There was once a time, when LASIK surgery was new, that the procedure was performed on one eye at a time. Though this has changed, many people still question if they can get LASIK in only one eye.
How Your Eyes Function
Clear vision in your eyes involves the cornea and lens refracting or bending light rays to focus them on the retina in the rear of the eye. The retina sends the light rays to the brain in the form of impulses for the brain to interrupt them as being images. When the light rays are not focusing on the retina, it causes blurry vision or a refractive error. LASIK corrects this inaccuracy to provide a clear vision.
Any part of the eye that is not perfectly shaped, such as the cornea, lens, or eyeball can cause refractive errors and make your vision blurry. The result is a difference between the curvature of the cornea and the length of an eye. This may occur in only one eye, while the other eye has a near-perfect vision, or it can happen in both eyes in different manners.
Reasons Why You Could Get LASIK in One Eye
In most cases, LASIK is performed on both eyes at the same time. However, there may be situations in which LASIK is needed for only one eye or the patient requests that each eye receives treatment on separate days.
- Visual Disorders Affecting Only One Eye
The primary reason LASIK may perform on a single eye is due to refractive errors, particularly anisometropia (lazy eye). Refractive errors can be caused by several conditions in an eye that can be corrected by LASIK procedures; you may be nearsighted, farsighted, and experience astigmatism in only one eye. Another visual disorder is Presbyopia. An age-related eye condition, presbyopia affects one’s ability to see due to seeing up-close, and their vision is blurred. Presbyopia is usually treated with eyeglasses or contact lenses until LASIK surgery is sought via Monovision.
- Patient’s Request
Occasionally a patient may request that have LASIK performed on one eye at a time, usually opting to have surgery on their “bad” eye. The reason being is that they would like to see the benefits of LASIK before getting their other eye treated. Some even believe that this is a safe method.
Verdict: Is It Recommended That I Get LASIK in One Eye?
Though there are special circumstances for one-eye LASIK surgery, there’s no clear-cut answer on if you should get LASIK performed on one eye or one eye at a time.
The best solution is the seek the expertise of an experienced LASIK surgeon. To find out if one-eye LASIK surgery is the best option for your vision problems, schedule a free consultation online or contact LASIK of Nevada today at 1.888.498.2020.