Presbyopia Surgery: Decreasing Dependence on Reading Glasses One Eye at a Time

Eyes age and vision begins to worsen.  Even if you have had good vision your whole life you are not exempt from this rule.  For some people cataracts make the world look cloudy, and many unlucky elderly suffer vision loss, sometimes even resulting in blindness, as a result of macular degeneration.  But even if these age related maladies pass you over, you will develop presbyopia by the time you are 50; it happens to everyone.

Presbyopia is the name for the eye condition that causes people in middle age to be reliant upon reading glasses.  With age, the power of the eye begins to deteriorate, and focusing objects up close becomes more of a strain.  Some people embrace it as a sign of wisdom and maturity, and others try to disguise it, grasping desperately to what they perceive to be their fading youth, but with new advancements in eye surgery dependence on reading glasses does not have to be a reality.

Monovision

So what's the answer to the how to get rid of readers question?  Monovision.  No, not walking around like a pirate with one eye covered with a black patch.  Monovision is the term for the surgical correction of one eye to achieve enhanced vision up close.  Your good, or dominant eye is left alone or mildly corrected for distance vision, while your non-dominant eye is surgically corrected to focus objects up close, like the morning newspaper.  To perform this surgical enhancement, doctors typically use one of two procedures: LASIK, the famous name in eye surgery, or conductive keratoplasty (CK), one of vision corrections newest members, FDA approved for the treatment of presbyopia in 2004.

CK

Instead of using a laser, CK is performed with a small pen shaped instrument inserted into the cornea. This customized instrument emits and controls radiofrequency energy (RF) into the eye, producing heat that makes the cornea steeper. A treatment pattern is mapped out on the eye with eight to thirty-two treatment points. RF is then distributed to each point through the Keratoplast tip, changing the shape of the cornea. The result of this changes the way the cornea directs light to the rest of the eye.  The whole procedure takes about 3 to 5 minutes. The procedure is relatively painless, involves no cutting, and can be done in the doctor's office or clinic.

Patients experience no infections and no major surgical side effects, and about 10% of patients need additional treatment following surgery.

LASIK

Though CK is safe and effective, one of the drawbacks is that its effects only last 2-5 years, while monovision performed using LASIK lasts forever.  Some people opt for CK accepting that they will be back for touchups, but others accept the possible complications, including blurred or haloed vision, associated with LASIK in exchange for the convenience of a one-time correction.  With the advancements in customized technology, including the new Wavefront technology, eligible patients can receive better corrected vision with a slighter chance of side effects. 

As with all surgical procedures, there is a learning curve for surgeons.  Patients should look for a doctor that has experience with the particular procedure that they are having done.