Can I Have LASIK If I Wear Bifocals?

Understanding Your Options for Vision Correction

Many people wear bifocals—lenses that contain two different powers—to correct both near and distance vision at the same time. Bifocals are often prescribed for people with age–related nearsightedness, which is commonly experienced by older adults. Typically, a smaller portion of the lower lens corrects your near vision—used for reading things up close—and the remainder of the lens corrects your distance vision.  

If you wear bifocals, you may be wondering: Can LASIK surgery correct your vision and eliminate the need for bifocal lenses? The answer is a bit complicated. 

Standard LASIK procedures, such as wavefront-optimized LASIK and Contoura™ Vision, do not correct the vision of patients who rely on bifocal lenses. These types of LASIK also do not eliminate the need for bifocals. However, there is an alternative procedure that does aim to treat patients who no longer want to rely on bifocals to see clearly.  

That procedure is Monovision LASIK, a specialized technique that corrects one eye for distance vision and the other eye for myopia, or nearsightedness. Some patients find it difficult to adjust to this type of vision correction. The clarity in your vision may be decreased and you may lose some depth perception. If this occurs, the eye surgeon can perform an enhancement procedure that corrects the eye that was treated for myopia. In most cases, doctors will first prescribe contact lenses that provide this type of correction before determining whether to move forward with the procedure. 

If you are interested in LASIK and you wear bifocals, or you rely heavily on reading glasses throughout the day, we recommend speaking with your primary eye doctor. Every patient’s vision is unique, and the best approach to laser eye surgery will be customized to your needs. Once you discuss your LASIK surgery options with your doctor, you can schedule a consultation with the team at LVC to determine whether our LASIK surgery options are right for you. 
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