Presbyopia, which literally means “eye ageing”, is an age-related condition, unlike other refractive errors such as myopia, hyperopia and astigmatism. It is a natural process that begins around the age of 40 in both sexes, earlier in hyperopic and astigmatic patients, and in a less evident way in the myopic ones.
In the eye there is a lens called crystalline lens, that in young age and without vision problems allows to see clearly both at a distance and near thanks to accommodation, the natural ability to focus images on the retina. At about the age of 40 presbyopia gradually begins to appear and the loss of elasticity in the crystalline lens makes it harder to read. Stretching the arms in order to clearly distinguish the words of a written text becomes a customary gesture. At about the age of 65 the phenomenon stabilizes itself.
The main symptoms of presbyopia include:
- Eyestrain
- Headache
- Fatigue sensation
- Doubling of letters
Solutions for presbyopia and the new laser SUPRACOR™ treatment
Presbyopia can be corrected mainly by wearing eyeglasses (monofocal, bifocal, multifocal lenses), contact lenses or, if associated with hyperopia, through excimer laser surgery (LASEK and PRK techniques) to see near and distant objects clearly, that is a multi-focal effect.
Vista Vision clinics, with cutting-edge laser technology, perform surgical operations for the correction of presbyopia with SUPRACOR™ procedure, which accurately reshapes the cornea restoring near vision and reducing, at the same time, annoying side effects such as vision quality loss or impaired vision.
SUPRACOR™ allows to correct presbyopia and hyperopia in the same bilateral surgery performed in combination with the Femtosecond laser (Femto-Lasik) and excimer laser. SUPRACOR ™ procedure has undergone strict examinations in order to be approved in Europe as CE mark.
However, not all patients are eligible for SUPRACOR ™ laser. The selection follows a precise protocol, in addition to the exclusion criteria for laser surgery.