How long do mono-vision patients get to enjoy the benefits of having one eye slightly nearsighted?..Won't they eventually lose the focusing power of the slightly undercorrected eye? Then what do they do? Have it corrected to plano and then go to reading glasses?

after monovision lasik, one eye is left nearsighted and can see close objects clearly. that eye will always have a near point at which things are clear. therefore the patient should only have to use reading glasses for very small close objucts like reading the white pages.

debra tennen, md

In regard to readers...I am 36 and had LASIK to correct distance vision. At this time, I don't need readers, but am curious, when the time comes, will I be like any person with good distance vision? or will I be like those I have seen posting in their (what is the politically correct phrase?) "later middle years" who report loss of all but distance vision? My surgeon says I will be just like any person out there who has excellent disance vision but loses the ability to focus due to presbyopia..but this issue confuses me. I would not do nor could I do monovision, even if it were an option at this age due to my jobs vision requirement (I am an air traffic controller and cannot have one eye undercorrected and work). More a question out of curiosity. I love the new vision and would not change it for the world, just hope presbyopia doesn't set in for MANY more years.

Denise

Denise,
As you reach your 40's, your lens will lose its ability to focus up close. If you have perfect distance vision, then your eyes will not be able to focus at close objects (like the newspaper), so you will need reading glasses. I have great distance vision, so I will need reading glasses when I turn 40. If your eyes have had LASIK so that you have excellent vision at distance, then your eyes would be similar to mine - so we both will have difficulty reading without glasses when we reach our 40's

I hope this helps

Bill Trattler, MD
Miami, FL

Thanks Dr. Trattler,
I have been reading posts of people in their 40s and 50s upset at losing near and mid vision so rapidy. I now figure this to be due to the abrupt change from a myopic condiditon?

Reading glasses I won't mind when the time comes..well, I should say, I am prepared to use reading glasses when the time comes, it just seemed to me that many who have LASIK in their later years seem to report that the loss of near vision is debilitating. I just wanted to confirm that as presbyopia sets in, it will most likely be gradual, kind of like my 45 year old hubby..he started having probs around 42 or so and now cannot ready books or newspapers w/o glasses but does fine at what I consider mid-distance (something on the pantry shelf, for example)

And yes, my distance vision is EXCELLENT for the first time since I was a teenager....
How happy do you think I am?

Thanks for the clarification,
Denise