Lasik and Astigmatism

Astigmatism has been attempted to be treated by several Lasik procedures.

For example, excimer laser photoastigmatic refractive keratectomy, conventional laser in-situ keratomileusis and wave front-guided LASIK have been used to reduce astigmatism. Although astigmatic keratotomy has been largely replaced by excimer laser techniques, it is still used by many surgeons, and, as such, the surgical techniques are discussed. Astigmatism, like myopia or hyperopia, can decrease visual acuity. However, astigmatism is much more complex because it has both magnitude and orientation. Thus, astigmatism is more difficult to correct in spectacles, contact lenses, or surgery than spherical forms of refractive error. A small misalignment of astigmatic refractive error can have a significant impact on the overall visual acuity. Visually significant astigmatism is common after various kinds of ophthalmic surgery, including cataract extraction, penetrating or lamellar keratoplasty, retinal repair, and trabeculectomy. Over the last few years, the use and popularity of photorefractive techniques to treat various types of refractive error has increased in popularity among surgeons.

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