Refractive Surgery (Video)

Hyperopia, also known as farsightedness, is when the eye focuses the image behind where the retina actually is. This causes close objects to look blurry. Distant objects will still look clear. Farsightedness is treatable.

To learn more about farsightedness, eye health and how to take care of your vision, visit EyeSmart, from the American Academy of Ophthalmology. https://www.aao.org/eye-health/diseases/hyperopia-farsightedness

Mire en español: https://youtu.be/XX5ojCgdbcE

Astigmatism occurs when the cornea is curved unevenly, more like a football than a basketball. Light passing through an uneven cornea is not properly focused on the retina. Distance and close vision may both be blurry. Learn more about astigmatism symptoms, astigmatism diagnosis and astigmatism treatment at http://www.geteyesmart.org.

The eye's ciliary muscle contracts, causing the eye's natural lens to thicken or change shape, which allows us to see objects up close. Presbyopia develops as we age, when our lens becomes less flexible and resists changing shape. With presbyopia, up-close focusing becomes more difficult. Learn more at http://www.geteyesmart.org.

Over the past decades, a variety of surgical procedures, collectively known as refractive surgery, has become an increasingly popular way to correct refractive error. In most cases, these procedures permanently alter the shape of the cornea, so that light rays are refocused on the retina to improve vision. Learn more at http://www.geteyesmart.org.

With LASIK, a small flap is created in your cornea with a microsurgical instrument called a microkeratome. The flap is folded back and laser energy is applied to reshape the cornea. The flap is put back in place, where it adheres naturally. The reshaped cornea focuses light more accurately. Learn more at http://www.geteyesmart.org.

With LASIK, a small flap is created in your cornea using tiny, quick pulses of laser light. The flap is folded back and laser energy is applied to reshape the cornea. The flap is put back in place, where it adheres naturally. The reshaped cornea focuses light more accurately. Learn more at http://www.geteyesmart.org.

A beam of light is sent through your eye and reflected back. A sensor measures the irregularities in the pattern that emerges. The wavefront computer creates an accurate, 3-D map that includes the imperfections in your cornea, helping your ophthalmologist to customize the reshaping of your cornea. Learn more at http://www.geteyesmart.org.

Photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) is a laser vision correction surgery. With PRK, the cornea at the front of the eye is reshaped with a special laser, to give clearer vision.

To learn more about PRK and other refractive surgeries, eye health and how to take care of your vision, visit EyeSmart, from the American Academy of Ophthalmology. https://www.aao.org/eye-health/treatments/photorefractive-keratectomy-prk

Mire en español: https://youtu.be/sWeGqgitDFM

With LASEK, an alcohol solution loosens the epithelium, a thin layer of cells that covers the surface of the cornea. The epithelium is peeled back from the cornea and a laser reshapes your cornea to correct nearsightedness or farsightedness. The epithelium is placed back over the cornea. Learn more at http://www.geteyesmart.org.

INTACS are made of two semicircles of plastic that rest between the layers of tissue in the cornea. They cause the peripheral cornea to become more steep and the central cornea to flatten. This change in shape corrects nearsightedness by shifting the point at which light is focused on the retina. Learn more at http://www.geteyesmart.org.