Explore your vision correction options
Thirty years ago, people with not-so-perfect vision had only a couple of options to fix it—basically eyeglasses or contact lenses, many of which weren’t so comfortable.
Flash forward to today, and the options for seeing the world in 20/20—or better—have multiplied dramatically. Contact lenses are more comfortable than ever and some can even can reshape the eye and permanently improve vision.
The technology behind LASIK surgery has evolved, allowing more people to get the procedure and with better results.
Dr. Randall Fuerst, a Sacramento, Calif.,-based optometrist and former chairman of the American Optometric Association’s Cornea and Contact Lens section, says that in the early days of vision-correction surgery—the late 1990s—people were happy to have their vision improved only slightly. Now, the possibilities are far more substantial.
“As the technology has gotten better, expectations have gotten higher,” he says.
Reshape Your Vision
People who want to avoid surgery may try a process called orthokeratology, or Ortho-K, which uses special rigid contacts to reshape the eyes in people with mild to moderate nearsightedness.
The lenses are worn every night for a couple of weeks, gradually reshaping the cornea to reduce the nearsightedness effect. The treatment works best for people under age 40, and requires the person to wear the contacts every night or every other night to maintain the effect.
Ortho-K isn’t usually covered by insurance, but it is less expensive than surgery: usually between $1,000 to $2,000, plus costs for replacement lenses for long-term maintenance.
Laser Focus
LASIK is one of the most well known options for making lasting improvements to your vision.
The procedure uses lasers to cut a microscopic flap in the cornea, resurface it to improve vision, and then essentially resew the tiny tear. It’s an improved version of the first form of corrective surgery, photorefractive keratectomy or PRK, which was first performed in 1988.
The LASIK procedure was approved in the U.S. in 1999, and within a few years it was the most common elective surgical procedure in the world. But because it comes with a considerable cost—often more than $2,000 per eye—and isn’t typically covered by insurance, the surgery’s popularity waned during the Great Recession.
But while the numbers dropped off, the procedure, its technology and outcomes have improved. Fuerst says optometrists are reducing the risk of complications by ensuring that contact lens-wearing patients don’t wear their contacts for weeks before the procedure, so that their use doesn’t interfere with the shape of the cornea.
He says optometrists have also learned how to ensure that younger LASIK patients will retain their improved vision as their eyes change with age and avoid the typical need for bifocals and other additional vision correction. The laser “blades” used for the surgery are more precise, and optometrists can do more to track exact movement of the eye.
“What’s on the horizon is even better: highly computerized tracking systems and lasering, so you can really refine it to get the best possible results,” Fuerst says.