A groundbreaking surgical technique that eliminates or reduces the need for spectacles, has been performed in Australia for the first time. Using laser technology to reshape the cornea of the eye, the technique allows the brain to merge near, middle and long-distance vision from each eye into a clear picture. Australian eye surgeon Dr. Patrick Versace, from the Vision Eye Institute in Sydney, is one of only three surgeons in the world to perform the state-of-the-art technique known as Zeiss PresbyLASIK.
“PresbyLASIK is a revolutionary technique which has the potential to eliminate or reduce reliance on glasses for thousands of Australians suffering from the age-related condition known as presbyopia,” Dr. Versace said.
“This is the first time in Australia that noninvasive laser technology has been used to turn back the clock on ageing eyes that have lost their ability to adjust focus,” he said.
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PresbyLASIK is perfect for these people as it can reduce, and possibly eliminate, the need for glasses all together
PresbyLASIK is a surgical technique that uses a laser to reshape the cornea of each eye, leaving the dominant eye focused for long-to-middledistance vision, and the non-dominant eye focused for close-up and middle-distance vision. This results in an overlapping zone of ‘middledistance vision’ in each eye. Since both eyes provide the same middle-distance vision the brain is able to merge close-up, intermediate and long-distance images from each eye into one clear picture.
“Treating presbyopia is the last frontier of refractive surgery. This technique allows the eyes and the brain to work in sync to transition through the distance spectrum and retain clear focus,” Dr Versace said.
Traditional monovision laser surgery, which is only suitable for about 50 per cent of patients, focuses one eye for long-distance vision and the other eye for near-vision – with no overlap zone for intermediate sight. In the past this has caused what doctors call a ‘blur zone’ in the middledistance range of the patient’s vision, often resulting in the continued need for glasses.
Presbyopia occurs when the eye loses its ability to adjust focus across different distances and is generally treated with multiple pairs of glasses or glasses with multi-focal contact lenses.
Dr. Versace said that for many people, glasses were both an inconvenience and intrusion.
“PresbyLASIK is perfect for these people as it can reduce, and possibly eliminate, the need for glasses altogether. It is an exciting advancement and Australia is at the forefront of this innovation. Being one of just three centres in the world to utilise this revolutionary technique puts Australia at the cutting-edge of presbyopia treatment,” he said.
Dr. Versace added that presbyopia should not be accepted as another symptom of ageing. It can now be treated quickly and effectively, with little discomfort or recovery time.
