Hyperopic eyes respond differently to corneal laser surgery because treatment steepens the central cornea using a peripheral annular ablation profile. This makes outcomes more sensitive to centration, optical zone size, and healing-related biomechanical changes.
Patients with latent hyperopia, higher degrees of farsightedness, or relatively shallow anterior chambers have greater unpredictability and higher rates of regression and retreatment than typical myopic cases. Visual quality issues such as night-time symptoms may also be more prominent.
Although modern laser platforms and nomograms have improved outcomes, hyperopic correction remains biologically less stable than myopic correction. Realistic counselling should explicitly address the possibility of regression, slower stabilisation, and the potential need for enhancement procedures.
References
- Almutairi MN, Alshehri AM, Alhoumaily AY, Alnahdi O, Taha MA, Gangadharan S. Clinical outcomes of LASIK and PRK in hyperopia: a meta-analysis. BMC Ophthalmology. 2025;25:140.
- Taneri S, Hansson C. Reevaluating Hyperopic LASIK. Cataract & Refractive Surgery Today. September 2021.
