Presby
Lasik: Lasik for
Presbyopia
Presby
Lasik is actually a multifocal
Lasik. It is an experimental type of Lasik surgery for
presbyopes, which is still in the research stage. It aims to
provide customize procedure to suit individual’s needs.
Currently, it is only done to participants of a formal study
which investigate the safety and effectiveness of this
procedure.
The principle behind Presby
Lasik is identical to artificial multifocal lenses. This is
why it is also called multifocal Lasik. It is a type of
laser vision correction surgery that reshapes the cornea
surface to create different zones for near to far vision.
The procedure is like a regular Lasik ablation, except
different number of laser pulses would be used to sculpt the
cornea into different zones with different powers.
Since Presby Lasik is still
under research, various approaches are still being studied
to find out which reshaping method is the best. One of the
methods currently done is by reshaping the cornea’s center
for near vision and outer peripheral for distance vision.
This is a preferred method used for treating patients with
both hyperopia and presbyopia. For patients with both myopia
and presbyopia, different configurations are used. Near
vision correction might be provided either in center zone or
outer peripheral of cornea depend on different cases.
Another method is aspheric corrections method which will
create a cornea which is not perfectly round. It is believed
that this method will help in reducing vision distortion
problems.
Researchers found out that
Presby Lasik works best for people who are hyperopic.
However, this procedure is not suitable for those with
previous eye surgery and those with disease that will hinder
the healing of cornea, e.g. diabetes.
Some risks are involved in
this procedure. Patients with only presbyopia might
experience tendency towards blurred distance vision after
the procedure, and it may last forever. There is also a higher
risk of
developing reduced contrast sensitivity and experiencing
haloing effects at night. In the case of losing contrast sensitivity,
patients might face difficulty in distinguishing objects
against similar background colors. However, the good news is
this may be only temporary.
