What is Astigmatism?

Astigmatism is a condition that prevents the eye from consistently focusing light in all directions. This highly common condition is induced by an abnormal curvature of the lens or the eye itself, resulting in more of a football shape instead of a baseball. Astigmatism can affect your near and distance vision, often causing mild blurring or double vision. We are able to determine the amount of astigmatism affecting your vision during your cataract evaluation.

The good news is, if you have astigmatism, it can now be corrected during your advanced laser cataract procedure. Depending on the amount of astigmatism you have, we may use the laser to create small incisions on your eye to reshape it. These incisions can be made more precisely with a laser compared to a manual procedure. Correcting your astigmatism can help restore your vision to its full potential and may reduce your need for glasses or contact lenses.

Limbal Relaxing Incisions (LRI)

Limbal Relaxing Incisions (LRI) are another way to correct minor astigmatism during cataract surgery. The LRI is typically performed at the beginning of surgery prior to IOL implantation. In this procedure, arc-shaped incisions are made to the surrounding periphery of the cornea. This technique is designed to gently reshape and flatten the curvature of the cornea into a more spherical shape, ultimately eliminating astigmatism.

Toric IOL

To treat astigmatism that is more severe, the cataract lens is replaced with a special intraocular lens (IOL), called a toric IOL. These lenses correct astigmatism as well as nearsightedness or farsightedness. Like toric soft contact lenses, toric IOLs can correct astigmatism because they have different powers in different meridians of the lens. Because of how a toric IOL works, it must be properly aligned in the eye to provide the best visual outcome. Our LENSAR femtosecond laser system helps eliminate inaccuracies and precisely aligns the toric IOL exactly where it needs to be in the eye.

Since 1981, Florida Eye Specialists & Cataract Institute has been dedicated to providing cataract excellence to the Tampa Bay community. We use the latest and most advanced technologies available, while providing a custom eye care experience for every patient. Give us a call today!

Announcing Advanced Laser Cataract Surgery

Florida Eye Specialists and Cataract Institute is known for always innovating and bringing the latest eye surgery options to the Brandon and Tampa Bay Area. Now we are pleased to announce advanced laser cataract surgery. This new technologically enhanced procedure offers even more precision than traditional methods ensuring the optimal surgical results. We recommend discussing with your surgeon this new option and if it is right for you. Learn more here.