Question: Can I have LASIK if I have astigmatism?
Answer: If you have astigmatism, you may be able to have LASIK eye surgery. LASIK is a type of refractive surgery used for correcting refractive errors such as astigmatism, myopia and hyperopia. If you have astigmatism, your vision may be blurry at distance as well as near. You may feel tired after reading and find that letters and words appear to be slanted. Many people with astigmatism have found LASIK eye surgery to be a safe and effective method of vision correction.
A thorough evaluation of your vision will be required to determine if you are a candidate for LASIK. The type and severity of your astigmatism will help your ophthalmologist decide if LASIK eye surgery will be beneficial to you. Some people with astigmatism should not have LASIK, as some qualities and characteristics of their eyes prevent them from having a successful outcome. Your eye doctor will probably use a corneal topographer to measure the quality and quantity of your astigmatism, to determine if LASIK will be beneficial to your vision.
Source:
Azar, Dimitri T. and Douglas D. Koch. "LASIK: Fundamentals, Surgical Techniques, and Complications." Marcel Dekker, Inc. Copyright 2003.
