Myopia is a vision disorder characterized by a clear vision of close objects and blurred vision of distant objects. The name derives from the Greek term “muopia” which means “close to the eyes”.
Myopia is a refraction error: the eye does not correctly bend (refract) light, therefore the image is not clearly focused. Myopia occurs when the eye is longer than normal or the cornea (the transparent anterior part of the eye) is too curved. In these cases, the light rays are focused in front of the retina instead of directly on it.
Myopia is a common vision problem that affects about 25% of the population and generally is diagnosed in children between 8 and 12 years of age. Myopia tends to get worse during adolescence, when the body grows faster. After the age of twenty, myopia shows little or no changes. Even though it is quite rare, myopia can also show up in adulthood caused by visual effort or several health conditions such as diabetes mellitus. Myopia is measured in dioptres: mild myopia is up to 3 dioptres, from 3 to 6 is moderate and above 6 dioptres serious.
The main symptoms of myopia include:
- Difficulty in seeing distant objects clearly
- Strabismus
- Eyestrain
- Headache.
Solutions for myopia and the revolutionary SMILE laser surgery
Eyeglasses or contact lenses are the most common methods to correct the symptoms of myopia. Another method is the excimer laser refractive surgery, which modifies the curvature of the cornea allowing for a better eye focus. When the vision impairment is high and if the excimer laser cannot be used, phakic lenses can be the solution.
Vista Vision clinics in Italy, with cutting-edge laser technology, perform surgeries for the correction of myopia using PRK and FemtoLasik laser technologies, and exclusively in the only clinic in Milan the revolutionary SMILE technique that allows for “Flapless” surgery, without the need of a corneal flap cut, thus respecting the corneal nerves and eliminating the complications of the traditional procedures. SMILE surgery allows to correct astigmatism up to 10 dioptres in a few minutes.
The surgeon will determine the patient’s suitability for surgery and the best technology to be used on the basis of the eye examination and diagnostic tests results.