Laser vision correction, or laser refractive eye surgery, is used to improve the refractive state of the eye and decrease or eliminate dependency on eyeglasses or contact lenses. This can include various methods of surgical reshaping of the cornea or cataract surgery.

The most common methods today use excimer lasers to reshape the curvature of the cornea. Successful refractive eye surgery can reduce or eliminate corneal myopia, hyperopia and astigmatism.

For myopia, laser vision correction or refractive surgery involves removing small amounts of corneal tissue to reduce its refractive power, thereby flattens the centre of your cornea such that distant light rays are now focused on the retina.

For hyperopia, your cornea is steepened by removing peripheral tissue to create more refractive power.

If you have astigmatism, the laser smoothens the irregular shape of your cornea to even out its focusing power.

There are currently no proven refractive surgery procedures to treat presbyopia (“lau hua”) alone, however monovision, one eye for distance and the other eye to read, may be an option.

Common laser vision correction procedures are laser in-situ keratomileusis (LASIK), photorefractive keratectomy (PRK), and Epi-LASIK. Other refractive surgical procedures include ICLs and Bioptics (a combination of laser vision correction and ICL implant).