I am 47 years old and have been using glasses for my distance vision and now a bifocal when I do computer work, read books, and do “close up” work. Is there a refractive surgery to fix my vision so that I do not have to wear glasses at all? The answer to your question is yes and no. Yes, because the LASIK and PRK procedures can focus both eyes at near however, you would still need glasses to focus at distance. Generally, refractive surgery either improves a patient’s distance vision or their near vision, but usually not both. Typically, patients will chose to focus both eyes at distance and wear glasses to focus for near activities such as reading the newspaper and computer use. If a patient wants to achieve focus at near and far without relying on reading glasses then they must consider an alternative procedure available to them where the LASIK or PRK surgery can treat your dominant eye to focus at distance for you and your non-dominant eye to focus at near. This procedure is what we call Mono-vision LASIK or PRK. This option is best for patients who are willing to try or have tried this mono-vision simulation with contact lenses for a week or longer to determine if they can adapt to mono-vision. If you like the mono-vision simulation then having a mono-vision refractive surgery procedure to achieve focusing ability at distance and near is a great option. Producing mono-vision is one way that your refractive surgeon can help you deal with presbyopia.
