Can myopia, presbyopia and astigmatism be corrected in 1 surgery?

Doctor's Answer

Your question is one that many laser manufacturers have tried to answer for decades. Firstly, do be aware that laser vision correction (LVC) was never intended to solve the issue of presbyopia in middle age. LVC (eg PRK, LASIK & ReLex SMILE) does try to attempt to address some limitations of presbyopia via various techniques like monovision or improvements in depth of focus.

Understand that none of the existing LVC techniques addresses the root cause of presbyopia which is the fact that the changes are occurring deep in the eye where the lens is slowly losing its ability to change its shape to accommodate different distances of focus.

Whether to undergo surgery at this time of your life really depends on you. If your aims are to enhance your experience with your hobbies, sports and work then by all means do it now. After all, that would mean that you would not be burdened with glasses or contact lenses for at least 15 to 20 years.

Even when you are 50 years old, you should only need to wear glasses for reading. However, if you are looking for a LVC technique that solves your astigmatism and myopia today as well as your presbyopia in 15 years time then I would say that the LVC techniques currently will not meet ALL your needs.

The above is a good example of why it is important for surgeons to customise their treatment and advice to the patients' expectations and needs. A happy patient is one who is fully informed of any treatment’s advantages and limitations and is then able to make an informed choice as to whether the treatment result is going to improve his or her quality of life.

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