Changing Eye Prescription

In most guidelines for refractive surgery, you'll find that an eye surgeon requires you to have had a stable prescription for at least a year. You also know that surgeons are usually concerned that fluctuations in eye prescriptions will cause regression.

You think that a changing prescription won't be a problem--you're 50 and older, you're stable and mature.

All bets are off with presbyopia and hyperopia, which get worse as you age because your eyes age, so you could have diopters of +2.00 one year. Two years later, a diagnostic eye exam could reveal that your prescription is +4.00 diopters. CK requires you to have a stable eye prescription.

Yet some CK eye surgeons say that you can have conductive keratoplasty if your prescription is likely to change. Your presbyopia will probably level out to a low-range aberration, +2.00 to +2.25 diopters.



Prescription change, however, is only acceptable after you have the procedure, when your CK eye surgeon can perform enhancements. Your prescription needs to be stable for at least a year before any conductive keratoplasty procedure.