Today I had a patient who does not need glasses except for reading. She is 54 years old. She asked if LASIK could help. LASIK is a laser vision treatment which uses a laser to change the shape of the cornea.
LASIK is not a perfect solution for every problem. People who can see fine at distance but not at close can sometimes be helped by LASIK.
I suggested to this LASIK patient that she try a contact lens in one eye in a technique known as monovision. One eye is used for seeing distance (in this case her left eye). The other eye is used for reading (her right eye). In most cases, the person can adjust to the fact that the eyes are used at different distances and the vision appear clear at a range of distances.
This patient immediately enjoyed the vision and was pleased that she could read well. The eye focused at near did not bother her distance vision and the eye focused at distance did not bother her near vision. She really liked it.
Because monovision can bother some patients, it is often good to try it with contact lenses before having a permanent correction by LASIK.
