What Is Astigmatism?

The use of Lasik surgery in treating astigmatism is extremely beneficial in most cases. Astigmatism is one of the more common problems people suffer with their vision.

Astigmatism can be an issue for people with both far and nearsightedness. In essence, it can be caused by an non-conforming cornea where the shape may be regarded as irregular and likewise, an irregular lens.

Signs of astigmatism include blurred vision, headaches and even straining of the eyes. Despite these symptoms, it's often not picked up by people suffering it and many simply assume they need eye wear. This can be true but astigmatism lasik surgery is now becoming more and more of an option.

Astigmatism Lasik Surgery

The fact the cornea is more of an oblong shape rather than a rounded shape means the person with it will have trouble distinguishing vertical, horizontal and diagonal lines. Lasik surgery is an ideal treatment of astigmatism in treating the areas of blurry vision.

The shape of the cornea will give a clue to whether someone has nearsightedness, farsightedness or astigmatism. Astigmatism lasik surgery can help rectify the problem of astigmatism as it will eliminate the need to have glasses or contact lenses and is a painless procedure that only takes ten to twenty minutes to do.

The aim of astigmatism lasik surgery is to correct the role of the eye in refracting and focusing light. Lasik is an extremely accurate treatment, particularly in the hands of a very skilled and experienced surgeon who is able to re-shape the cornea.

The procedure involves the surgeon lifting the thin layer of the cornea with an instrument called a microkeratome that glides across the cornea. Then, taking less than one minute, cool and ultraviolet laser pulses emanating from the excimer laser will help to reform the internal cornea with accuracy levels of up to 0.25 microns.

Through the adjustment of the pattern of the laser beam with the help of a computer, it becomes possible to treat high levels of astigmatism and after reshaping of the tissue, the flap gets put back in its original position and due to the cornea’s natural Velcro-like bonding qualities, the process of healing is very quick and also may not require any stitches.

The procedure is usually quick in terms of surgical procedures and can take anything from 20-30 minutes to perform. There is always a risk of complication but it's considered extremely minor. Some discomfort may be present for the patient following the astigmatism lasik surgery.