Problems with visual acuity — a vision defect or something completely different?

A laser vision correction surgery is intended for people wearing glasses or con-tact lenses. Some of our patients, however, do not use any correction and blurred vision hinders their everyday functioning. Will laser vision correction prove to be a suitable treatment in this case and will it improve their visual acuity?

What can be corrected with laser vision correction?

Refractive errors:

• Myopia (short-sightedness) – blurred vision at long distances. The correction of this defect is expressed by minus values.
• Hyperopia (Far-sightedness) – blurred vision up close. Far-sighted people wear plus-value glasses or contact lenses. Far-sightedness may occur at any age and should not be confused with age-related presbyopia.
• Astigmatism – people with this vision defect have blurred vision at all distances and must wear cylindrical lenses. The contours of objects and people appear blurred to them. Astigmatism can be expressed in both plus and minus values. Additionally, it may occur in combination with myopia or hyperopia.

The working range of the Wavelight EX500 laser used in our clinic for laser vision correction procedures is -14 di-optres for myopia, +6 dioptres for hyperopia and 6 dioptres for astigmatism. However, it is not only the value of the defect that determines the positive qualification, but al-so the parameters of the cornea and the patient’s general health condition and the condition of the eyes.

In what cases laser vision correction does not improve vision?

Presbyopia
Presbyopia is a progressive physiological process which appears in everyone at the age of 40-45. It is related to a gradual loss of elasticity by the intraocular lens which in turn results in the deterio-ration of the close-range vision.

Laser vision correction reshapes the surface of the cornea and thus does not inter-fere with the eyeball. This is why it is not possible to permanently correct presbyopia with the use of laser.

Amblyopia
The cause of amblyopia may be any condition which impedes the development of bilateral visual acuity in childhood. Amblyopia is not easy to diag-nose and that is why an ophthalmologic examination is recommended in children at the age of 4-5.

In adult life amblyopia cannot be corrected with the use of glasses, contact lenses or laser vision correction.

Keratoconus
Keratoconus is a disease of the cor-nea, in which its central or paracentral part undergoes spontaneous, progressive thinning and bulging, eventually taking the shape of a cone. Vision deteriorates and its correction with the use of glasses or contact lenses does not bring desired re-sults.

A treatment which prevents further development of keratoconus is a cross-linking procedure. The method depends on the stage of the disease. If keratoconus is very advanced, the only solution is a more invasive procedure, such as INTACS (Intracorneal Ring Segments) implantation or even a cornea transplant.

Eye diseases
First and foremost cataract, glaucoma, or eye degenerations (e.g. macular degeneration) – dis-eases which negatively affect visual acuity. It is not possible to correct them with the use of glasses or contact lenses. A laser procedure will not bring permanent positive results since in the case of many diseases (e.g. glaucoma) vision will gradually dete-riorate anyway.

To accurately assess whether a laser vision correction procedure will bring the de-sired effects in your case, make an appointment for a preliminary qualifying examination, during which an ophthalmic surgeon will take measurements of all the parameters of your eyes and determine whether the problems with vision are caused by a vision defect or whether a differ-ent type of treatment should be implemented.

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