Blended Vision eye surgery

Sometimes known as ‘Monovision’ this is the name given to the surgical treatment which corrects short-sight in one eye and long sight in the other.

It is used to treat presbyopia or age-related long-sightedness which occurs in middle age. One we reach our forties, the eye muscles and the lens of the eye harden due to the ageing process which affects our ability to see objects close to.

The first sign of this is when you have to hold the newspaper at arms length in order to read it.

The usual treatment for this is a pair of reading glasses or contact lenses. There are two types of contact lenses for presbyopia:

• varifocal or bifocal lenses.
• monovision lenses (one lens corrects short sight and the other corrects long sight).

Blended Vision

A newer solution is ‘Blended Vision’ or LASIK Monovision surgery. This is a laser assisted surgery in which the surgeon firstly, determines which is your strong (dominant) eye and which is your weak (non-dominant) eye.

He or she will operate on your weaker eye and make this slightly short sighted which will improve your close up vision. He/she will leave your strong eye alone as this is able to see objects at a distance, unless your distance vision requires correction as well.

What happens is that one eye is able to see objects close up and other eye can see objects at a distance. The brain is able to adjust to this very quickly and so ‘blends’ both of these together hence the name ‘blended vision’.

It does take a bit of getting used to and some people find that they adjust quicker to this than others. Perseverance is the key.

Is it for me?

The eye surgeon will decide whether you are suitable for this procedure. Laser eye treatment is not for everyone and he or she will take a range of factors into account before deciding upon your suitability. These factors include lifestyle, job, current health and reasons for surgery.

If your eye sight is good, with glasses and your eyes are healthy in general then surgery is an option.

The type and amount of correction will depend on the level of refractive error:

Presbyopia (need for reading glasses only)

This is where your distance vision is fine but you need reading glasses to see objects close to (or to read the paper).

If you have had normal vision up until now then you will only need one eye treated as part of the blended vision procedure.

Short-sightedness

Short-sight means that you find it difficult to see objects at a distance but can see objects close to. You will also find that you are able to read well even if you take your glasses off to do so.

This surgery is very effective at treating short-sight.

Long-sightedness

If you are long-sighted then your distance vision is fine but you find it difficult to see objects close to. This means surgery is required on both eyes.

The surgeon will improve your distance vision in your stronger eye and will make your weaker eye short-sighted so that they balance out.

Astigmatism

This means blurred vision whether you are short or long-sighted. You will have to have surgery on both eyes to achieve blended vision.

Outcome

The aim of this surgery is to remove the need to wear glasses for reading or other ‘close up’ activities. This is usually successful but some patients may find that they still need glasses, for example, when driving at night.