What’s the prescription limit for LASIK?

A stable prescription is one of the hallmarks of a good LASIK candidate.

Your prescription must also be within certain limits…

The limits that the current technology can treat are long-sightedness up to around plus four, right down to the other end of the spectrum, which is short-sightedness up to minus 12. Now that’s a massive range, and most patients fall within that range.

If you don’t fall into that range, we also have new alternative technologies. For example, with ICL lens implant technology, we can treat up to minus 20 and up to eight to nine units of astigmatism. What the patient experiences is not hugely dissimilar to having laser eye surgery.

If your prescription is very high – be it due to short-sightedness, long-sightedness or astigmatism – your eye surgeon may advise you against the LASIK procedure. The results of LASIK surgery for the treatment of very high refractive errors are less predictable and may not be worth the cost and potential risks.

In addition, very high amounts of myopia, for example, could require the removal of too much corneal tissue and put you at increased risk of vision complications.

If you have a severe refractive error, another type of vision correction surgery may be a better option, such as phakic IOL implantable lenses or refractive lens exchange.

To learn more about LASIK, and know which treatment is best for you, please book a free virtual vision assessment online on our website today.