Is Lasik safe and does it work?

Will lasik work if I need glasses for near-sightedness and reading?

• Answer:

  From this question, it seems that you are probably over 40 years old and you are currently in bifocals for near vision with nearsighted correction for distance on the top part of your glasses. We see many patients with this situation and LASIK can work for you, and here is how. First of all, the LASIK can correct the vision for the distance vision assuming that you are otherwise a candidate for this procedure. It can correct fairly large amounts of nearsightedness as well as astigmatism. This solves your distance vision issue, but not the near vision. For near vision you would have a choice of either getting some "over the counter" type reading glasses, or you could have one eye purposely undercorrected for monovision. In monovision one eye is focused for distance whereas the other for near. Many have worn contact lenses with this configuration successfully and it works for a lot of people with LASIK but a word of caution. Not everyone like monovision. It can reduce the depth perception, and for people who critically need sharp distance vision may not be ideal. You should try this with simulation by contact lenses or glasses before making this a permanent change. The other option is to have what is known as modified monovision, and here the one eye is left less nearsighted which makes this an easier transition. The downside is that you would still need some glasses for reading smaller print. Your doctor can review these different options with you and help you to pick out which if any type of monovision would work for you. We see many patients over the age of 40 who are extremely happy with their LASIK correction. Many do not mind reading glasses alone, and some are pleased with monovision. It really depends on how nearsighted you are to begin with. In general if you are very dependent on glasses, you will appreciate this, but if you can take your glasses off and read well, you might not be a good candidate.