LASIK Can Correct Astigmatism and Improve Vision

November 10th, 2020

Astigmatism’s Irregular Shape Keeps Your Eyes From Focusing Clearly

With astigmatism, everything to do with your vision correction gets just a bit more complicated. It’s a condition that prevents your eye from focusing properly because of the unbalanced shape of your cornea. Instead of simply changing the focal range of your eye, your prescription also has to account for astigmatism to give you clear vision. Without this extra accommodation, you’ll experience blurred vision, eyestrain, headaches, even night vision problems. Using a computer can be frustrating. Your eye’s natural focusing mechanism just can’t adjust enough. Sometimes you’ll even find yourself squinting to try to focus. The top eye doctors in Colorado at ICON Eyecare can help.

Glasses and Contacts Cost More

The thing about treatment for astigmatism is that to correct it properly, the lens has to be specially made to correspond to your eye’s astigmatic shape, using a “cylinder” offset. It requires a more complex prescription for glasses and contacts. With glasses, you know the asymmetrical lens will be aligned to match your eye. With contacts, that’s not so easy. Special toric lenses can help with that. And these special corrections have to be done every time you get a new pair of glasses or contacts, usually at extra cost.

How LASIK Handles Astigmatism

Regular LASIK surgery adjusts the focal range of your eye through a symmetrical change in the surface of your cornea. Laser correction that includes adjustment for astigmatism smooths the surface of your cornea into a regular spherical shape, using customized changes across the cornea surface instead of symmetrical ones. The result is a beautiful shape to the surface of your eye that provides clear vision throughout your vision range, without the artifacts of astigmatism. Even high degrees of astigmatism can be corrected in this way.

Does LASIK Treatment For Astigmatism Last?

Is LASIK permanent? Yes, the treatment lasts, providing a change in your cornea shape that will give you excellent vision into the future. LASIK surgery provides correction for existing vision, which may change over time. At your annual eye exam, you doctor can see if you are developing any age-related changes or other variations from your original LASIK correction. Typically, some patients need to revisit their vision correction after about ten years, although many patients continue to enjoy great eyesight without changes. Some astigmatism is progressive and may need a touch-up over time. Compared to numerous prescription updates, pairs of glasses and contacts, and other concerns, patients find this a very positive outcome.

Turn To The Top Eye Doctors In Colorado

At ICON Eye Care, our LASIK surgeons are among the best, with advanced knowledge and experience with a wide variety of vision correction needs. They can help you understand how LASIK vision correction provides you with excellent vision for the long term, even if you have challenges such as astigmatism. You can enjoy the freedom of a glasses-free life! Call us for an appointment at 720-524-1001.