LASIK and Astigmatism | Doctor David Luna

One of the most common vision disorders in the San Francisco area is astigmatism. Astigmatism occurs when your eye is shaped more like a football, and may be combined with either myopia or hyperopia. Symptoms of astigmatism include:

Blurred vision at a range of distances
Headaches
Eye strain

Frequently identified during your routine eye exams, astigmatism is commonly treated with the use of prescription glasses. In recent years, some brands of contact lenses have become available that can restore vision to people suffering from astigmatism, but laser eye surgery like LASIK remains the only way to treat the disorder permanently. By treating astigmatism with LASIK, you can live a life free of the burdens of prescription eyewear that can interfere with your lifestyle.

How LASIK Corrects Astigmatism

LASIK is the most commonly performed vision correction surgery in the United States. With a success rate of well over 90 percent, LASIK has been proven effective in correcting the entire range of refractive errors including myopia, hyperopia, astigmatism, and presbyopia.

Using surgical tools or a specialized laser, your eye doctor will create a small flap in your cornea. Through this flap, an excimer laser will be used to gently reshape your cornea, providing it with the correct dimensions to effectively focus light on your retina. Your retina is responsible for clear vision. An astigmatic eye cannot direct light onto your retina the same way a properly shaped cornea can. Once reshaped, the flap will be closed, and vision of 20/20 or better is often noticeable immediately.

Risks of LASIK Surgery

Like any surgery, there may be some small risks involved with LASIK.

Risks with LASIK surgery include infection and increased sensitivity. Following your ophthalmologists postoperative directions carefully will help reduce these risks.

When you have your astigmatism corrected with LASIK, you should allow yourself a few days to rest. Most people notice results within 24 hours, but some may need to wait for one to two weeks. Work can be resumed within three days, and normal activities including strenuous exercise within two weeks. Of course, every patient is unique. Talk to your eye doctor to determine what you can expect during your recovery period from LASIK surgery.

 

If you live in or around the San Francisco or Oakland, California area and are interested in learning more about correcting astigmatism with LASIK, please visit the website of Laser Eye Center of Silicone Valley for more information.