Presbyopia is a change many people notice as they age and find things up close hard to see. This refractive error is a natural part of aging and affects nearly everyone after age 40. But the good news is that modern advancements in eye care create effective solutions. For example, laser eye surgery could be an option to correct presbyopia.
If that restaurant menu feels too close, and your arms aren’t long enough to hold a book far enough away, it’s time to book an appointment with your eye doctor to discuss your vision needs. After examining your eyes to pinpoint what’s affecting your vision, they can offer tailored advice—including your laser eye surgery options.
What Is Presbyopia & How Does It Affect Vision?
Presbyopia is often called age-related farsightedness because it’s common after 40. As you age, your eye’s lens loses its flexibility, and a less flexible lens has difficulty focusing on objects up close. This lack of focusing ability typically leads to things being blurry when reading, knitting, or scrolling on your cell phone or tablet.
This condition is a natural part of aging and isn’t a disease. Even so, presbyopia often frustrates everyday tasks without corrective measures, like glasses, contacts, or more permanent interventions like laser eye surgery.
How Does Laser Eye Surgery Correct Presbyopia?
Laser eye surgery uses precise lasers to reshape the front part of your eye—called the cornea—to improve how light refracts onto your retina. It’s most commonly associated with vision corrections for nearsightedness, farsightedness, or astigmatism, but some types of laser eye surgery are also suited for presbyopia correction.
Common techniques for presbyopia laser eye surgery include monovision and multifocal laser surgery. Both surgeries aim to reduce or eliminate your dependence on glasses or contact lenses. Your doctor will recommend the best method based on your lifestyle, preferences, and natural eye health.
Monovision
Monovision correction involves correcting one eye for distance vision while leaving the other slightly nearsighted. Once your eyes adjust, this method can reduce your need for reading glasses. This approach can be achieved through LASIK or PRK and requires some adjustment as your brain learns to balance the different focal points.
Multifocal
On the other hand, multifocal laser surgery creates multiple focal points in your cornea to enhance vision at various distances, similar to wearing multifocal lenses.
Who’s a Good Candidate for Laser Eye Surgery to Treat Presbyopia?
Laser eye surgery isn’t for everyone. Here are some factors that make someone a strong candidate for presbyopia correction via laser surgery:
- Age: Typically ideal for individuals between 40 and 65 years old
- General eye health: No serious conditions like cataracts, glaucoma, or retinal disorders
- Prescription stability: No continued and significant changes to your vision prescription
- Other health factors: No autoimmune diseases, uncontrolled diabetes, or medication that could affect healing
This is where consulting with your eye doctor about your laser eye surgery options will be most beneficial. They can provide an expert opinion on your eligibility for a laser eye procedure.
Preparing for Laser Eye Surgery
Although successful and low-risk, laser eye surgery is still a surgical procedure, and you should prepare for it accordingly. Your eye doctor can provide the exact details for your situation. But a few things to consider when preparing for surgery include:
- Initial consultation: Your ophthalmologist or eye doctor typically evaluates if you’re a good candidate and discusses your treatment options during the consultation
- Pre-surgery precautions: Follow your eye doctor’s recommendations before surgery—consider their instructions on contact lens wear, hygiene, and medication use
- Expect downtime: Each laser procedure has its varying recovery times, but expect some downtime
Post-Surgery Recovery & Follow-Up Care
Post-surgery recovery is crucial to a successful outcome. It’s essential you keep all follow-up appointments with your eye doctor. They can examine your eyes and vision to ensure everything is healing properly and address any concerns that arise during recovery.
Alternatives to Laser Eye Surgery for Presbyopia
Not everyone is a candidate for laser eye surgery, or you may simply not want to undergo the procedure. That’s okay because you still have several options for presbyopia correction:
- Reading glasses: These glasses are typically available without a prescription and come in various magnifications
- Contact lenses: Depending on your eye health, you may be a candidate for multifocal contact lenses
- Prescription glasses: Multifocal prescription eyeglasses offer you the best of both worlds—near and distant vision correction
Consider Your Laser Eye Surgery Options for Presbyopia
Laser eye surgery opens up possibilities for those with presbyopia. While the options continue to evolve, current techniques like mono and multifocal laser eye surgeries can provide significant improvement for many people.Call our professional team at Warman Eyecare today to request an appointment with one of our eye doctors. We’re happy to provide a laser eye surgery consultation and review your vision correction options.
