N. American Refractive Surgeons
Vision correction surgery can be a cosmetic or a necessary procedure, depending on a patient's condition. Many patients undergo LASIK surgery to correct flaws in their vision to eliminate their dependence on eyeglasses or contact lenses. In some cases, patients are not good candidates for LASIK surgery and receive implantable collamer lens implants in order to correct their vision. As patients age, many need to undergo cataract surgery to treat cataract formations that hinder vision. During cataract surgery, an eye surgeon creates a small incision in the eye, which is used to extract the clouded lens. Then, the surgeon replaces the clouded lens with an intraocular lens (IOL) implant. With ophthalmologic technologies becoming more sophisticated, many eye surgeons now offer premium IOLs that can treat a variety of conditions, including nearsightedness, farsightedness and presbyopia. In addition, some ophthalmologists perform limbal-relaxing incisions, an advanced surgical technique that treats astigmatism.