I only wear glasses for reading, can the Eye Institute help me?

Presbyopia is a very common problem.  For all humans, the natural lens inside the eye becomes stiff with normal aging.  The aging lens has a hard time changing focus from far to near.  Most people start to get symptoms around the age of mid-40's. 

When someone with good distance vision gets presbyopia, they start to need reading glasses for the up-close vision.  On the contrary, If someone is already myopic (nearsighted), they find they have to take off their glasses to read up close.  If people don't like taking their glasses on and off, they usually get one of the bi-focal options (lined or no-line progressive bifocals).

Some presbyopes have surgical options for presbyopia correction, especially if they are willing to tolerate monovision.  At one time our practice offered CK (Conductive Keratoplasty), but we have since found that the results are temporary in some people.  The easiest way to offer a more permanent surgical fix for presbyopia is to perform LASIK or PRK corneal laser surgery on one or both eyes to end up with monovision.  Some patients may be a candidate for a surgery that replaces the lens of the eye with an artificial lens.  The only way to know which of these procedures is best for you is to do a consultation with one of our refractive surgery doctors at the Black Hills Regional Eye Institute.  Give us a call today to schedule with Dr. Terry Spencer, Dr. Steve Khachikian, or Dr. Scott Schirber.