Astigmatism

When the eye is more oval than spherical or round, light is unable to reflect symetrically and hence a person will suffer astigmatism. Most people have a small amount of astigmatism as very few eyes are perfectly round.

The degree of irregularity can vary quite considerably. Astigmatism can also be caused by an accident or trauma to the eye or even surgery.

Less than 1 Dioptre of astigmatism is unlikely to require correction unless it is combined with additional refractive error such as long or sort sightedness.

More than 1 dioptre of astigmatism is usually corrected by spectacles unless surgery is needed for other conditions where spectacle freedom is the end goal.

During surgery. the smaller the incision the less likely it is that astigmatism will be induced or caused by surgery. Many lenses supplied by Visionary Surgical Solutions can be inserted via incisions which are less than 2 millimetres ( also known as MICS or micro incision cataracts surgery).

Until recently patients with astigmatism were unable to benefit from multifocal lenses unless their astigmatism could be corrected during surgery ( some surgeons perform LRI's or Limbal Relaxing Incisions). This issue has now been addressed by the AcriLISAToric lens which is the only lens* that can correct astigmatism of any magnitude.

* Correct at time of writing - January 2008