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By Mayo Clinic staffRefractive surgery often offers improved vision without the hassle of glasses or contact lenses. In general, you have a very good chance of achieving 20/25 vision or better after refractive surgery. More than 8 out of every 10 people who've undergone refractive surgery no longer need to use their glasses or contact lenses for the majority of their activities.
Your results depend on your specific refractive error and other factors. People with a low grade of nearsightedness tend to have the most success with refractive surgery. People with a high degree of nearsightedness or farsightedness along with astigmatism have less predictable results.
- Bower KS. Laser refractive surgery. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Jan. 5, 2011.
- Sakimoto T, et al. Laser eye surgery for refractive errors. The Lancet. 2006;367:1432.
- Mimura T, et al. Refractive surgery. In: Yanoff M, et al. Ophthalmology. 3rd ed. Edinburgh, U.K.: Mosby Elsevier; 2009. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/212799885-2/0/1869/0.html. Accessed Jan. 6, 2011.
- Wavefront-guided LASIK. American Academy of Ophthalmology. http://one.aao.org/CE/EducationalProducts/FPSnippet.aspx?tid=0202397v&mid=fp029030a-1&sid=fp20080006&filename=fpv26-02903-01_modulediv.xml. Accessed Jan 6, 2011.
- LASIK. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/LASIK/expect.htm. Accessed Jan. 6, 2011.
- Robertson DM (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic. Rochester, Minn. Jan. 16, 2011.
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