Laser eye surgery effects: how well will you see?
Knowing LASER EYE SURGERY EFFECTS in advance is a difficult task. The results of laser eye surgery in any individual case cannot be predicted exactly, because each patient will respond differently to the operation. However, one thing for sure is that after the operation the majority of patients will never again need to use glasses or contact lenses for distance vision.
The following figures will help you understand how well laser eye surgery results might help you to see without glasses or contact lenses:
- 95% of patients will have 20/40 or better vision after laser eye surgery. This is good enough to pass a driver’s licence vision test without the need of glasses
- 75% will end up having 20/20 or better vision, which is considered ‘the perfect vision’
- 15% will use distance glasses occasionally after laser eye treatment
- 5% will still need glasses for distance vision
Generally, laser eye surgery results are better in patients with less severe focusing errors, i.e. mild levels of short sightedness, long sightedness or astigmatism. On the other hand, in the presence of more severe focusing errors there will be inferior percentages of 20/20 or 20/40 vision.
The tiny minority who still need to use glasses for distance vision after laser eye surgery will still have improved vision, allowing them to wear thinner glasses lenses than before. If the need arises, the results might be further improved by repeating the laser eye treatment operation.
If you what you are aiming for is a 20/20 vision, laser eye surgery is probably not the best choice. The quality of your vision from laser eye surgery results may be better or poorer than the vision you can achieve with contact lenses or glasses.
In fact, glasses and contacts can generally offer 20/20 vision, where laser eye treatment cannot promise this perfect vision. Of course, you will eliminate the problem of having to wear contact lenses or glasses at all times, and you will say goodbye forever to problems such as blocked side vision, dirty or scratched glasses. In this way the effects of laser eye surgery can definitely improve your quality of life. Lastly, beware of any doctor or clinic that promises exact results!
