Laser eye surgery for astigmatism

One of biggest misconceptions about astigmatism is that it is some sort of a disease and that it is untreatable. However, this is simply not the case. Astigmatism is simply a type of prescription and it is no different to being long sighted or short sighted. It can be corrected by glasses, contact lenses or laser eye treatment.

There are however a few points to consider about laser eye surgery and astigmatism and they are as follows:

• Both Lasek and Lasik can treat astigmatism and have equal visual outcomes. Both can treat up to 6.00 dioptres (this is what prescriptions are measured in) of astigmatism which means very few people will be beyond the treatable range. Less than 1% of the population will have astigmatism beyond 6 dioptres.
• If you have high astigmatism (over 3 dioptres) then most surgeons will insist that you have wavefront laser eye surgery. The reason for this, is that wavefront is the most accurate laser eye surgery technique and this is especially important when treating high levels of astigmatism. Also, Wavefront laser eye surgery has iris recognition technology which improves accuracy. This technology means the laser tracks any slight eye movements you make during surgery and moves accordingly to ensure that the laser is being applied in exactly the right place. This is especially important if you have high astigmatism.
• The recovery period etc is exactly the same for treating astigmatism as it is for treating either long or short sightedness.
• The cost of treating astigmatism is the same as treating long or short sightedness. Wavefront is more expensive though and your surgeon will insist you have this if your astigmatism is higher than 3 dioptres.
• The way in which the laser eye surgery is carried out for astigmatism is exactly the same as it is for long sightedness and short sightedness.

In summary having astigmatism should not be a reason to put you off having laser eye surgery. The chances are that you will be suitable and you will most likely end up with 20/20 vision following surgery.

If there is still anything you are uncertain of why not ask a question in our laser eye surgery forum.