Can adjustments be made years after Laser Eye Surgery to further correct vision?
It’s a common question concerning Laser Eye Surgery that can be answered very simply. Yes, adjustments can be made years after. However, it usually spurs up many other more critical questions in the process: So are the effects only temporary? Could the procedure itself make my eyesight worse? What are the chances I’ll need an adjustment?
You’re probably aware that Laser Eye Surgery is a little bit different from other forms of vision correction. Glasses and contact lenses are all used as ways to alter your eyesight without actually having to change it. Effectively, they help manage the problem rather solve it—just like strapping up your knee before running, or having a cigarette when you’re feeling stressed.
Laser Eye Surgery on the other hand takes a more problem solving approach, adjusting the natural lens of the eye and correcting any errors that may exist. It pins down why you have that bad knee, or what is causing you to feel so stressed, and addresses it at the source.
When you attack the source of the problem, you can expect to have much longer lasting results. But just like in the examples given above, things aren’t always plain sailing. You may have thought you’d managed your stress levels, or fixed your dodgy knee for good, but the body often has other ideas. Let’s take a look at the those three aforementioned questions and find out exactly what happens to your eyesight following Laser Eye Surgery.
So are the effects only temporary?
It’s a common misconception of Laser Eye Surgery that the effects are not permanent. The confusion is certainly justified, but the reality is the effects are permanent.
With millions of surgeries having been performed over the past 20 years, long-term studies have proven that once the cornea is adjusted, the changes are lasting and stable. The problem is as we age, the eye grows older and deteriorates along with other organs of the body, resulting in what is know as presbyopia or ‘ageing eyes’.
Presbyopia affects us all, setting in anywhere between the ages of 45-65. We start to notice it around middle age when we become less able to adjust our vision between short and long distances. There is a few things happening here: the lens of the eye is gradually stiffening, and the muscles that adjust focus are becoming weaker.
As presbyopia is a natural effect of ageing, it’s unavoidable. However, contrary to what many clinics may tell you, it is treatable with Laser Eye Surgery. See it for yourself and read more about our revolutionary presbyopia treatment ‘PRESBYOND® Laser Blended Vision’.
Could the procedure itself make my eyesight worse?
In the hands of experts using today’s technology, the chances of complications occurring or leaving the clinic with poorer vision than when you walked in is extremely low.
For those who haven’t previously worn glasses or contacts in the past, there is virtually no chance your vision after Laser Eye Surgery will be worse than before. For those who have a glasses prescription, the chances of your visual acuity being reduced by even a minute degree is around 1 in 1,000.
What are the chances of needing an adjustment?
The good news is, the majority of patients don’t require an adjustment surgery after they’ve had Laser Eye Surgery. However, they’re two factors that could influence your eyesight following surgery: your original prescription, and presbyopia.
Generally speaking, the higher your original prescription, the greater the likelihood of needing an enhancement procedure. This is due to subtle drifts in refraction that occur as a natural part of the eye’s healing process. But overall, the enhancement rate is very low—around 5% for short-sighted patients and 8% for long-sighted patients.
A good clinic, if they believe you have the potential to improve your vision further—for example from 20/20 to 20/16 vision—will offer a complimentary enhancement procedure to do so.
If you would like to book a consultation at London Vision Clinic, or find out more about LASIK and LASIK enhancement procedures, leave us a comment or give us a call us on 020 7224 1005.
