Vision Surgery for 45+

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45+

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45+: What is happening with our eyes?

People understand teeth quite intuitively - you have your baby teeth and then your adult teeth. Simple right? Vision is a bit more complex. Similar to teeth we have baby eyes, and we have our adult eyes. The adult eyes might face challenges or a combination of challenges such as myopia (near-sightedness), far-sightedness (hyperopia), astigmatism or enjoy perfect distance vision (emmetropia). However, when we approach the age of 40, the eyes start to enter a new stage. This is called age-related blurry near vision or presbyopia (and yes this happens to everyone eventually).

Age-related blurry near vision or presbyopia typically starts around 40 to 45, but for some it can start slightly later. Presbyopia occurs due to the aging process of our lens. Our lens is made of skin cells. Skin cells on our arm for example grow and then slough off. However, in our eye these cells are growing, surrounded by a capsule, have nowhere to go and the lens hardens. When the lens hardens, we lose the ability to zoom in up close. We can try to outstretch our arms to read our texts, which works initially, but eventually most of us cave in to reading glasses. Some think LASIK is the answer and for some it is, but it’s not the one-size-fits-all for those over 45.

When we have a patient who is looking at LASIK or a vision correction procedure around the age of 45, we need to make sure we know two things. First, we need to know is presbyopia a problem yet? Second, what problems (myopia, astigmatism, or nearsightedness) do we need to correct from the adult stage.

If a patient is not going through presbyopia, we usually lean towards LASIK or EVO ICL to correct the vision. If the patient is going through presbyopia, then the question is “instead of doing LASIK which is a laser procedure on the cornea, should we just do a laser procedure on the lens to actually solve presbyopia aka the hard lens problem?

What Are The Benefits Of Refractive Lens Exchange?

Meet Jason.

Jason works a normal job Monday thru Friday, but on the weekends he is the Team Principal and a professional MotoAmerica road-racer.

Jason had presbyopia, hyperopia, and astigmatism. If Jason would have had LASIK, which can treat hyperopia and astigmatism, he would have still been left with his presbyopia. He would have still needed reading glasses to read his texts, computer, or even his dashboard while racing.

For him, we discussed the laser lens treatment. The laser would break up those hardened lens cells and then new lens cells would replace those hardened cells. What’s the benefit of doing this? Not only are we solving the problem at the source, the new lens cells can correct hyperopia, astigmatism, AND PRESBYOPIA!

Just one day after the procedure Jason drove into to his post-operative appointment. He can’t wait to get back on the circuit without his reading glasses. Can you imagine what it’s like to wear reading glasses or bifocals while driving over 150mphs? Fortunately, Jason won’t anymore.

Oh and one last benefit of the laser lens treatment, which some say might be the greatest. By removing the hardened lens cells, no cataract will ever form. And if your doctor has told you that you have cataracts, then this is FOR SURE the best solution for you. This is the same procedure as cataract surgery.

How long will this last?

Our prescription usually changes over time due to our lens. These hardened lens cells will be gone. This means that the laser lens treatment aka laser cataract surgery is a one-time procedure that has the ability to give us stable vision for the rest of our lives. Assuming we avoid street fighting, boxing, or don’t get any other type of eye pathology.

The biggest piece of advice that we have for someone who is over the age of 45, is to make sure you understand your eyes now, meaning what stage are you in and what conditions do you have, but also make sure you know what’s coming. At LASIK San Antonio, we pride ourselves in telling you what’s best for you now and creating a long-term plan. Sometimes we say the time for surgery is not now, other times we say it is. All of our surgeries are backed by our Lifetime pledge, because when we see that we can help, we want you to be confident in your decision.

To come in for a consolation to see if we could even help you at this time, feel free to call us or text us at 830-830-2020.

WHAT WE OFFER Refractive Lens Exchange

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Pain Free

We use numbing drops and happy medication to make sure the procedure is comfortable.

Longest Lasting

Of all our procedures, this one we are confident will last. This is why we offer our life time pledge.

Quick Visual Recovery

Most patients drive into their 1 day post op. After Thursday surgery, you'll be ready for the weekend.

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