Discover Vision Centers has an over 50 year history of helping patients to reduce or eliminate the need for glasses and contact lenses with corrective eye surgery. Our surgeons have extensive experience in treating all types of refractive errors including performing LASIK for eyes with astigmatism.
Refractive error occurs when an eye can not properly focus an image on the retina (back of the eye). They include nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism, and can be corrected with glasses, contact lenses, or corrective eye surgery. The most common form of astigmatism is corneal and is the result of the cornea being more oval shaped than spherical. Visual symptoms can include blurred vision at all distances, eyestrain, streaking or elongation of lights at night, and ghosting around words when reading a book, computer screen, phone etc.
Lasik eye surgery is very effective at correcting astigmatism. As previously mentioned an astigmatic cornea is more oval shaped instead of spherical (think of an egg vs a baseball). The longer axis of an egg has a flatter curvature and the shorter axis has more curvature and is steeper. The goal is to create a corneal shape that is more spherical like the baseball. The laser accomplishes this with incredible precision by reshaping one axis more than the other creating the desired curvature, thus correcting the vision.
Lasik eye surgery has the ability to treat those with any of the following refractive conditions:
LASIK (laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis) is FDA-approved to treat low to very high levels of astigmatism by reshaping your cornea. It does this by making the front surface of your cornea regular or smooth like the shape of a tennis ball.
LASIK can treat up to 8 diopters of astigmatism. One can also have nearsighted, farsightedness and presbyopia that can be treated at the same time as their astigmatism.
LASIK surgery is a viable option for most patients with astigmatism. However, certain conditions may disqualify you from LASIK. If a patient has keratoconus or its precursor LASIK should not be performed. If your glasses correction is actively changing one should hold off on refractive surgery. If one has active eye disease they also should hold off on having any eye surgery.
The actual LASIK procedure for astigmatism is for all practical purposes from a patient perspective no different than a spherical correction LASIK treatment. A patient could not tell the difference. From a surgeon’s perspective there is slightly more calculations with testing devices for astigmatism. The surgeon will use a femtosecond laser to create a corneal flap. This will be lifted and an excimer laser will be programmed for your specific correction. The laser will then sculpt a new curvature to the underlying tissue. The flap will be replaced and antibiotic and corticosteroid drops will be instilled. You will be given instructions on how to care for you eyes over the next several days.
Correcting astigmatism with LASIK has a very high success rate. Dr. Doane is an active Board Member of the American Refractive Surgical Council and it has reported that the latest research shows that 99 percent of patients achieve better than 20/40 vision and more than 90 percent achieve 20/20 or better. In addition, LASIK has an unprecedented 96 percent patient satisfaction rate – the highest of any elective procedure.
Once your procedure is completed you will be taken to a postoperative care area. The staff will review drop instructions and activity instructions for the day of surgery and the first several days after surgery. Most patients will be comfortable to return to full activities the day following surgery. It is probably best to avoid large bodies of water for a week after surgery. Your vision should continue to improve with time and complete stability can be expected by 8-12 weeks.
Curious about the cost of LASIK? Discover Vision pricing for LASIK surgery is based on the amount of correction needed. The best way to determine your pricing is to schedule a FREE LASIK consultation, virtual or in-person. The consult is free of charge with no obligation. In addition to receiving detailed pricing, you will also know whether or not you are a candidate for vision correction, and if so, which procedure is right for you. We also have several options for financing, for approved buyers, through CareCredit.
Because LASIK is not considered medically necessary, insurance does not cover the cost of vision correction surgery. However, some insurance plans such as VSP do provide a discount.
At Discover Vision Centers, we specialize in educating and empowering patients throughout their laser vision correction journey. As a patient considering Lasik surgery, DVC will ensure that you are informed and feel comfortable every step of the way. We are invested in you, and are here to help you to achieve your best possible vision.
Discover Vision Centers has been serving the Kansas City community for over 50 years. Dr. John Doane has been performing laser vision correction since 1995. He has been ranked among the top 5% of Laser vision surgeons in the country. Our Refractive Team has performed over 45,000 vision correction procedures and has been instrumental in pioneering the latest solutions in Vision Correction and advanced microsurgery. For more information on SMILE, call 816.283.EYES.
Dr. Randy T. Jackson is a board certified ophthalmologist who specializes in refractive surgery, including SMILE, LASIK Laser Vision Correction, Photorefractive Keratectomy (PRK), Full Focus® Vision Correction and cataract surgery. For more information on SMILE, call 816.283.EYES.
If the astigmatism is adequately treated and no regression is experienced by three months after surgery the result should be long lasting. If the amount is not fully corrected and enhancement procedure can be contemplated.
Rarely would LASIK make astigmatism worse. For this to happen some form of complication would have to have occurred such as infection or scarring from inflammation.
One can get LASIK for astigmatism. In fact LASIK has been FDA-approved to treat large and small amounts of astigmatism for over 25 years.
Incredibly large amounts of astigmatism can be treated with LASIK. Over 99% of patients with astigmatism could be considered candidates for LASIK.
