Can LASIK Correct Astigmatism?
Astigmatism—sounds pretty serious, doesn’t it? Despite the alarming name, astigmatism is an extremely common condition. Not only that, but people diagnosed with astigmatism have strong, reliable treatment options, including LASIK laser eye surgery. Here’s what you need to know about astigmatism correction using LASIK surgery.
What is Astigmatism?
The key to learning about astigmatism correction using LASIK is to first understand astigmatism. Astigmatism is a condition caused by a refractive error affecting one or both eyes. In eyes without astigmatism, the cornea is evenly rounded across all areas; in eyes with astigmatism, the corneas are curved unevenly, in a shape similar to a football. This unevenness prevents light from bending properly as it passes through the eye, resulting in blurred vision, headaches, eye strain, and difficulty seeing in low light.
While astigmatism is typically present at birth, it can also appear later in life. Although considered a genetic condition, certain vision factors can indicate an increased risk of astigmatism development, including:
- Scarred or thinning corneas
- Excessive nearsightedness or farsightedness
- Previous eye surgeries (ex. Cataract surgery)
Astigmatism can be easily detected during eye exams whether a person’s astigmatism causes vision loss or not.
How LASIK Eye Surgery Corrects Astigmatism
Were you wondering if LASIK can correct astigmatism? The answer is yes. LASIK in Houston is a procedure that may provide permanent relief from astigmatism and its accompanying blurry, strained vision. (Further reading: How long does laser eye surgery last?)
In LASIK eye surgery, an ultra-precise laser is used to cut and reshape key parts of the eye, restoring and enabling normal function and clearer vision. In the case of astigmatism, LASIK reshapes your uneven corneas, rounding them out so that light passes through properly. However, LASIK for astigmatism is not a one-size-fits-all procedure. The worse your astigmatism is, the more extensive the LASIK procedure may be, which can affect the cost of your procedure. Speak with your doctor to evaluate the extent of your astigmatism and to discuss how it may or may not affect the nature and cost of your treatment.
Can LASIK Eye Surgery Cause Astigmatism?
Surgeries like LASIK and PRK are incredibly successful at treating astigmatism. In fact, in a recent study, more than 95 percent of patients reported complete satisfaction with the results of their astigmatism correction using LASIK eye surgery.
That said, LASIK can occasionally result in irregular astigmatism that will require either contacts or additional surgery to correct. Although this outcome is rare, it may be a good idea to discuss this risk with your doctor prior to making a decision about LASIK eye surgery.
Choosing a Doctor For Your LASIK Eye Surgery
Before deciding on a surgeon, schedule a consultation with them and ascertain their standing on the following essential factors:
- How many LASIK procedures has the surgeon performed?
- Do they back their work with a guarantee or warranty?
- Is their equipment up-to-date or ahead of the curve?
- How does their LASIK surgery cost compare to the quality of treatment?
For more helpful tips and points of consideration, check out our previous blog on how to choose a LASIK eye surgeon.
Find Astigmatism Relief With Houston LASIK Eye Surgeons at Eye Center of Texas
The doctors at Eye Center of Texas have extensive experience treating astigmatism and other vision issues with LASIK eye surgery, PRK, and other state-of-the-art treatment options. For patients who do not meet LASIK eligibility, Eye Center of Texas also offers astigmatism correcting intraocular lens implants. Best of all, at Eye Center of Texas, we back our work with a limited warranty. If you’ve recently been diagnosed with astigmatism and are ready to correct your vision permanently, contact Eye Center of Texas today to discover a treatment plant that’s perfect for you!
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What Is Astigmatism and Can LASIK Correct It?
Astigmatism is a common vision condition that occurs when the eye is not completely round. While the cause of astigmatism is unknown, there are several treatment options to help remedy astigmatism’s resulting blurred vision. Treatment options include, eyeglasses, contact lenses or refractive surgery.
The first step in understanding astigmatism is knowing the different parts of the eye and how they function.
- Cornea: the clear front portion that covers the eye helps to refract (bend) light to focus on the retina
- Retina: the light-sensitive area in the back of the eye
- Eye Lens: the transparent structure that helps the cornea to refract light
When light enters the rounded cornea of the eye or the eye lens, the eye refracts (bends) the light causing clear vision. When the cornea or lens are not round, but shaped more like the back of a spoon or football, the light is refracted unevenly. When uneven refraction occurs, only part of an object can be focused on at one time causing vision to appear blurry.
Symptoms
This condition causes one’s vision to be blurred or distorted in varying degrees and at all distances. If the vision is not corrected, eye strain, fatigue, or headaches may occur.
Diagnosis
Sometimes this condition occurs with other vision problems such as nearsightedness (myopia) and farsightedness (hyperopia). Your eye doctor can give you a diagnosis after a comprehensive eye exam.
Treatment
Practically every type and intensity of blurred vision can be corrected with prescription eyeglasses or contact lenses.
If the thought of wearing glasses or contact lenses does not appeal to you, refractive surgery could be the best solution to remedy your vision. The best candidates for this procedure have healthy eyes and do not have diseases, scarring, or retinal problems.
Several different types of refractive surgery include:
- LASIK (laser in-situ keratomileusis): LASIK surgery corrects vision by reshaping corneal tissue so that it correctly focuses light into the eye and onto the retina. A flap made in the outer corneal layer allows access to the tissue underneath.
- PRK (photorefractive keratectomy): During this procedure, the eye surgeon reshapes the cornea using a laser on the outer surface of the cornea (unlike the LASIK procedure that accesses underlying tissue).
As with all surgical procedures, there are risks and complications associated with refractive surgery. A frequently reported complication is persistent dry eyes. To lower your risks, consult a LASIK surgeon who can advise you what procedure is best for you.
Benefits of Lasik Surgery
- Improved vision. Research reveals that approximately 95% of the people who chose this form of laser eye surgery now see with 20/40 (10%) or 20/20 (85%) acuity.
- Speedy results and recovery. Some patients experience clear vision immediately after the procedure. Others have clear sight within the day and can return to their normal schedule the day after the surgery.
- Lasting results. After about three months, the eyes have adjusted and the patient’s improved eyesight will be permanent. No follow-up is needed unless there are complications.
- No more contact lenses expenses. No more money and time spent on replacement lenses, cases and cleaning solutions. You pay for contact lenses for as long as you use them. You pay for your surgery only once.
- Goodbye, eyeglasses. Glasses tend to limit peripheral vision. Laser eye surgery improves your complete vision.
Houston Astigmatism Solutions
The Eye Center of Texas’ Dr. Wade and Dr. Mayo have performed over 60,000 successful LASIK procedures. If you are interested in learning more about how you can correct your astigmatism through LASIK surgery, fill out this form for a FREE LASIK consultation.
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What is Astigmatism?
I just received an email from a friend who wanted to know: what is astigmatism and can it be corrected with LASIK surgery?
Astigmatism is not a disease nor does it mean that you have bad eyes. Astigmatism usually is caused by an irregularly shaped cornea. Instead of the cornea having a symmetrically round shape (like a baseball), it is shaped more like a football.
Astigmatism usually causes vision to be blurred or distorted to some degree at all distances. Symptoms of uncorrected astigmatism are eye strain and headaches, especially after reading or other prolonged visual tasks. Squinting also is a very common symptom.
Yes,LASIK can correct most types of astigmatism. If you’re interested in finding out if LASIK eye surgery can correct your astigmatism, give us a call at 713-395-1515.
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