Can laser eye surgery fix astigmatism?

In my last post I explained what astigmatism was .. so you now know it’s not being a social misfit 😜... stigma.. get it? Sorry bad dad joke... So can astigmatism be fixed by laser eye surgery such as LASIK and SMILE? Well yes, it can and quite high levels too. You are right in thinking that this wasn’t always the case in the past but as engineering algorithms for lasers have improved, so has the ability to correct astigmatism. Laser eye surgery as you know works by removing a small amount of tissue from your cornea, the front lens of your eye. If you have astigmatism, this means your cornea is rugby ball shaped. The laser is then programmed to remove a rugby ball shape to make your cornea into more of a soccer ball shape. Sound simple huh? Well there are a few nuances. Some astigmatism is too high to correct completely or some forms of astigmatism are too irregular to correct. So how will you know that? Well ask your optometrist or eye surgeon - that’s the best way😊 If you are above the age of 50 and/or have cataract, then your astigmatism may instead be corrected by early cataract surgery. Want to know more? You guessed it ... read my next post :)

* Information on this blog is general in nature and should not be taken as professional medical advice or as a substitute for a consultation with a medical professional.