Is Refractive Surgery for You?

Refractive surgery may help reduce or eliminate your need for glasses or contacts. Sound good to you?

You can consider refractive surgery if your prescription is stable and your eyes are healthy. Refractive surgery is an outpatient procedure that does not require an overnight stay in the hospital. The procedure may be done in a hospital, surgery center, or doctor's office. This website describes two refractive surgery procedures.

Which one is right for you depends on your age, your eyesight, and your expectations. Each of these procedures has benefits and risks, so question your eye care professional carefully. Your eye doctor can help you decide which of these procedures, if any, is right for you.

How clearly you see depends in part on the shape of your cornea, the clear covering of your eye. The cornea focuses light for your eye. In the normal eye, light is focused right onto the retina (the back of the eye). If the cornea is not shaped correctly, the image may focus in front or in back of the retina, so vision is blurry.

With myopia (nearsightedness), the distance between the cornea and the retina is too long. Light rays from distant objects focus too far in front of the retina, making them look blurry.

With astigmatism, the cornea is oval-shaped instead of round, making both distant and near objects look distorted.

With hyperopia (farsightedness), the distance between the cornea and the retina is too short. Light rays from close objects focus too far behind the retina, making them look blurry. Currently, few refractive surgery procedures correct hyperopia.