Most people have heard the term astigmatism, but many patients are surprised when it is used to describe their own eyes. At Cavanaugh Eye Center, we often hear that patients have been told they were poor candidates for vision correction surgery due to their astigmatism. Thankfully, with advances in technology and an experienced surgeon, almost all levels of astigmatism can be corrected. We offer several astigmatism treatments to patients in Overland Park, KS.
First, it is important to understand a few basic principles of the eye to understand astigmatism. The cornea is the clear front window to the eye and focuses light that enters the eye on the retina.
Imagine the eye as a camera:
Astigmatism is a condition where the cornea is not perfectly round in shape or is “out of round.” When the cornea’s contour is not a perfect sphere, light rays do not pass cleanly through the tissue and light ends up focusing at different locations on the retina. This causes images to be out of focus. Just like the blurry image that results when there is a smudge on your camera lens.
Envision you are gently holding a perfectly round pliable ball between your thumb and pointer finger. If you squeeze the ball with your fingers, its shape would change and become oval or out of round. That is basically what a cornea with astigmatism looks like.
Astigmatism is a common condition, as no one’s eyes are as round as a perfect sphere. Genetics plays a big factor in astigmatism and it’s often present at birth; in fact, most infants have a moderate amount of astigmatism that improves over time as they develop. Additionally, astigmatism may develop later in life or occur as a result of an eye injury or disease. A common misconception is that it is caused by poor vision habits, such as reading in the dark or sitting close to the TV; however, there is no evidence for this. Astigmatism is simply an imperfection in the curvature of the cornea—it can worsen or improve over time just like other vision conditions, but not because of someone’s vision habits.
Instead of focusing at a single point, light rays passing through an astigmatic cornea will focus at two or more locations. This results in blurred vision and ghost images around objects. Unlike farsighted or nearsightedness, astigmatism can affect your vision at any distance, near or far.
Traditionally, astigmatism had been treated with glasses, gas permeable contacts, or toric soft contact lenses. If you desire the most freedom from glasses or contacts at any distance, it is imperative that your astigmatism be surgically corrected. In order for light to focus precisely, the cornea needs to be as round as possible. Even high levels of astigmatism can be corrected surgically.
Below are the different surgical treatments for astigmatism correction that we offer to our patients in the Overland Park area:
