LASIK Surgery - How Long do Results Last?

    CHICAGO, IL, April 30, 2010 /24-7PressRelease/ -- When you have LASIK to correct your nearsightedness, farsightedness, or astigmatism, that correction lasts for your lifetime. The LASIK laser has changed the shape of your cornea below the surface, in the stable layer called the stroma, and that layer will retain the new shape indefinitely.

However, that does not mean that your vision will never change during your lifetime. There are many causes of defective vision besides the shape of the cornea. Best-known is the age-related condition called presbyopia, which starts in mid-life. If you have been noticing blurriness in book print and have been holding restaurant menus further away to see them clearly, and if you are aged 40 or more, you are noticing presbyopia.

Presbyopia for All
Presbyopia happens to everyone, whether they have had LASIK or not. It is not a problem with corneal shape, but a problem with the eye's lens. The lens is suspended by ligaments behind the colored iris and contributes a remarkable ability to our eyesight. It is called Accommodation.

The lens is spherical and curved front and back. Its curvature is controlled by two tiny muscles that encircle it called the ciliary muscles. Without our having to consciously do anything, these muscles contract or relax when we switch focus from near to intermediate to far and back again. They change the lens curvature, making it steeper for close vision and flatter for distance vision. They accommodate the lens to our vision needs.

The causes of presbyopia are not fully understood, but the currently accepted theory is that time makes the lens stiffer. It gradually becomes less able to be steeply curved for near vision, and this makes reading glasses necessary. Another theory suggests that it is the ciliary muscles becoming weaker with age that causes presbyopia.

Whatever the cause, there are several possible treatments for presbyopia and one is Monovision LASIK. One eye is corrected for near vision and the other eye is left as it is for far vision. The brain learns to adjust to this different delivery of data at its vision center. Treatment may need to be repeated as presbyopia progresses.

Eye Diseases Affecting Sight
The retina can also deteriorate as we age. In the center of the retina is a small area called the macula which gives us our central, direct sight that we use for reading or other close focusing. In Age-Related Macular Degeneration (ARMD), the macula loses some of its light-sensitive cells and central vision dims.

Conversely, there is glaucoma, a problem of damage to the optic nerve. Part of the optic nerve is damaged where it leaves the retina, so that less vision information reaches the brain and we gradually lose peripheral vision. In most cases, this damage is related to the eye's internal pressure, which becomes too high. Glaucoma cannot be cured, but it can be managed by use of specific eyedrops. Untreated, glaucoma will cause blindness.

Cataracts will also cause blindness if left untreated. They are a lens problem, where the lens becomes clouded, losing its transparency so that some light is blocked from reaching the retina. Cataracts are treated by removing the lens and replacing it with an artificial lens. There is also Diabetic Retinopathy, where the retina can be detached from its blood supply and cause blindness. There are Keratoconus, Adult Strabismus, Dry Eye Syndrome, and many others.

In short, eyesight can be impaired in many ways as we age, regardless of whether we have had LASIK. But LASIK permanently relieves you of myopia, hyperopia, and astigmatism, which gives you clear vision at least until mid-life. If you are a good LASIK candidate, it would be well worth your while to talk to a good eye surgeon. And if you eat well and control your weight, you may have a better chance of keeping good eye health throughout life.

If you are in the Chicago, Illinois area, you can schedule a free consultation with Dr. Mark Golden at Doctors For Visual Freedom (www.doctorsforvisualfreedom.com) and learn more about your vision and how it might be improved.

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