LASIK Corrects Myopia | What is Nearsightedness?

Myopia is being short sighted. Far away object seems blurry. Detailed anatomy of the eye.

Patients with myopia, often choose LASIK to correct their nearsightedness.  What is myopia?

Nearsighted (aka myopic) individuals can not focus light when looking at distance.  The image of these distance objects are focused in front of the retina.  Nearsighted individuals, however, do have a natural focal point where “near” objects are focused naturally on the surface of the retina.

Hence, myopic patients are nearsighted (able to see near) and not nearsightless.

With glasses, contact lenses or LASIK, myopia can be corrected by focusing light from distant objects on the retina instead of in front of the retina.

Cornea is Too Steep

The cornea is responsible for about 2/3 of the total focusing power of the eye.  Specifically, the interface of the air, the tear film and curvature of the cornea are responsible for the cornea to focus so well.

Contact lenses and glasses simply neutralize the nearsighted focusing of the eye.

LASIK, PRK, RK and others work by permanently changing the curvature of the cornea in one way or the the other.

Corneas of nearsighted patients are too “steep,” that is, there is more curve to the cornea.  LASIK reshapes the cornea to make it less round or “flattened.”  (We are talking about microscopic measurements, there is no outward change to the appearance of the eye).

LASIK Reshapes Cornea

LASIK surgeons, such as Dr. Scimeca, create a superficial corneal flap at the start of the procedure.   The flap is lifted, thereby exposing the  underlying “stroma” of the cornea.   The laser then precisely reshapes the cornea by removing, or ablating, the correct amount of corneal stroma to yield a better curvature.  The resulting curvature is based upon your pre-operative measurements and is very, very predictable.

After the corneal reshaping is completed, the corneal flap is replaced.

Vision is improved due to the laws of physics and results are usually seen very soon after the procedure!

We look forward to seeing you.  If you would like to make an appointment or if  you have questions about diabetes, please call us.

Gregory Scimeca, M.D.
Ophthalmologist and Medical Director

Burlington County Eye Physicians
Eye Professionals, LLC (Millville, NJ)
Eye Physicians and Surgeons of Bucks County (Langhorne, PA)