Is laser eye surgery right for me?

ARE YOU SHORT-SIGHTED?

Short-sightedness, or myopia, is the most common of the refractive errors. If you are myopic or short-sighted, you’ll likely have no trouble seeing things up close, like reading your ‘phone or a book, but objects at a distance - such as road-signs, a friend waving across the room, or players on the football field - are blurry at best without glasses or contacts.  

Laser eye surgery is an excellent treatment for short-sightedness, and many patients achieve beyond 20/20 vision without needing to wear their glasses.  

The impact that this has on their quality of life is profound. Right from the moment they wake up, life becomes easier, smoother, and more enjoyable. Imagine being able to read the time on the clock on the wall, forget about contact lenses in the morning routine, never worry about fogged-up glasses or frustrating blindness at the gym, and driving to work without needing to remember the prescription sunglasses!  

And then there are all the activities they can enjoy without their vision or the inconvenience of glasses and contacts getting in the way. Skiing, surfing, trying new hobbies, watching the children at the local pool. Our patients cuddle their babies without sticky hands grabbing at their glasses; they follow their ambitions into outdoor, military or driving careers; and they are finally able to participate in contact sports without the fear of knocked glasses, gritty contacts, or compromised vision.  

How Medownick can correct your short-sightedness 

For suitable short-sighted patients, we use state-of-the-art laser technology to gently flatten the central apex or peak of the cornea (the clear window at the front of the eye). This reduces the degree of short-sightedness, and takes our patients as close as possible to 20/20 vision. Many see even better than 20/20. 

It is a walk-in-walk-out procedure, that is low-stress and painless due to numbing drops and unique eye-tracking software. Depending on your vision and lifestyle, you may be suitable for SmartSight, LASIK, or Trans-PRK (Touchless Robotic) laser vision correction. Find out more about these procedures.

ARE YOU LONG-SIGHTED?

If you struggle to focus on close-up objects (reading your ‘phone, for example, or books), but objects further away such as billboards, traffic signs and distant buildings are clear and easy to see, it is possible that you are long-sighted.

Usually inherited, longsightedness (or hypermetropia as it is known medically) is a condition that occurs when the distance between the cornea (the clear window at the front of the eye) and the retina is shorter than usual. (This is different to long-sightedness that develops later in life, which is a separate condition known as presbyopia).

Medownick Laser Clinic pioneered the use of laser vision correction for long-sightedness in Australia. Prior to this, laser was only a solution for short-sightedness. Our innovation made headlines across the Asia-Pacific, and the name “Medownick” has been synonymous with laser eye surgery ever since.

Thanks to our pioneering work, eligible patients who are long-sighted have been able to experience true freedom from glasses and contact lenses. They can look at their ‘phones the moment they wake; read the back of the shampoo bottle in the shower; and apply eye makeup without resting glasses on their noses.  

They can work on their computers without squinting; and they can take notes, draw, paint, sew, read recipes, and enjoy any number of other up-close and detailed activities, without headaches or eyestrain. 

How Medownick can correct your long-sightedness 

For suitable long-sighted patients, the laser carefully sculpts the edges of the cornea to increase the steepness of the peak, or central apex, in the middle. This reduces the degree of long-sightedness and brings patients as close as possible to 20/20 vision (or even better).

With our state-of-the-art new Schwind ATOS femtosecond laser, most of our longsighted patients are able to see with 20/20 vision as quickly as the same day as their LASIK laser eye surgery.

DO YOU HAVE ASTIGMATISM?

Astigmatism, which causes blurred or distorted vision at any distance, is a common refractive error. It occurs when the cornea (the clear window at the front of your eye) is a warped shape, curving more steeply in one direction than the other. This is what causes the blurring or distortion of vision.  

It’s not unusual for people to have astigmatism in addition to other refractive errors, such as long- or short-sightedness.  

The great news is that our German-engineered Schwind laser is a particularly excellent cure for astigmatism, due to its sophisticated AI eye-tracking technology. If you have astigmatism in addition to another refractive error, the laser corrects both conditions at the same time. Depending on your vision and lifestyle, you may be suitable for SmartSight, LASIK, or Trans-PRK (Touchless Robotic) laser vision correction. Find out more about these procedures. 

Our patients often tell us that the outcome is life-changing. They are able to see the world clearly - without the need for glasses or contact lenses - for the first time, at every distance.  

How Medownick can correct your astigmatism

Our laser gently changes the shape of the cornea to make it more evenly curved. This enables your eye to create crisp, clear images for you to enjoy - without glasses.