Laser eye surgery to correct vision is not just for the young, and very good results can be achieved for patients aged over 40 or even 50 years and beyond, through laser vision correction, according to specialists at Moorfields Eye Hospital Dubai (MEHD).

With the latest laser vision correction technology now available in the region, people have more choices in deciding how best to correct their specific vision problems whilst improving their overall vision, at any age, through quick and painless procedures.

According to consultant surgeon at MEHD Dr Edmondo Borasio, if a patient is long-sighted, having refractive surgery at an older age will still significantly improve near - as well as distance - vision.

"For people who are short-sighted, laser eye surgery can correct distance vision perfectly but they may still need reading glasses, which is quite normal for this age group," he said.

"There are other options available for older patients. We can correct distance vision only partially, for instance to 90 per cent, in order to gain near vision; or we can correct one eye for short-sightedness and one for distance vision.

"This second approach is called 'monovision', and we generally simulate it with a special contact lens before proceeding with surgery to see if the patient likes it. Some people find it uncomfortable to have an imbalance between the two eyes but others find this to be an ideal solution," Dr Borasio added.

"Multifocal laser correction of the cornea is another option, where multiple concentric rings are sculpted on the corneal surface, allowing improved near and distance vision simultaneously but the vision quality achieved with this procedure is not as clear as with a monofocal approach (standard laser treatment)."

Dr Borasio said laser vision correction after the age of 40 may require a small compromise between near and distance vision, but he maintains that patients in this age group are very happy after the procedure: "In professional hands, recent innovations in laser refractive surgery such as femtosecond and wave front technology have significantly minimized complications and improved our outcomes in all age groups."

The use of the IntraLase femtosecond laser, for example, allows the LASIK procedure to be performed entirely with the laser and without the need for a physical incision using a blade.

This allows unprecedented levels of accuracy and reduces even further the already low risk of complications associated with the blade. The use of WaveFront aberration technology allows a customized correction of the refractive error, as opposed to just treating the spherical and astigmatic component of the refraction, allowing more patients to achieve 20/20 vision and reducing the night vision problems typical of treatments performed with older laser platforms.
With IntraLase WaveFront LASIK technology, it takes only 30 seconds to create the flap and less than a minute to sculpt the cornea. The procedure is completely painless and full recovery can be expected in less than a day in most cases, even in older patients.

Dr Borasio has performed more then 200 of these surgeries and expects to perform more than 100 in Dubai, before the end of the year.

MEHD is located in Dubai Health Care City in the Al Razi building. The hospital has been treating patients since June, 2007. – TradeArabia News Service