Refractive surgery refers to any surgery that is done to correct a refractive error in your eye. A refractive error is present if you cannot clearly focus your eye, and need to wear glasses (spectacles) or contact lenses. The most common refractive errors are:
- Myopia (short-sightedness) – Difficulty in seeing distant objects clearly
- Hyperopia (long-sightedness) – Difficulty in seeing close objects clearly
- Astigmatism – Distorted vision resulting from an irregularly curved cornea
- Presbyopia – Age-related difficulty in reading or seeing close objects clearly
Refractive surgery is usually done by laser. The laser procedure changes the shape of the cornea to correct the error in your vision. LASIK is an abbreviation of 'laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis', which is the name of the surgery.