Vista Alliance Eye Care Associates

At Vista Alliance Eye Care Associates, we want you to understand the different reasons that you might need vision correction, either with glasses, contact lenses, or with laser vision correction.  There are four common reasons why you might need vision correction, they are: (just click on the word to link to the definition)

• Myopia                                                 Surgery for Myopia
• Astigmatism                                       Surgery for Astigmatism
• Hyperopia                                           Surgery for Hyperopia
• Presbyopia                                         Surgery for Presbyopia

The term 'nearsighted' means that you can see objects that are 'near' clearly without your glasses, but objects further in the distance are blurry. There are different amounts of myopia (nearsightedness). The more myopic you are, the more blurred objects appear in the distance, the higher your eyeglass prescription and the thicker your glasses.  About 90% of all myopic people have corrections less than 6.00 diopters. The table below shows the categories of severity for myopia:

Almost everyone feels that their myopia is severe, because of how dramatically dependent they are on glasses and contact lenses. However, only one in ten myopic people are actually in the severe and extreme categories.

Patients with large amounts of astigmatism have blurred vision not only for distant objects, as with myopia, but for near objects as well. Astigmatism is also measured in diopters. Of all myopic people, 50% or more have astigmatism as well. Most of these people have corrections of less than 1 diopter. The table below shows the categories of severity for astigmatism:

In a young person with severe hyperopia, or once presbyopia sets in around age 45, distant objects are seen more clearly than near objects. Certain laser technologies, such as holmium lasers and hyperopic LASIK may correct this condition.  Recently approved by the FDA, as the principal investigator during CRS Visx hyperopia LASIK clinical trials, Dr. Soloway is the only doctor in the New York area to be able to correct hyperopia with astigmatism by LASIK since 1998.Click here to find out more information

 Presbyopia
Presbyopia is the normal process of aging, The natural lens in your eye continues to add layers like a tree or an onion as we grow older. This causes the lens to become larger. As the lens grows, it enlarges into the area where the focusing muscle needs to flex when it works.  We become unable to focus things up close because of this loss of room around the lens. This usually occurs between the ages of 40 and 50. Everyone experiences presbyopia, some sooner, some later. Because of this normal process, nearsighted people begin to wear bifocals in their forties, and those who never needed glasses before may require reading glasses. The one advantage to mild myopia is the ability to remove your glasses after age 40 and continue to read (your myopia effectively counteracts your presbyopia). After having the excimer laser procedure to correct for better distance vision without glasses in each eye, you will lose this ability. You will need reading glasses for small print, like every other normally sighted person between the ages of 40 to 50. The excimer laser has no effect on your focusing muscles. Patients who are experiencing the effects of presbyopia cannot be helped directly by the excimer laser, however, there are new surgical techniques for this condition. Dr. Soloway is the only doctor granted an exemption by the FDA to perform this surgery in New York during clinical trials.  Another frequently used technique is called 'mono vision'.  With mono vision, one eye is corrected for distance and the other eye is corrected for near. Many patients wear contact lenses or have had laser vision correction with monovision.  Ask us at the time of your evaluation if you are a candidate for this method of correcting presbyopia, or click on surgical reversal of presbyopia for more information.