What is laser eye surgery?
The cornea at the front of the eye holds the greatest focusing ability of the eye. In people who require glasses or contact lenses, the cornea can be reshaped to improve its focusing ability and remove the need for corrective eyewear. Laser eye surgery uses a cool beam “Excimer” laser to gently reshape the cornea with the entire procedure taking only a matter of minutes to complete.
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Myopia (short-sightedness) |
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| When light enters the normal eye, it is focused at a single point on the retina, located at the back of the eye. The cornea (the clear portion at the front of the eye) and the lens inside the eye bend or “refract” the light rays so that they focus at the correct point | With myopia the eye is longer than normal so that light is focused in front of the retina and distant objects appear blurred. | |
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Hyperopia (long-sightedness) |
Astigmatism |
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| With hyperopia the eye is shorter than normal, so that light is focused behind the retina. The image on the retina is blurred. | Astigmatism is a condition where the cornea is shaped like a rugby ball (oval) rather than a football (round). This causes light rays to focus at different points. This can cause difficulty with near and/or distance vision. | |
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Presbyopia |
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| In young people the lens in the eye is soft and elastic and can easily focus on near and distant objects. After the age of 40, the lens becomes more rigid and cannot change shape as easily as it once did. It is more difficult to read at close range. This condition is called presbyopia and it can occur in people who already have myopia, hyperopia or astigmatism. | ||
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