for both driving (far vision) and reading (near vision)."
If this describes your situation, then your cornea may be too flat in relation to the length of your eye. This causes light to focus at a point beyond the retina, resulting in blurred vision. Approximately 3% of the world's population have hyperopia. Blurred distance and near vision can also be caused by nearsightedness with astigmatism.
This condition can be improved by CustomVue or other refractive procedures. |
Astigmatism
|
"I can't read street signs when I drive and I can't read the newspaper without glasses or contact lenses."
Sounds like farsightedness but astigmatism can also cause blur for distance and reading. In this condition, the cornea is shaped more like a football (more curved in one direction than the other) than a basketball. This causes light to focus at more than one point on the retina, resulting in blurred and distorted vision. Astigmatism can exist alone or be part of nearsightedness or farsightedness.
This condition can be improved by CustomVue or other refractive procedures. |
Presbyopia
|
"I can see fine for distance but I can't read the newspaper and I need reading glasses. I am over the age of 40."
This is a normal condition of the eye that develops over the age of forty. Unfortunately, at this time, there is no surgical treatment that will correct distance and reading at the same time for patients in this age group.
|
Nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism can be successfully treated with CustomVue or other refractive procedures. While there is no current treatment for presbyopia patients who are 45 and older, we often perform a small monovision treatment in LASIK candidates, which can allow medium-text and computer vision without glasses.
|
|
