Is Monovision LASIK Right for You?

Monovision is a treatment that is often prescribed for people over age 40 with presbyopia. Presbyopia is a normal part of the aging process that, unfortunately, happens to all of us at some point in time. It occurs when the lens inside the eye becomes less flexible and loses its ability to see objects up close. Some signs and symptoms of presbyopia include having to hold reading material (such as a menu or book) farther away to see it, fatigue and eye strain while reading, and difficulty seeing clearly for close work.

Monovision corrects presbyopia by using one eye to see up close and one eye to see in the distance. This procedure eliminates the need for reading glasses and bifocals. Before performing monovision with LASIK, Drs. Beers and Liu of Mountain View have their patients wear contact lenses to create the same effect to ensure monovision is the best choice for each individual patient.

Patients adjust well to monovision

Although it may take several days, the vast majority of patients who try monovision adjust well to it. The brain learns to select the eye that gives it the sharpest image for near or far vision and automatically filters out the slightly unfocused image from the other eye. After monovision LASIK, for example, you can see a road map clearly; the brain will use the near eye to read the map and will automatically suppress the information coming to it from the distance eye. Monovision is a safe and effective procedure for people over 40 who are unhappy because they can no longer see up close and who don’t want to be constantly finding and putting on reading glasses.

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