Clearview Eye and Laser Medical Center
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Monovision LASIK
Even if you undergo LASIK or PRK (photorefractive keraterctomy) as a young person and achieve 20/20 vision, you will still develop a condition called presbyopia usually between the ages of 40 and 50. Presbyopia is the inability of the eye to focus at all distances and is usually noticed when fine prints begin blur.
Doctors often disagree about what is the cause of presbyopia, but most believe that stiffening of the eye's lens contributes to the condition. Others believe that presbyopia could also be associated with continued growth of the lens or atrophy of the muscles controlling the lens. In the past, the remedy for presbyopia was to wear reading glasses or bifocal lenses. In modern times, however, surgical remedies for this condition are available for qualified patients.
Monovision to Treat Presbyopia
One of the first effective surgical options for presbyopia correction involved producing what is known as "monovision" during LASIK. One way that eye care professionals treat presbyopia is by producing monovision. Normally, both of our eyes work together equally when we look at an object, to produce what is called binocular vision. However, most of us have a dominant eye that our brain tends to favor.
Contact lens fitters take advantage of this one-eye dominance to produce monovision with the contact: they fit one eye for distance vision (the dominant eye) and one for near vision. In monovision, one eye does more work than the other one. If one of our eyes is set for distance vision and the other is set for near vision, the distance eye will do most of the work when looking at objects in the distance, and the near vision eye will do most of the work when looking at objects close by.
LASIK surgeons will sometimes produce monovision in their presbyopic patients by purposely leaving the non-dominant eye slightly near-sighted so that they can see up close without glasses (out of one eye). Many, however, are wary of this technique because not everyone can become used to the absence of binocular vision. It is suggested to try monovision with contact lenses or trial lenses in the doctor's office first to be sure you can adapt.
FDA Approval
Monovision LASIK initially was used off label, meaning that it had not yet received official Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval as an approach to correcting presbyopia. In July 2007, the FDA announced approval of the Advanced Medical Optics (AMO) and Visx CustomVue excimer laser for performing the monovision procedure. The FDA has asked AMO and Visx to conduct a six-month study evaluating visual outcome and quality-of-life issues for 500 individuals who have undergone monovision LASIK.
Please contact Clearview Eye and Medical Laser Center in San Diego today to get started on a clearer, more vivid path in life!
Doctors often disagree about what is the cause of presbyopia, but most believe that stiffening of the eye's lens contributes to the condition. Others believe that presbyopia could also be associated with continued growth of the lens or atrophy of the muscles controlling the lens. In the past, the remedy for presbyopia was to wear reading glasses or bifocal lenses. In modern times, however, surgical remedies for this condition are available for qualified patients.
Monovision to Treat Presbyopia
One of the first effective surgical options for presbyopia correction involved producing what is known as "monovision" during LASIK. One way that eye care professionals treat presbyopia is by producing monovision. Normally, both of our eyes work together equally when we look at an object, to produce what is called binocular vision. However, most of us have a dominant eye that our brain tends to favor.
Contact lens fitters take advantage of this one-eye dominance to produce monovision with the contact: they fit one eye for distance vision (the dominant eye) and one for near vision. In monovision, one eye does more work than the other one. If one of our eyes is set for distance vision and the other is set for near vision, the distance eye will do most of the work when looking at objects in the distance, and the near vision eye will do most of the work when looking at objects close by.
LASIK surgeons will sometimes produce monovision in their presbyopic patients by purposely leaving the non-dominant eye slightly near-sighted so that they can see up close without glasses (out of one eye). Many, however, are wary of this technique because not everyone can become used to the absence of binocular vision. It is suggested to try monovision with contact lenses or trial lenses in the doctor's office first to be sure you can adapt.
FDA Approval
Monovision LASIK initially was used off label, meaning that it had not yet received official Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval as an approach to correcting presbyopia. In July 2007, the FDA announced approval of the Advanced Medical Optics (AMO) and Visx CustomVue excimer laser for performing the monovision procedure. The FDA has asked AMO and Visx to conduct a six-month study evaluating visual outcome and quality-of-life issues for 500 individuals who have undergone monovision LASIK.
Please contact Clearview Eye and Medical Laser Center in San Diego today to get started on a clearer, more vivid path in life!
posted by Lynn at 5:49 AM
858.452.3937
::
Sandy T. Feldman, M.D., M.S. :: ClearView Eye and Laser Medical Center
6255 Lusk Blvd., Suite 100 :: San Diego, California 92121
“She’s the Surgeon to See”
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