Hyperopia, or farsightedness, is the condition of the eye whereby the corneal curvature is too flat for the length of the eye, or the eye is too short for the corneal curvature (Figure 1). This results in light rays not yet coming to focus by the time they strike the retinal tissue in the back of the eye. A blurred, rather than sharp image of both distance and near objects is produced.
Our VISX and Autonomous lasers are FDA approved for the treatment of hyperopia and astigmatism. Both lasers are also approved for hyperopic custom wavefront treatment.
From the patient's perspective, the procedure for the treatment of farsightedness with or without astigmatism is essentially the same as treatment of nearsightedness with or without astigmatism. However, using the excimer laser, rather than flattening the central cornea as is done with the treatment of nearsightedness, the peripheral cornea is flattened allowing the central cornea to become relatively steeper. The relatively steeper central cornea adds refracting power to the surface of the cornea allowing the light rays to focus closer to the central retina. This improves the distance vision of farsighted individuals, and if monovision is performed in one eye, may also help improve the reading vision in the monovision eye.
Because regression back towards hyperopia is slightly more common in the treatment of farsightedness than in nearsightedness, we purposely overcorrect patients in the early post-operative period. This means that we actually induce a small amount of myopia (nearsightedness) in both eyes during the early post-operative period. Therefore, the patient will be slightly nearsighted in one or both eyes for a few months after the laser surgery for farsightedness. Glasses for good distance vision may be required in the early post-operative period. Although this induced nearsightedness may be permanent and require surgical correction, in most cases, the early post-operative nearsightedness is temporary.
Because it is impossible to predict exactly who will be nearsighted post-laser and how long the nearsightedness post-laser will last, a farsighted individual undergoing laser refractive surgery must plan to wear glasses for distance (and possibly near) vision for the first few weeks to few months post-operatively.
As you will read in the section on LASIK, whether an individual is farsighted, nearsighted, or has astigmatism, after any form of refractive surgery it is important to realize that glasses and possibly contacts may be required full-time following the laser procedure. The need for post-operative glasses depends on individual healing factors, as well as the underlying degree of farsightedness, astigmatism, or nearsightedness that exists in your eye prior to the laser procedure.