Short sighted eye surgery

If you’re shortsighted, Laser Eye Surgery was made for you — literally.

One of the earliest laser procedures, PRK, was specifically developed to treat short-sightedness, also known as myopia.

But even long before PRK was introduced, surgeons were using Laser Eye Surgery to free people from poor near vision.

That’s because myopia is one of the most common and easiest to treat refractive errors. It occurs due to a combination of genetic and environmental factors disrupting the normal growth of the eye, leading it to become either too long or the curvature of the cornea too steep.

When this happens and light enters a myopic eye, it doesn’t focus directly on the retina, but rather at a point in front, causing objects at a distance to appear blurry and out of focus.

Myopia is believed to affect around every one in three people in the UK alone. It can be anything from too mild to notice to severe enough to be at risk of retinal detachment. Someone may be slightly myopic and not have a clue, while another person may be more or less blind beyond a few feet.

Fun fact: The rate of shortsightedness is rising along with our obsession with smartphones. Some experts are calling it a myopia epidemic and stating that all the time we spend looking at our phones is changing the shape and size of our eyes. 

The obvious solution for short-sightedness

Laser Eye Surgery Mr Glenn Carp explains how Laser Eye Surgery treats myopia.

As Mr Glenn Carp explains, by addressing the abnormalities in the shape of the eye and removing unnecessary tissue, Laser Eye Surgery returns the eye to its normal shape and corrects poor near vision. Exactly how it does this is by flattening the central portion of the cornea and shifting the focal point of light back just far enough so it lands on the right spot on the retina.

Today, Laser Eye Surgery can treat a wide range of other refractive errors and conditions — hyperopia or farsightedness, astigmatism, presbyopia. But patients with myopia are still the best candidates for Laser Eye Surgery, and therefore pretty much always achieve the best results. What’s more, with modern developments in technology, expertise, and techniques, outcomes for patients with short-sightedness have only improved.

Therefore, it’s safe to say, at least if you go to a high-quality clinic, that patients with myopia are more or less guaranteed a great outcome from Laser Eye Surgery. For instance, in a report of patients who had Laser Eye Surgery at the London Vision Clinic, 100 percent with myopia up to 9.00 dioptres achieved at least the UK driving standard of 20/32. And up to 95 percent of myopic patients with prescriptions up to -4.50 dioptres achieved 20/20 vision or better.

With such high success rates, other vision correction methods like glasses and contacts, what with their endless inconveniences and often serious health concerns, seem much less attractive options. Especially if you’re involved in sport. Or, for that matter, enjoy anything remotely active like jogging, hiking, camping, rolling around with the kids — pretty much life in general.

Find out if you’re a suitable candidate for Laser Eye Surgery or book a consultation today by contacting our Patient Care Coordinators.