Presbyopia and Monovision Option:

Presbyopia ("old eye") refers to the difficulty with near vision experienced by all individuals at some time after the age of 40.  Presbyopia is managed with the use of bifocals or reading glasses.  Patients currently requiring bifocals or reading glasses for near vision will still need a near correction after laser vision correction.  Nearsighted people over the age of 40 who currently remove their glasses to read will no longer be able to see close up (within arms length) following laser vision correction without the use of a reading prescription and will require reading glasses for all close up work including reading and using the computer.

Monovision is the use of one eye for distance and one eye for near and is effective in about 30% of patients.  The disadvantage is that depth perception is altered and distance vision will not be as sharp.  Glasses are usually required to drive at night and reading glasses may be necessary to see small print.  A trial of monovision using soft contact lenses will be necessary to see if this option will work for you.

Alternatives to Laser Vision Correction:

Spectacles, contact lenses, corneal surgical procedures such as radial keratotomy and astigmatic keratotomy as well as intraocular surgical procedures such as clear lens extraction and phakic intraocular lenses are alternatives to laser vision correction.