Surgery to improve your vision (refractive surgery)

Your vision can often be corrected by:

• wearing glasses
• using contact lenses.

But you can consider surgery.

Refractive surgery is done to:

• change the shape of the front layer of your eye (the cornea)
• replace your natural lens
• add an extra focusing lens into your eye.

Refractive surgery can be used for:

• long-sightedness (hyperopia)
• short-sightedness (myopia)
• astigmatism

There are 2 types of refractive surgery:

• laser surgery
• intraocular lens implantation.

Laser surgery changes the way your eye focuses. It does this by reshaping the top layer of your eye (cornea) using a specially designed laser.

There are 3 types of laser refractive surgery. They are:

• laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK)
• photo refractive keratectomy (PRK)
• laser epithelial keratomileusis (LASEK).

During surgery:

1. A flap of cornea is cut on the front of your eye and moved aside.
2. The laser reshapes your cornea.
3. The flap is put back in place.

There are 2 kinds of surgery to put a new lens in your eye. These lenses are called intraocular lenses.

Clear lens exchange

During a clear lens exchange, your eye's natural focusing lens is removed. It is replaced with an artificial lens. This creates clear focus.

The artificial lenses can:

• correct astigmatism (toric intraocular lenses)
• change focus to help with reading (multifocal intraocular lenses).

Phakic intraocular lens implantation

During a phakic intraocular lens implantation, your natural focusing lens is not removed. Another focusing lens is added just in front of it to create clear focus.

Possible complications include:

• infection
• dry eyes
• your vision becoming over-corrected or under-corrected
• distorted vision.

Your eyes should heal in a few days. To help them heal as quickly as possible, you should:

• use the eye drops given to you after surgery
• avoid rubbing your eyes, even if they are itchy
• avoid dusty spaces
• wear sunglasses to protect your eyes from UV rays, wind and dust particles
• avoid strenuous exercise and sport, especially contact sports
• avoid getting hair products, body wash or soap in your eyes when showering
• limit device and screen time to avoid eye strain.