Laser eye surgery, also called LASIK surgery can correct less than normal vision. In most cases the surgery is successful and the individual can see well without the aid of glasses or contact lenses. This type of surgery was developed in 1990 and has become increasingly popular.
Laser surgery has worked well with people that have myopia and hypermetropia. In perfect vision light goes into the eye through the lens. It is refracted or bent to fall on the retina, which focuses the image. When you wear eyeglasses the lens work with the natural lens of the eye to make the light refract and focus in the retina right where it is supposed to be.
The light overshoots the retina with people that have myopia. Instead the light hits the cornea, which cannot sharpen the image. When laser surgery is applied the cornea is reconfigured so that the light gets to the retina and focusing will no longer be a problem. The material in the center of the cornea is thinned out and removed. In hypermetropia the light is unable to get as far as the retina. In this case material is removed from the edges of the cornea and it allows the light to reach the retina.