Blended vision – A laser procedure for age-related long sight

There is no cure for presbyopia but a laser eye surgery procedure comes pretty close!

As we reach our forties, many of us develop a particular kind of long-sightedness called presbyopia. It is caused by a combination of a stiffening of the lens and a weakening of the eye muscles. You’ll know you’ve got it when you have to hold your newspaper at arm’s length to read – hardly an ideal situation on your morning commute. Maybe you’ve knocked over your glass of wine trying to get the menu in focus …although that’s not necessarily presbyopia! If you’ve already got reading glasses, you’ll know you’re forever trying to find them to read a menu or a text on your phone when you’re out and about – a solution that leaves a lot to be desired.

But help is at hand and alas it isn’t in the form of tablets!

Many people think that laser eye surgery isn’t suitable for this type of long-sightedness. This is not true. In a procedure called blended vision, we use the laser to adjust the focal point in each eye so that distance and near vision can be achieved.

The procedure

The first step in the blended vision procedure is a detailed pre-operative eye examination. We use this to find out which eye is dominant, as well as to establish your current prescription accurately so we can achieve the best results. This examination also simulates the procedure so it’s our opportunity to see if you are amongst the 80% of the population that can tolerate it. (Don’t worry if you can’t – an alternative technique called refractive lens exchange may be an option).

Then we use the laser to adjust your dominant eye (if needed) so it can see objects at distance. We adjust the non-dominant eye (usually the left) so it can see objects at close quarters. Your eyes then work together and you are able to see things both near and far.

If that sounds a bit much to get your head around, you’d be right. Your brain will take a short while to get used to the new way of seeing the world, but it soon adapts, and over time, you’ll forget that you’ve ever had anything done…

Laser Blended Vision has been the ideal solution for 80% of clients who’ve come to us with presbyopia. If you’d like to ditch your reading glasses, or just find out more about the procedure, get in touch.