Are you wondering whether you’ll still need glasses after undergoing laser vision correction? Does vision deteriorate again with age?
The WaveLight® EX500 laser installed at the ArtLife Eye Center is an excimer laser that corrects the following vision defects:
- myopia (nearsightedness) up to -14.0 diopters,
- hyperopia (farsightedness) up to +6.0 diopters
- astigmatism up to 6.0 diopters
If you have astigmatism in addition to myopia or hyperopia, it will also be corrected during the same procedure. Once a refractive error is corrected with the laser, it does not come back. The cornea is reshaped with the laser in such a way that light is properly focused on the retina, which results in clear and sharp vision.
In cases of very high refractive errors, there may be a small residual defect remaining after surgery—especially if the correction needed is beyond the safe limits of corneal reshaping. You will be informed about this during the qualification exam. For example, a patient with -14.0 diopters and a cornea that is too thin to allow full correction may choose to proceed with surgery knowing that a small residual error (e.g., 0.5 to 1.5 diopters) will remain. This still results in a much better quality of life, and in such cases, glasses or contact lenses may still be needed occasionally – but they will be of much lower power than before.
Will the Vision Defect Return with Age, Even if It Was Fully Corrected? No – the refractive error corrected by laser surgery does not return, not even with age. However, starting at the age of 40 to 45, regardless of whether you had a vision defect or not (or whether it was corrected), the natural aging process begins. This includes changes in the eyes. The natural decline in the eye’s ability to focus on near objects is called presbyopia or age-related farsightedness. As the natural lens of the eye loses elasticity, it becomes harder to focus on nearby objects, which means you will begin to need reading glasses.
Laser vision correction does not treat presbyopia, so after the age of 40-45, reading glasses may become necessary, even if you previously had perfect distance vision.
