Most people know someone who has had LASIK in Miami – friends and family members who once wore glasses or contacts and now live every day with clear vision. If you have blurry vision, you may wonder if LASIK could also help you achieve 20/20 vision or better. The answer depends on your eye health and the underlying cause of your blurry eyesight. Dr. Harish Raja is the LASIK expert at MedEye Associates who can assess your vision and tell you for sure. 

What Does LASIK Correct?

LASIK is performed to correct blurry vision caused by a refractive error. That’s the medical term for an irregular shape of the cornea (the outside layer of your eye). The natural shape and curve of your cornea and eye dictates how clearly you see. If your cornea is too steep or flat – or your eye is too long or short – you will end up with blurry vision at near, far or all distances. This is because the cornea is not allowing light to properly bend (refract) and focus on the retina (the back of the eye).

If you have worn glasses or contacts since you were young, you probably have one or a combination of one of these refractive errors:

• Myopia (nearsightedness): blurry distance vision, clear up-close vision – caused by a steep cornea or longer eye so light focuses in front of the retina
• Hyperopia (farsightedness): blurry up-close vision, clear distance vision – caused by a flatter cornea or a shorter eye so light focuses behind the retina
• Astigmatism: blurry vision at all distances – caused by an oval shaped cornea, rather than a round shape

Glasses and contacts work by bending light so it will focus on the back of your retina. While these vision aids work very well, they can become a nuisance – not to mention expensive – to maintain. Your prescription can change over time, requiring you to purchase new glasses regularly. And if you prefer to wear contacts, they must constantly be replaced, cleaned and properly stored.

A Permanent Solution: LASIK

In contrast, LASIK is performed to permanently alter the shape of the cornea using laser technology. So rather than using external methods to provide clear vision, Dr. Raja uses advanced laser technology to remove a very tiny, ultra-precise amount of corneal tissue to create the ideal corneal shape so light entering your eye will focus more precisely on the retina.

A Different Condition as You Age: Presbyopia

The condition of presbyopia (the need for reading glasses or bifocals) is not a refractive error. By age 40, many people start to develop what they might think is farsightedness because they need glasses to read things up-close. Presbyopia is actually the stiffening of the eye lens that occurs naturally over time – even to people who have had 20/20 vision their whole lives. As the lenses become less flexible, it becomes harder to focus on images like text messages, restaurant menus, medicine labels and more without some type of magnifier.

Because LASIK is performed to change the shape of the cornea – as opposed to altering the eye lens – this procedure cannot correct presbyopia. However, there is a way to use LASIK to help achieve a full range of vision. Using monovision LASIK, Dr. Raja may be able to correct one of your eyes to achieve clear vision distance and correct your other eye to achieve clear up-close vision. The two eyes then work together so you can see clearly at all distances. If you don’t want to wear reading glasses or bifocals to see restaurant menus, text messages, labels, etc., this may be an effective option.

A Full Evaluation is Necessary

While LASIK can help many people achieve clear vision, it is not recommended for everyone. In fact, you can have a very similar eyeglass prescription as someone else who has had a successful LASIK procedure but later find out that you do not qualify for the procedure. This is because Dr. Raja assesses your entire eye health and vision characteristics to ensure this will be a safe and potentially successful method of vision correction for you. He will check the thickness of your cornea, your prescription, the severity of your refractive error and also check for any signs of eye disease.

If you want to enjoy all that Miami has to offer – without the constraints of glasses or contacts – contact us today to schedule a free LASIK Consultation with Dr. Raja. As a highly qualified and successful LASIK doctor in Miami, Dr. Raja will perform a comprehensive exam, explain his findings and discuss your options for vision improvement.

We can also discuss ways to make LASIK fit into your budget with CareCredit® financing. If you qualify, you could have LASIK with no money down and pay the procedure off over time with 0% interest financing for up to 36 months.