Many people in their early 40s and 50s will experience these presbyopia symptoms:
Presbyopia occurs when the lens inside your eye (the clear structure that is about the size of a Smartie) begins to lose its flexibility.
Normally, the muscles around the lens can change its shape. When you look at something far away, the circular muscle relaxes. When you look at something up close, the muscle contracts. That allows the relatively elastic lens to curve. In that way, it changes the focusing power.
As we age, the lens hardens. As it becomes less flexible, it can no longer change shape to focus on images that are up close. As a result, they appear out of focus.
There is no evidence that suggests you can prevent presbyopia. Everyone will notice it when they reach 50 years of age.
For about 1000 years, the approach to compensating for presbyopia was to wear reading glasses. Today, however, we now can correct presbyopia with laser vision correction. It’s called laser blended vision (or PRESBYOND), and we were the first to offer this technology in Canada (surgeons in Europe have been successfully using this technique since 2004).
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For details on how laser vision correction for presbyopia works, see Laser Blended Vision (PRESBYOND).
In a study of 136 shortsighted presbyopic patients, 111 farsighted presbyopic patients, and 88 emmetropic patients (patients with no other refractive error), 99% of previously shortsighted patients, 94% of farsighted patients and 99% of emmetropic patients could see J3 (better than newsprint) after the procedure. 1
Another study, this one a 3-year follow up study, found that “Laser Blended Vision(®) is an excellent option, well tolerated, stable and effective for patients with presbyopia and myopia, astigmatism, hyperopia or emmetropia, also avoiding an intraocular procedure.” 2
An intraocular procedure (similar to laser cataract surgery) is another option for correction of presbyopia that we’d be happy to discuss. However, you should know from the start that the risks of an operation ‘inside the eye’ far exceeds the risks of a less invasive procedure like laser blended vision.
Dear Dr. Kranemann, Many thanks in the nice, smooth and trouble free cataract surgery you carried out on both my eyes at Clearview Institute. I would like also to extend my thanks to all the staff of clearview. They are efficient, kind hearted and very helpful.
Dr. Kranemann is exceptionally intelligent and experienced. He is passionate about achieving perfect results for his patients, and proved it by correcting my father’s vision perfectly. We are very happy and grateful and highly recommend Dr. Kranemann.
Had the new vision correction procedure SMILE. WOW is all I can say. Life without glasses is amazing. Great surgeon and medical staff. Will refer his expertise on to family and friends.