Refractive Surgery (Vision Correction Surgery)

If your vision is less than perfect, you may wear glasses or contact lenses to help you see more clearly. But for many people, vision correction (refractive) surgery is an option, too. Refractive surgery adjusts where light focuses in the back of your eye so it more precisely hits your retina.

Refractive eye surgery can permanently improve your eyesight and decrease your dependence on glasses or contacts. You may still need to wear corrective lenses at times, for example when driving at night or reading small print if over the age of 40.

What Are the Types of Refractive Surgery?

There are many types of refractive surgery. Some involve reshaping the cornea — the clear dome in the front of the eye. Other methods involve implanting a lens (much like a contact lens) in the eye. Your eye doctor will discuss which type of eye surgery, laser or non-laser, is best to correct your vision. 

Laser eye surgery types

• LASIK (laser in situ keratomileusis). The most common laser eye surgery, LASIK changes the way light rays focus on the retina. Doctors use a laser to create a flap in the front of the cornea. They then lift the flap and sculpt the underlying cornea to change its curvature. They use LASIK to correct nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism.
• PRK (photorefractive keratectomy). The doctor uses eye drops to numb your eyes and then removes the surface layer of the cornea. This layer grows back after a few days. They use a laser to reshape the front of the cornea to correct mild to moderate nearsightedness, farsightedness, or astigmatism. Doctors sometimes advise PRK instead of LASIK if you have thin corneas.

Non-laser eye surgery types

• Implantable Collamer® lens (ICL) surgery. The surgeon will insert a very thin and flexible collamer lens (like a contact lens) under the iris. This helps focus the light on the retina correctly to treat moderate to high degrees of nearsightedness and astigmatism. Surgeons prefer to use this technique in people with dry eyes and thin corneas.

What Eye Conditions Can Refractive Surgery Help Correct?

It can help correct:

• Astigmatism. A condition in which the surface of the cornea has different curvatures (similar to a football). It causes blurry vision or ghosting.
• Farsightedness. A condition when the length of the eye is too short for the optical power. Light focuses behind the retina instead of on it. This makes it hard to see things at a distance and up close.
• Nearsightedness. A condition when the length of the eye is too long for the optical power. It causes far-away objects to look blurry. It happens when light focuses in front of the retina instead of on it.
• Presbyopia. A normal part of the aging process, it happens when the lens hardens and becomes less flexible. It causes near objects to appear blurry. Presbyopia is common after age 45 and results in the need for reading glasses.