LASIK Surgery, Discussing Monovision

Monovision gives reference to the use of one eye for near vision and the other for distance vision. This procedure has great success for patients with presbyopia. The surgeon typically chooses the dominant eye as the distance eye and the non-dominant eye as the near vision eye. The surgeon will then give a trial of contact lenses to simulate what what the vision would be like. If the trial is successful, then the LASIK surgeon will perform laser surgery, correcting the stronger (dominant) eye for distance and the weaker eye (non-dominant) for near vision. Patients who already have mild to moderate myopia (nearsightedness) usually do well, sometimes not even needing a contact lenses trial.

Monovision uses a process in the brain called neuro-adaptation. The brain has to get used to the fact that one eye is designed for near and the other for far, perceiving two simultaneous images and tries to blend them together. It could take upto 3-4 months for this process to occur, typically it usually happens within a month. Consideration when getting monovision is given to the fact that there is a decrease in depth perception. Some individuals who are very active in athletics tend to like all full depth perception, while individuals who have more laid back lifestyle do not miss the decrease in depth perception. Monovision is typically for patients in the 40’s to 50’s. In our experience, patients either love it or hate it. If the monovison works well for you, it reduces your dependence on reading glasses significantly but not totally. We always tell patients that they will probably need glasses to do fine detail work (reading fine print on a prescription bottle, needling, etc..)

Here at North Shore Eye Care, Dr. Zweibel, Dr. Martin and Dr. Mauro all specialize in laser refractive surgery and monovision. Our goal is to find the perfect recipe for each person in addressing there daily activities and lifestyle. At　 Northshore Eye Care we serve patients from all over Long Island including the 5 burroughs of New York. 　In Long Island we serve Manhasset, Port Washington, Great Neck, Hewlet, Garden City, Lawrence, Merrick, Mineola　as well as other townships in Nassau County.　 In Suffolk County we serve　 Melville, Dix Hills, Huntington and Cold Spring Harbor, Norhport, Dix Hills, Commack, Smithtown, Stony Brook, Islip, Brentwood, Port Jefferson, Patchogue, Riverhead, the Hamptons, Sag Harbor, Jamestown, Mattituck as well as many other villages and townships in Suffolk County.