Common Vision Problems

There are four main types of visual problems:

	Myopia (nearsightedness) occurs when the cornea is too steeply curved or the eye is too long. This causes the light rays to focus in front of the retina, resulting in blurred vision. In November 1995,the FDA approved the use of the Excimer Laser to treat Myopia.
	Hyperopia (farsightedness) occurs when the cornea is too flat or the eye is too short. Light entering the eye focuses behind the retina resulting in blurred or distorted vision. The FDA approved the use of the Excimer Laser to treat Hyperopia in 1998.
	Astigmatism occurs in nearly one-third of all nearsighted patients. The normal cornea is round like a basketball. People with astigmatism have corneas shaped more like a football. The result is multiple focal points causing distortion in vision. In April 1997, the FDA approved the use of the Excimer Laser to treat certain parameters of astigmatism with nearsightedness and in October 2000 it was approved to treat astigmatism with farsightedness.

Presbyopia is a natural aging process in which the lens of the eye loses its ability to accommodate on objects up close. As a result, many people need reading glasses or bifocal lenses beginning in their mid-forties. Some presbyopic patients are candidates for a LASIK procedure called Monovision, where one eye is corrected for clear distance vision and the other eye is under-corrected or not corrected at all for clear reading vision. Your eyes will have to accommodate for near or far objects depending upon the activity at that time.

Our Goal For You
Normal Vision: The eye functions on the same principle as a camera. Everything you see reflects light into your eyes. The light enters the eye through the clear, dome-shaped cornea, passes through the pupil and through the lens of the eye. The lens projects it as a clear image onto the retina.