If you’re over 40 and experiencing presbyopia—the natural loss of near vision—monovision LASIK may offer a solution to reduce your dependence on reading glasses. At Laser Eye Center of Carolina, Dr. Dean Dornic, a nationally recognized authority on LASIK and vision correction, has helped thousands of patients achieve clearer vision through advanced monovision techniques. With more than 15 years of surgical experience and recognition as one of “America’s Top Ophthalmologists,” Dr. Dornic offers expert guidance on whether monovision is right for you.
What is Monovision?
Monovision involves correcting one eye for distance vision and the other eye for near vision. This approach has been used successfully for over 20 years with contact lenses and various types of refractive surgery. The vision part of our brain naturally suppresses or filters out the image from the eye that is not in clear focus, so you’re not bothered by the blurred eye. We create monovision using the laser so that the dominant eye focuses at distance and the non-dominant eye at near.
When one eye sees better at one distance than the other, this is called monovision. For patients under 40, the eye can naturally accommodate (adjust focus) from far to near. However, after age 40, this focusing ability diminishes due to presbyopia. Monovision allows each eye to be corrected to a natural focus at different distances—typically one for reading and one for distance—providing functional vision at multiple ranges without glasses.
Monovision Treatment Considerations
There is no single right answer for everyone considering monovision treatment. As a general guideline, we suggest against monovision if you are under 35, as it will be years before you notice any benefit, and better solutions may emerge. We also typically recommend against monovision for people who need better-than-average vision for specific tasks, such as pilots, race car drivers, professional drivers (especially at night), or avid tennis players.
In our experience, most people over 40 to 45 who try monovision and allow a few months to adapt find it very useful. Those with monovision can generally see well enough at both distance and near to perform most activities without corrective lenses. Depending on the exact result, some situations—such as night driving or prolonged reading—might still benefit from glasses for maximum comfort.
If you choose monovision and are unable to adapt, it can be reversed through an enhancement procedure on the near eye, after which reading glasses would be needed for close tasks.
Why Choose Laser Eye Center of Carolina?
Dr. Dornic was the first Raleigh-Durham laser eye surgery specialist to perform blade-free LASIK with IntraLase® technology. Named a LASIK Gold surgeon—an honor bestowed upon the top 50 LASIK surgeons nationwide—and featured by Newsweek as one of “15 Leaders in Laser Eye Surgery,” Dr. Dornic brings unparalleled expertise to your vision correction journey.
Ready to explore your vision correction options? Contact our Cary location at (919) 467-9955 or our Smithfield location at (919) 938-2010 to schedule your consultation with Dr. Dornic today.
