Can I Get LASIK Surgery if I have Astigmatism?

The American Optometric Association tells us that most people have some degree of astigmatism, which is a common vision condition that causes blurred vision. It happens most often when the cornea is irregularly shaped. Despite having a scary-sounding name, astigmatism is not an eye disease; it's simply a refractive error like nearsightedness and farsightedness.

If you have astigmatism and are interested in getting LASIK laser eye surgery, you might wonder whether that’s possible and if your astigmatism may affect the procedure in any way. Here’s what you need to know.

LASIK can fully correct most astigmatism

When you see your eye doctor for a LASIK consultation, they will measure your astigmatism with a corneal topographer (a machine that will produce a topographical map of your cornea). Once the preliminary measurements are taken, your surgeon can determine if your astigmatism is treatable with LASIK. Almost always, the laser used in LASIK is able to correct your astigmatism and your overall vision all in one procedure.

Due to increased precision and imaging technology, such as the iDesign, patients with astigmatism stand to see better after LASIK than they could with glasses and contacts. Modern LASIK, used in tandem with the iDesign, can correct your prescription more precisely than ever before.  

Additional considerations

The main takeaway is that astigmatism can be corrected with LASIK laser eye surgery. If you do have astigmatism and want to see if you’re a candidate for LASIK, please contact us.