Presby LASIK: LASIK for Presbyopia

Presby LASIK is actually a multifocal LASIK. It is an experimental type of LASIK surgery for presbyopes, which is still in the research stage. It aims to provide customize procedure to suit individual’s needs. Currently, it is only done to participants of a formal study which investigate the safety and effectiveness of this procedure.

The principle behind Presby LASIK is identical to artificial multifocal lenses. This is why it is also called multifocal LASIK. It is a type of laser vision correction surgery that reshapes the cornea surface to create different zones for near to far vision. The procedure is like a regular LASIK ablation, except different number of laser pulses would be used to sculpt the cornea into different zones with different powers.

Since Presby LASIK is still under research, various approaches are still being studied to find out which reshaping method is the best. One of the methods currently done is by reshaping the cornea’s center for near vision and outer peripheral for distance vision. This is a preferred method used for treating patients with both hyperopia and presbyopia. For patients with both myopia and presbyopia, different configurations are used. Near vision correction might be provided either in center zone or outer peripheral of cornea depend on different cases. Another method is aspheric corrections method which will create a cornea which is not perfectly round. It is believed that this method will help in reducing vision distortion problems.

Researchers found out that Presby LASIK works best for people who are hyperopic. However, this procedure is not suitable for those with previous eye surgery and those with disease that will hinder the healing of cornea, e.g. diabetes.

Some risks are involved in this procedure. Patients with only presbyopia might experience tendency towards blurred distance vision after the procedure, and it may last forever. There is also a higher risk of developing reduced contrast sensitivity and experiencing haloing effects at night. In the case of losing contrast sensitivity, patients might face difficulty in distinguishing objects against similar background colors. However, the good news is this may be only temporary.

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