Monovision or Blended Vision: See Near, See Far

Monovision is a type of surgery in which the doctor replaces a patient’s natural lens with an artificial lens to resolve presbyobia. Presbyopia usually develops at the age of 40 and above, making it difficult to read small prints and focus on nearby objects. Majority of the people choose to use bifocals or progressive lenses to correct it. Monovision is a relatively new method to correct presbyopia in which one of the eyes is fitted with a distant lens, and other one is fitted with a near vision lens, providing a combination of better eyesight.

All of us have a non-dominant eye and a dominant eye, which can be distiguished by a Quick Eye Dominance test. While looking at a distant object / landscape, we tend to mostly use the dominant eye. Even though the non-dominant eye functions along with the dominant eye, the brain is considering vision received from the dominant eye as more important when recreating the image inside your mind. In Monovision a near vision lens is transplanted to the non-dominant eye to correct the patient’s near vision ability and a distant vision contact lens is used with the dominant eye for distant vision. Patients who undergo Monovision at the Phoenix, Scottsdale, Peoria and Goodyear locations of Horizon Eye Specialists & Laser Center report there is an adjustment period, and in majority of the cases after a week or two your brain gets adjusted to monovision and can utilize input from each of the eyes to a good visual representation of anything you look at, near or far. Please note that your vision will not be perfect and therefore people expect to get the sharpest vision possible may not be the best candidates for the Monovision surgical procedure.

People who have a positive experience with Monovision contact lenses are also likely to benefit from with Monovision LASIK procedure. Monovision LASIK will mimic, in terms of results, the way the external contact lenses work for these people. It is better to try out the Monovision contact lenses prior to scheduling a surgical correction. By wearing the contact lenses you will get a pretty good idea of how you will see after surgery. At Horizon Eye Specialists & LASIK Center, your vision will be evaluated by our doctors to find whether you are eligible for Monovision or a blended vision procedure. The ophthalmologists at our centers will find out which of the eyes is dominant & non-dominant and will see compare the effectiveness of this procedure with other lens-based or corneal refractive surgeries that can improve the symptoms of presbyopia.

The optimal treatment will be recommended by your ophthalmologist based on his/her consideration of several personal factors such as your general health, eye health, life style and occupation (different needs for near/medium/far vision). Monovision LASIK surgery in Arizona will be performed only on patients in good health and depending on the current prescription of the patient, our ophthalmologist will decide on the amount of correction required for each of the eyes. With high rates of satisfaction, we encourage people who suffer from presbyopia to come in to one of our Phoenix area centers to learn more about the options available to correct their vision.