How is astigmatism treated?

If the patient does not want to wear glasses or contact lenses, astigmatism can be corrected with laser vision correction, provided that the patient’s diopter is within the range of up to +/-5.0D of astigmatism and that the patient meets all the necessary prerequisites to be a suitable candidate for surgery.

If, for any reason, laser vision correction is not recommended for the patient, surgery with implantation of toric intraocular lenses is possible.

Surgery with implantation of toric lenses

Toric intraocular lenses

This is the only type of intraocular lens that can correct astigmatism greater than +/-1.0D, since it also contains a cylindrical component.

Surgery with implantation of toric lenses is recommended for patients with astigmatism who are not suitable candidates for laser vision correction, as well as for patients who have both astigmatism and cataract (gray cataract).

Toric intraocular lenses can be:

Monofocal toric lenses – in about 90–95% of cases provide good distance vision; glasses are needed for near vision.
Bifocal toric lenses – in about 95% of cases provide good near and distance vision, without or with minimal use of glasses.
Trifocal toric lenses – provide good near, distance and intermediate vision; surgery on both eyes is recommended (5–7 days apart).

Surgery with implantation of toric lenses

Before the surgery, patients undergo a very precise and extensive examination, as it is extremely important to measure the cylinder axis and the intraocular lens diopter accurately. Our institution has diagnostic equipment that represents the gold standard in this type of surgery worldwide, such as Pentacam HR and Lenstar LS 900.

As part of the preoperative preparation, a cardiology examination and laboratory tests are required. All of this can be done by patients at our polyclinic.

Surgery with implantation of toric intraocular lenses lasts about 10–15 minutes, is performed under local, topical anesthesia and is completely painless and comfortable. By making a small incision that does not require suturing, the wound heals quickly and without discomfort.