The Future of LASIK Surgery

New uses for LASIK are just around the corner. One advancement coming in the near future will be LASIK that will better correct for presbyopia. There are a few options currently for those with presbyopia as far as refractive surgery is concerned. The first is to correct distance vision with surgery and wear reading glasses for up close work. The other is to have monovision LASIK where one eye is corrected for distance and the other for near. The brain values the input more from one eye compared to the other based on where the patient is looking. This monovision approach can have the side effect of reducing depth perception, however.

Much like bifocals and trifocals have different "zones" of vision for distance, near and sometimes intermediate this new procedure will create different zones by reshaping the cornea. There are different schools of thought as to the best way of doing this. Some suggest that having distance vision in the center and near vision more towards the edge of the cornea is the way to go, while others like just the opposite approach. These separate zones are very similar to how presbyopic contact lenses work. A third option is to laser one eye with the different zones and laser the other eye just for distance, in a combination monovision/multifocal LASIK. The reasoning being that good distance vision is the most important component. It also allows for a third, intermediate focus distance that monovision doesn't have.

The risk of certain side effects and drawbacks are similar to most refractive surgeries. There is a risk that your vision might not be as good as it was before surgery when you used glasses or contacts. You might also experience halos and star like effects around lights. You may also have a reduced ability to distinguish objects when they are on a background of similar color and contrast. The surgery may be successful initially but you may need glasses again down the road. If you develop a cataract after having multifocal LASIK it may pose a greater challenge for the cataract surgeon to get the optimal correction with the implanted lens.

This type of surgery is already being performed in certain countries like Spain and France but is still under review by the FDA for effectiveness and safety. Hopefully it will be available in a few specialty clinics within the next few years. Pricing for this procedure has not been determined yet but expect to pay more than even wavefront LASIK due to the complexity of the surgery.