Learn About Astigmatism
Astigmatism is a type of refractive error of the eye. Refractive errors cause blurred vision. They are the most common reason why a person goes to see an eye professional.
Other types of refractive errors are:
- Farsightedness
- Nearsightedness
People are able to see because the front part of the eye bends (refracts) light and focuses it on the retina. This is the inside of the back surface of the eye.
If the light rays are not clearly focused on the retina, the images you see may be blurry.
With astigmatism, the cornea is abnormally curved. This curve causes vision to be out of focus.
The cause of astigmatism is unknown. It is most often present from birth. Astigmatism often occurs together with nearsightedness or farsightedness. If astigmatism gets worse, it may be a sign of keratoconus.
Astigmatism is very common. It sometimes occurs after certain types of eye surgery, such as cataract surgery.
Astigmatism makes it hard to see fine details, either close up or from a distance.
Mild astigmatism may not need to be corrected.
Glasses or contact lenses will correct astigmatism, but do not cure it.
Laser surgery can help change the shape of the cornea surface to eliminate astigmatism, along with nearsightedness or farsightedness.
Cleveland Clinic Main Campus
James Randleman is an Ophthalmologist in Cleveland, Ohio. Dr. Randleman has been practicing medicine for over 33 years and is rated as an Elite provider by MediFind in the treatment of Astigmatism. His top areas of expertise are Keratoconus, Astigmatism, Nearsightedness, Vitrectomy, and Cataract Removal.
Noel Alpins practices in Melbourne, Australia. Mr. Alpins is rated as an Elite expert by MediFind in the treatment of Astigmatism. His top areas of expertise are Astigmatism, Cataract, Keratoconus, Nearsightedness, and Cataract Removal.
Sri Ganesh practices in Bengaluru, India. Ms. Ganesh is rated as an Elite expert by MediFind in the treatment of Astigmatism. Her top areas of expertise are Astigmatism, Cataract, Nearsightedness, Cataract Removal, and Corneal Transplant.
Astigmatism may change with time, requiring new glasses or contact lenses. Laser vision correction can most often eliminate, or greatly reduce astigmatism.
In children, uncorrected astigmatism in only one eye may cause amblyopia.
Contact your health care provider or ophthalmologist if vision problems worsen, or do not improve with glasses or contact lenses.
Summary: This study is a single-site, single-arm, prospective, observational study of subject satisfaction, quality of vision, and quality of life after bilateral LASIK surgery. Subjects will be assessed up to 3 months post-operatively. Clinical evaluations will include refractive outcomes, visual acuity, and administration of the adapted PROWL and Low Luminance Questionnaire (LLQ-32) Questionnaire.
Summary: This purpose of this study is to compare a new form of LASIK called Ray Tracing Guided LASIK to 3 other forms of corneal refractive surgery: 1. KLEx (KeratoLenticule Extraction) using the Zeiss Visumax 800 Laser, 2. WFO LASIK (Wavefront Optimized LASIK) using the Alcon EX500 Laser, and 3. Topography Guided LASIK (Contoura LASIK) also using the Alcon EX500 Laser.
Published Date: July 09, 2024
Published By: Audrey Tai, DO, MS, Athena Eye Care, Mission Viejo, CA. Also reviewed by David C. Dugdale, MD, Medical Director, Brenda Conaway, Editorial Director, and the A.D.A.M. Editorial team.
Le NT, Mamalis C, Weikert MP, Al-Mohtaseb Z. Excimer laser surface ablation: photorefractive keratectomy (PRK), laser subepithelial keratomileusis (LASEK), and Epi-LASIK. In: Yanoff M, Duker JS, eds. Ophthalmology. 6th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2023:chap 3.3.
Olitsky SE, Marsh JD. Abnormalities of refraction and accommodation. In: Kliegman RM, St. Geme JW, Blum NJ, et al, eds. Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics. 22nd ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2025:chap 660.
Stevens DV, Young JA. Correction of refractive errors. In: Yanoff M, Duker JS, eds. Ophthalmology. 6th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier; 2023:chap 2.4.