Like many Cornea Specialists, I have a thriving general Ophthalmology practice.  I am always amazed when I see patients that had Laser Vision Correction done elsewhere when they were over the age of 40 and had both eyes corrected for distance vision only.  This effectively wiped out their near vision and made them completely dependent on reading glasses to see up close.  They basically traded one shortcoming for another.

The simple truth is that you do not have to lose your near vision with laser correction.  If you are nearsighted or myopic, you want to retain a little bit of your natural near vision so that you can still see a cell phone or read a memo after surgery.  Yes, you can have your cake and eat it, too.   A simple adjustment called Stereovision provides great distance vision while preserving near vision.  I won’t get into technical specifics, but I test this technique on everybody that could potentially lose their near vision and 90% of patients tolerate it well.  In fact, I perform laser surgery for many people with great distance vision to improve their near vision.

In summary, a customized approach to laser eye surgery is crucial to finding a balance that gives excellent distance vision while maintaining functional near vision, especially over the long term after surgery.