LASIK AND PRK STATISTICS: YOUR CHANCES FOR SUCCESS
HYPEROPIA
Low and Moderate Hyperopia
If the Sphere part of your eyeglass prescription is a positive number, you have farsightedness, or hyperopia. If the number is between 0.00 and +4.00, you have a low to moderate level of hyperopia. After your initial LASIK or PRK procedure, you have a 95 percent chance of achieving 20/40 vision or better and a 75 percent chance of achieving 20/20 vision.
Patients treated for hyperopia should be aware that their healing time will be slightly longer than for patients with myopia, and the chance that they will need an enhancement is slightly higher. These numbers will vary according to the patient's original prescription and the skill and experience level of the surgeon.
High Hyperopia
If the sphere part of your eyeglass prescription is more than +4.00, you have a high degree of hyperopia. LASIK still can correct your vision up to +6.00 diopters, but the results are less predictable, and quality of vision may not be as good as for lower degrees of hyperopia. Above +6.00 diopters, LASIK is not an option for you. If you are in this range of hyperopia, you may wish to consider refractive lens exchange or an implantable contact lens. See chapter 11 for more details.
Astigmatism
Astigmatism is the second number on your eyeglass prescription for each eye. Patients with mild astigmatism (less than 1.00) can expect outcomes and enhancement percentages nearly identical to those patients with myopia or hyperopia only. The presence of a greater degree of preoperative astigmatism will somewhat reduce your chance of achieving 20/20 vision after the initial procedure, making it more likely that you will want to have an enhancement. Astigmatism of 6 diopters or less can be corrected with either LASIK or PRK.
Other Vision Correction Procedures
