Monovision
Monovision is a refractive surgery technique specifically used for patients with presbyopia. Presbyopia is the loss of ability to focus on objects close up due to the normal aging process.
This is a condition that will begin to affect everyone as they enter their 40s. Once you start holding newspapers and books away from your face in order to read them properly, you will want to schedule an appointment with Cornea Consultants of Albany to confirm the onset of presbyopia so we can begin to correct the condition.
Contacts or glasses can correct presbyopia, but monovision surgery is able to fix presbyopia and eliminate the need to always be searching for your reading glasses. This technique uses a laser, similar to LASIK, to enable one eye to focus for close vision. Your other eye is left untreated or, if needed, treated to focus for distance vision. While monovision will reduce your need for glasses or contacts, reading glasses may still be useful for fine print. Even if you had LASIK or PRK as a young adult, you will still develop presbyopia as time passes and will need something corrective to be able to read comfortably. Monovision surgery could be the correction that fits best with your lifestyle.
It is important to discuss your lifestyle activities with your surgeon prior to making a decision. Before developing presbyopia, your eyes use binocular vision, which means that both of your eyes work together to see. With monovision, one of your eyes will be farsighted, and one of your eyes will be nearsighted. This will allow you to see well at a distance with one eye, and near distances with the other eye. The two eyes will work together to give you a clear image, but instead of having one dominant eye (which you have in binocular vision) each eye will be dominant in its respective distance. Initially, patients may find it a challenge to adjust to monovision because of the shift in how the brain uses their eyes to see. Your brain will adjust after six to eight weeks. Monovision may also not be a good choice for active individuals who play golf or tennis or drive a great deal at night. At Cornea Consultants of Albany, we will work with you to determine your best course of treatment for presbyopia and all other eye conditions and make sure we come up with a plan to meet your vision goals and lifestyle.
