A natural aging change in vision that manifests itself after age forty is presbyopia. Presbyopia is a loss of the ability to focus from distance to near and occurs because the crystalline lens in the eye loses itsflexibility. Older patients who previously did not require glasses may find that they have a need for reading glasses. Nearsighted individuals may feel more comfortable taking their glasses off to read or eventually move to bifocal glasses.
LASIK eye surgery does not correct the loss of focusing ability that accompanies presbyopia. An uninformed LASIK patient over forty who is not prepared may be perplexed with an inability to read if both eyes are targeted for excellent distance vision.
Does that make LASIK “off-limits” for older patients? Absolutely not! Almost half of LASIK patients are over age 40 and the majority are quite satisfied. Some are content to move from full-time bifocals to over the counter reading glasses which are used part-time. Others may find they can be even less dependent on glasses with a monovision correction.
If you are over forty, don’t rule out LASIK as an option for vision correction but be sure to discuss with your surgeon what to expect after the procedure and what further changes in your vision would be expected in the future.
