LASIK Surgery Can Help With a Multitude of Conditions Submitted by Atlanta Vision Cataract and Laser Center on December 18, 2018
Did you know that more than 90% of patients who undergo LASIK end up with 20/20 vision after their surgery? And 99% improve to 20/40 vision. That’s why it’s one of the top procedures that our team at Atlanta Vision Cataract & Laser Center performs. With more than two decades of experience and having performed more than 80,000 successful LASIK procedures, we’re the team you can count on to correct multiple vision problems.
Here’s How LASIK Corrects Your Vision
LASIK (laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis) corrects your vision by targeting the cornea. Here’s why:
As light enters your eye from all directions, the cornea uses its round shape to bend (refract) each light beam so that it focuses on the lens. Then the lens refracts the light so that it precisely focuses on your retina.
Specialized cells in the retina convert light into electrical impulses that travel along your optic nerve to your brain, which interprets the information to produce vision. If the incoming light is not perfectly focused by the cornea and lens, your brain receives a jumbled message and you won’t have sharp, clear vision.
Many of our patients think the lens has the biggest role in focusing light, but the cornea is responsible for 65-75% of your eye’s focusing power. When the cornea is misshapen — whether it’s too flat, too steep, or elongated — you have a refractive error that affects your vision.
When you undergo LASIK surgery, the laser gently reshapes the cornea, removing microscopic pieces to restore its round shape. As a result, your vision is restored.
LASIK Corrects Multiple Vision Problems
Our team has extensive experience performing LASIK surgery to correct these refractive errors:
Myopia or Nearsightedness
When you have myopia, the cornea’s curve is too steep, which means light focuses in front of the retina. This makes objects in the distance appear blurry, while you can clearly see things that are close. During your LASIK procedure, the cornea’s curve is reduced to bring your vision back to normal.
Hyperopia or Farsightedness
Patients with farsightedness can see everything that’s far away, but they struggle with near vision. This vision problem occurs when the cornea is too flat, so the doctors at Atlanta Vision Cataract & Laser Center use LASIK surgery to create a steeper and more symmetrical curve.
Astigmatism
Astigmatism is different from the other two types of refractive errors because the cornea is uneven, often shaped more like a football rather than its normal round shape. This leads to light being scattered, focusing in front of and behind the retina, and causing vision distortion at all distances.
Astigmatism is especially noticeable at night, as it causes glare and halos around the headlights of oncoming cars. The computer-controlled LASIK selectively reshapes many areas of the cornea to make it smooth and rounded.
Learn Whether You’re a Good Candidate for LASIK Surgery
If you want to undergo LASIK surgery for your refractive error, you need to meet a few criteria. If you have any of the following concerns or are under the age of 18, you may not be able to have LASIK :
- Thin cornea
- Dry eyes
- Unstable vision
- Eye infection or inflammation
- Very high refractive error
Refractive errors may worsen during childhood and adolescence, but they generally stabilize by your late teens or early 20s. When your vision is still changing, a condition called refractive instability, you can’t undergo LASIK surgery. Refractive instability can also develop due to some medications and hormone fluctuations that commonly occur during pregnancy and from conditions such as diabetes.
The best way to learn whether you’re a good candidate for LASIK surgery is to call our office or use the online booking feature to schedule an exam at Atlanta Vision Cataract & Laser Center. It won’t take long to know whether you can restore your vision with LASIK.