Can LASIK Fix Astigmatism?in Boston, MA

If you have astigmatism, you may be wondering if getting LASIK at The Nielsen Eye Center could be worthwhile. Astigmatism is a vision disorder that results in blurry and distorted vision. For those with astigmatism, the cornea is curved more like a football, causing vision to focus on more than one point on the retina. LASIK is one of the most popular elective surgeries in the world, but it’s important to know if you could be a candidate, even with astigmatism. Keep reading to learn more about LASIK with astigmatism!

How Astigmatism Affects the Shape of Your Eye

If your eye is irregularly shaped, your vision is affected. Refractive errors like myopia and hyperopia, also known as nearsightedness and farsightedness, occur when the cornea bends light incorrectly. This results in having difficulty seeing things that are up close or far away. Like myopia and hyperopia, astigmatism is another refractive error. However, with astigmatism, it becomes more difficult to see both up close and far away. This occurs because your cornea is asymmetrically shaped, more like an egg or a football. When the cornea is shaped irregularly, light is bent at multiple points when it reaches your eye. This results in visual distortion and can be corrected with the help of prescription glasses or contact lenses.

How LASIK Works

When a patient receives LASIK, a laser is used to reshape the eye and correct existing refractive errors. Since astigmatism is a refractive error, it can usually be corrected by reshaping the cornea. In the case of astigmatism during LASIK, the cornea is reshaped to become more symmetrical. Once the cornea has been reshaped, your vision stabilizes. Many patients who have astigmatism may also be nearsighted or farsighted, which are refractive errors that LASIK corrects as well. When the cornea is reshaped during LASIK, the cornea is also able to be flattened or steepened, depending on the refractive errors that need to be corrected. To be considered a good candidate for LASIK, you must have thick enough corneas to treat all refractive errors.

Limits Of LASIK With Astigmatism

While many people with astigmatism are considered good candidates for LASIK, not everyone will qualify. If you have a prescription that’s considered extremely strong, and you have astigmatism as well as another refractive error, having LASIK may remove too much corneal tissue to safely correct your vision. If there is not enough corneal tissue left over after having LASIK, your vision will be significantly damaged. Before having LASIK, you will be evaluated thoroughly at The Nielsen Eye Center to make sure LASIK surgery can be performed both safely and effectively. At The Nielsen Eye Center, we offer free LASIK consultations to confirm if you are a qualified candidate. If you do not qualify for LASIK, we offer other vision correction procedures that allow you to see without glasses or contacts.

Want to learn more about LASIK? Considering having LASIK surgery? Contact The Nielsen Eye Center today to schedule one of our free LASIK consultations! It’s time to start your new vision journey with The Nielsen Eye Center!