During routine occupational health examinations, an ophthalmologist diagnosed me with astigmatism and recommended correction with glasses. So far, I have been wearing glasses to correct myopia, and now I have to replace the lenses with cylindrical ones. I was planning a laser vision correction surgery, but am I eligible for the procedure? Do I need to undergo additional tests due to diagnosed astigmatism to check whether I qualify for laser vision correction?

The laser vision correction procedure corrects vision defects – short-sightedness, far-sightedness, astigmatism and a combination of those.

It is always preceded by a qualifying examination during which a number of parameters are checked, such as the severity of the refractive error, corneal thickness, shape and curvature, and the general condition of the eyes.

If you have not worn cylindrical lenses before, and your astigmatism is considerably severe, an ophthalmic surgeon may recommend wearing glasses/contact lenses that correct astigmatism which will allow for vision adaptation before the laser vision correction procedure. The adaptation time lasts 2-4 weeks depending on the severity of the refractive error.