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eLearning Series:
Lasik Eye Surgery Questions & Answers
( 50 articles
in this series )
Lasik
Surgery Option: What’s Monovision?
Monovision is an option for some people who are considering
Lasik surgery; Monovision refers to the use of one
eye for distance viewing and the other eye near vision. This procedure
has been used with a good degree of success for over 20 years;
the Lasik surgeon will 'correct your strongest eye for distance
vision and your weakest eye for near vision.
A
major factor in the Lasik surgeon's decision to recommend
the Monovision option is your age. At approximately age 40
your eyes' ability to change focus from far to near starts
to deteriorate; this condition, the loss of focusing ability,
is called 'presbyopia.' Performing Lasik on both eyes of a
person over 40, to allow them excellent far vision in both
eyes will, in most cases, mean that the patient with some degree
of presbyopia will need reading glasses for clear close vision.
Not
a “blurry” life. This procedure may seem, at first, like
it will create a very blurry, confused vision problem that
causes you to go through life with one eye open and one eye
closed at all times but it's not like that at all. The vision
part of our brain tends to compensate for Monovision by 'filtering
out' the image from the eye that is not in clear focus. In
other words, if your left eye is your distance eye and your
right eye is your near eye, when you are sitting reading a
book, your brain will ignore the unfocused image from your
left eye.
Two important things to remember are:
- The ability to change focus only goes from far to near, i.e.
if your eye is corrected for near vision it cannot change focus
to clearly see distant objects where, conversely, if your eye
is correct to see clearly at a distance it CAN, if presbyopia
is not a factor, focus from far to near.
- The brain adjusts to ignore the out-of-focus eye and should
fully adjust to Monovision within 6-8 weeks.
Monovision
considerations. Most Lasik surgeons will not recommend
Monovision if you are under the age of 35 because, at that
age your eye should still be able to shift focus and should
be able to do that for a number of years. Another factor is
that, by the time you might benefit from Monovision, there
might be a much better treatment for presbyopia.
The
most serious consideration when considering Monovision
is the resulting loss of depth perception. Driving a car with
one eye closed can cause severe anxiety until and unless you
are accustomed to driving with just one eye -- that is, in
effect, the effect of Monovision. Your brain will be ignoring
one eye or the other, as it is being trained to do.
What
to do? It would appear that the best course of action
for someone who is unsure about or scared of the Monovision
option would be to get both eyes corrected for the best possible
distance vision and then plan to use reading glasses for up-close
work. If, however, you want to “try” Monovision to see if it
works for you and then decide you don't like it, there is a
Lasik procedure that can “enhance” the near eye so that it
matches the far eye which, again, leaves you with the reading
glasses option.
Glasses
in your future? If you do not have presbyopia now
you probably will as you and your eyes get older; if you have
it now it will get worse. Lasik distance vision correction
in both eyes will not, except in a few cases, prevent the patient
from “ever” wearing glasses. The benefit of having the Monovision
procedure is that you are unlikely to have a need for glasses
for up close work or reading as you get older.
The
contact lens option. If you are not completely against
contact lenses and want a non-surgical option, contact lenses
can be prescribed for you by your optometrist that will allow
you to try Monovision. Just like with the Lasik option, it
will take some time to get your brain to adjust to Monovision
and, additionally, you will need to adjust to using contacts
if you have never tried them.
Results. A survey of Lasik patients with the Monovision correction
has determined that approximately 85% of the patients liked
Monovision enough to keep it for the long term. The other 15%
were uncomfortable enough with the procedure or were unable
to adjust to it and decided to give it up in favor of having
the near eye adjusted to match the far eye.
Still
another option. If you choose the Lasik Monovision option
and find certain activities to be problematic, you can get
a contact lens fitted into one eye (usually the near eye) to
have it match the other eye.
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SolveYourProblem.com
: 2006
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