Surgery to correct refractive problems (myopia, hyperopia and astigmatism) has undergone significant development in recent years. Breakthroughs in the examination of the eye and vision, as well as the introduction of new surgical instruments and increasingly sophisticated laser and intraocular lens technology, enable increasing numbers of patients to regain their visual autonomy and to do away with optical correction, explains Dr José Luis Güell, the coordinator of the Cornea and Refractive Surgery Department of the Instituto de Microcirugía Ocular (IMO).
To these medical and technological breakthroughs, one should add the growing experience of an area of surgery whose most widespread technique, Lasik, has just turned 20. Since it first appeared, the range of surgical options to correct refractive errors has proliferated considerably, and enhanced knowledge about the eye and the visual characteristics of each patient has made it possible for refractive surgery today to focus on the creation of "made-to-measure vision, which can adapt to the visual and optical characteristics of each eye and to the needs and lifestyle of each patient," according to IMO specialist.
This change has occurred in parallel with a new "visual culture" that has swept the Western world, which seeks optimum vision and full autonomy, a mindset that is being adopted by patients with presbyopia or "tired eyes". This new mindset has resulted in the accelerated development of refractive surgery towards a clear objective: to provide the patient with greater freedom of vision.
