I Need Bifocals. Can I Ever Have LASIK?

    /24-7PressRelease/ - August 21, 2008 - Never say never. Especially when it comes to the world of ophthalmology and laser vision correction. Technology and procedures are constantly being improved upon and this is just another example. For patients with bi- or trifocal needs, there are several options, including a new procedure known as multifocal LASIK that may just be the perfect solution.

Usually around the age of 40, the natural lens in our eyes will begin to stiffen and that's when we can start to develop presbyopia and the need for bifocals. Presbyopia is the term given to the change in your eyesight that makes it harder for you to see things clearly when they are up close.

One option for correcting the need for bifocals is called monovision LASIK. Everyone has a dominant eye that your brain favors for "sighting" (for right-handed people, it is usually their right eye). Contact lenses are frequently fitted using this dominance to produce monovision with your contacts. The dominant eye will be fit for distance vision and the other eye for near vision. Since your eyes work together, they will focus according to what is needed. Monovision LASIK is based on the same principle. One eye will corrected for distance vision and the other for near vision.

Another procedure known as LTK (laser thermal keratoplasty) can also be used. LTK employs mild laser heat to shrink the collagen in the periphery of the cornea. This causes the surface of the eye to steepen and corrects the presbyopia.

The concept behind multifocal LASIK is very similar to that of bi- and trifocal lenses themselves. Using a laser, your cornea is reshaped into different zones, or focal areas, so that light (and what you see) is refracted differently in each zone. Put your trifocals on and, while looking straight ahead, slowly move your head up and down, looking through each section of your lenses. See how each section magnifies or changes the look of what you see? The multifocal LASIK procedure does the same thing, except right on the cornea of your eye. It is truly an amazing concept. Currently, multifocal LASIK is in the final stages of formal investigative studies but is expected to be available in the not-too-distant future.

Never say never! Contact an experienced ophthalmologist and find out which LASIK procedure is right for you. You could be free of those nasty ol' bi- or trifocals in just a couple of weeks.

If you wear bifocals or trifocals and are considering LASIK in San Francisco, Oakland or San Jose, California, please visit the website of Laser Eye Center of Silicon Valley today.

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