The normal eye
This drawing is an inside view of the eye of a person with normal vision.

Myopia or "nearsightedness"
Myopia is a hereditary condition in which the eye is either longer than it should be, or the cornea has too much curvature. People with myopia can usually read without glasses, but they cannot see far away without glasses or contact lenses.

Here is the flower seen by a person with myopia...

Astigmatism - uneven cornea
Light entering the eye is distorted by the lack of sphericity, causing blurry images and ghost images. Astigmatism is often combined with myopia or hyperopia.

The flower, as seen by a person with astigmatism. People with astigmatism see ghost images or double images without their glasses on. In this condition, the cornea is not spherical, but is shaped more like a football or teaspoon.

Presbyopia is age-related loss of reading vision. As people age they begin to lose the ability to focus on things up close unless they have their glasses on. There is no reliable surgical method to correct this problem. But sometimes we leave one eye slightly near-sighted after surgery. This is called "monovision" -- where one eye focuses at distance and one eye focuses up close. Surprisingly, many people love this because they don't have to wear reading glasses.

Hyperopia or "Farsightedness"
"Farsightedness" occurs when the eye is either too short or the cornea doesn't have enough curvature and light comes into focus behind the retina. Young people with farsightedness can usually see pretty well, but as they get older, they lose their ability to focus up close and also far away.

If you have further questions about LASIK, Dr. Denman's staff will be glad to answer your questions by email or phone.

Read about LaserVision correction of myopia and astigmatism...