Monovision

Monovision LASIK surgery corrects one eye for distance and the other eye for near vision, eliminating or reducing the need for patients, with presbyopia, to rely on glasses or contacts. Patients are able to retain their near and distance vision after LASIK surgery. If you are over the age of 40 and wear bifocals or reading glasses, monovision LASIK may be an option.

The ability to focus our eyes on objects at different distances, also known as accommodation, changes as we age. The lenses of our eyes lose their flexibility and begin to harden as a part of the natural aging process called presbyopia, making accommodation more difficult to achieve. People with symptoms of presbyopia often need bifocals or two different pairs of glasses; one for distance and the other for near vision. Patients who undergo conventional LASIK may still need glasses to correct for presbyopia after the procedure, because LASIK does not treat presbyopia — LASIK reshapes the cornea which does not affect the lens.

With conventional LASIK, both eyes are corrected for distance vision, leaving some patients in need of glasses for reading and other daily activities that require near vision. Monovision LASIK preserves near and distance vision without this need for corrective eyewear. The LASIK procedure optimizes one eye for distance sight and the other eye for near sight. With practice, patients are able to adjust their vision to accommodate between distances.