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Posted by: Georgia Center for Sight

At its most basic, your eye works like a camera, bending light to focus it onto the retina (the back of your eye) for a crisp, clear image.

Now, although the lens inside your eye certainly helps to focus light, the majority of focusing power actually comes from a different part of your eye. The cornea – the clear, protective coating on the surface of your eye – does most of the heavy lifting, making it the the main focus of laser vision correction.

If your eye is the exact, perfectly ideal shape, light will focus precisely where it should on the retina, and you will have great vision. However, if the shape of your eye is even a little off, it can result in light focusing at the wrong spot, leading to distorted eyesight.

Myopia (nearsightedness) – Light rays bend more than they should, so they focus in front of the retina. Faraway images seem blurry.

Hyperopia (farsightedness) – Light rays bend less than they should, so they focus behind the retina. Close-up images seem blurry.

Astigmatism – Light rays bend at different angles, so they are not all focused at the same spot. All images seem blurry.

Luckily, patients with vision problems now have options beyond contacts and glasses. Now, Dr. Dong can actually reshape your cornea, essentially changing your eyes so they permanently focus light how they should. The result? The clear vision you would have if your eyes were their ideal shape. Click here for information on LASIK performed by Dr. Dong.