Refractive
Correcting short-sightedness, long-sightedness and astigmatism so you can live without glasses or contact lenses.
Glasses and contact lenses correct light before it reaches the eye. Refractive surgery reshapes the cornea itself, so the eye focuses correctly on its own.
What it corrects
Refractive surgery treats the three ordinary focusing errors: short-sightedness (myopia), long-sightedness (hyperopia) and astigmatism. Each is a mismatch between the length of the eye and the curve of its front surface, and each can usually be corrected by reshaping the cornea with an excimer laser.
The procedures we offer
Contura and Custom-Q
These are topography-guided treatment profiles rather than separate operations. Instead of planning the correction from your glasses prescription alone, they build it from a detailed map of your own cornea, which matters most for eyes with irregular surfaces or higher-order aberrations.
LASIK and Femto-LASIK
A thin flap is lifted from the surface of the cornea, the laser reshapes the tissue underneath, and the flap is laid back down. Femto-LASIK creates that flap with a femtosecond laser rather than a blade. Recovery is quick: most people see well the following day.
PRK
No flap is made. The surface layer is removed and regrows over several days. Visual recovery takes longer and the first days are less comfortable than LASIK, but PRK is often the better choice for a thinner cornea or for people whose work or sport carries a risk of eye trauma.
ICL
An implantable lens placed inside the eye, in front of the natural lens. It suits prescriptions too strong for laser correction, and corneas too thin to treat safely with a laser.
Who is a candidate
The baseline requirements are set by regulators, not by preference. The US FDA specifies that candidates should be 21 or older, with documented stability of the prescription over the past year, meaning a change of less than 0.5 dioptres in sphere and cylinder.
The FDA also names clear contraindications: a condition causing thinning of the cornea such as keratoconus; pregnancy or nursing; diseases that impair healing, including collagen vascular, autoimmune and immunodeficiency conditions; and certain medications, among them isotretinoin and amiodarone.
Being told no is part of a good assessment. A surgeon who declines to operate on a cornea that cannot safely take it is protecting your sight, not losing your business. Where LASIK is wrong, PRK or an implantable lens is often right.
What the assessment involves
- Corneal topographyMaps the shape and thickness of your cornea. This is what rules out keratoconus and decides how much tissue can safely be treated.
- Refraction, including dilatedEstablishes your true prescription, free of the eye’s own focusing effort.
- Tear film assessmentDry eye affects both candidacy and recovery, so it is measured rather than assumed.
- Pupil measurementLarge pupils in dim light influence the treatment zone planned for you.
- Dilated retinal examinationChecks the back of the eye before any procedure on the front of it.
What to expect afterwards
The procedure itself takes minutes per eye and is done under anaesthetic drops. You will need someone to drive you home. Vision is typically blurry for the rest of the day and clearer the next morning after LASIK; after PRK it improves over about a week.
Side effects are common in the first months and usually settle. In the FDA’s own patient data at three months, 33.1% reported worsened dry eye, 20.8% halos, 17.7% glare and 13.8% more difficulty driving at night. These numbers are published here deliberately: knowing what the early weeks can feel like makes them far easier to live through.
Will I never need glasses again?
Most patients become independent of glasses for distance. Reading glasses are a separate matter. The lens inside the eye stiffens with age regardless of laser treatment, so near vision usually needs help from the mid-forties onward.
Is it painful?
The procedure is not painful; anaesthetic drops are used. LASIK is usually comfortable afterwards with some watering and grittiness for a few hours. PRK is more uncomfortable for the first two to three days.
How long until I can go back to work?
Most people return to desk work the day after LASIK. After PRK, allow around a week. Swimming, dust and eye makeup wait longer, and you will be given specific dates.
Can both eyes be done the same day?
Usually yes, and most patients prefer it. Where there is a reason to stage them, it will be discussed with you beforehand.
This page is general information, not medical advice. Findings vary from person to person, and only an examination can tell you what applies to your eyes.