Which LASIK procedures are recommended for astigmatism, and what are the considerations?

Doctor's Answer

Any laser procedure which corrects myopia or hyperopia, can also usually correct astigmatism. This includes LASIK, PRK/epiLASIK and SMILE.

In general, I think LASIK or PRK/epiLASIK gives better results because of the availability of automatic cyclotorsion control, and also the ability to use sophisticated ablation patterns such as bitoric ablation patters.

Automatic cyclotorsion control gives more accurate treatments because it will automatically match the treatment pattern/axis to the eye position, which can change from a sitting to a lying down/supine position. Bitoric ablation patterns can potentially give a wider optical zone especially in the steeper meridian, thus reducing the risks of visual side effects such as halos.

Just for clarification, LASIK is LASIK. The differences mainly have to do with how the flap is created (eg blade vs bladeless), and this has no impact on the refractive correction whether myopic, hyperopic or astigmatic. The other difference has to do with the excimer laser machine that is being used, but most current generation machines such as the Schwind Amaris have the features above as mentioned.

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