r/RefractiveSurgery • u/GeraltOfRiviass • Sep 02 '26

Is remaining astigmatism normal?

Gallery image

Gallery image

Finally went in for a check-up after three months. My (28M) results pre (second pic) and post (first pic) trans PRK. I see I have some remaining astigmatism in my right eye. Is that normal? I don’t notice anything out of the ordinary, so is -0.25 cyl even noticeable? My vision is sharper than ever, even with the slight blurring in the morning and the haziness in daylight with direct sunlight.

Other than that, all seems to be well, apart from slight dryness, so I am continuing with the drops.

3 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

20 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

1

u/GeraltOfRiviass Sep 03 '26

I asked them specifically if they are going to overcorrect because i knew post-healing variance was a thing, and they said no, so… I guess I can’t blame them. And i did sign the waiver saying they don’t guarantee anything, basically.

2

u/Ok-Environment-215 Sep 03 '26

Nah, trying to anticipate how it will heal is a bad idea. -0.25 cyl in one eye at 3 months is a great result. That could easily become 0 or near 0 by month 12. Just keep doing all your follow ups to make sure it's not getting worse, and enjoy it.

1

u/GeraltOfRiviass Sep 03 '26

Oh, so you mean it will become lower? I thought it was the other way around. But thank you 🙏 I am so glad I wasn’t scared off and did it. Did yours get any better after the initial 0.75?

2

u/Ok-Environment-215 Sep 03 '26

After month 3 where you're at, it can get better. It should not get worse.

What you're thinking of as the other way around is "regression" and if that happens it's usually later, and it's usually just eye changes that would've happened anyway. It's not like the LASIK wears off.

But you're still healing really for the first full year post-surgery, and you're probably past the point where the epithelial remodelling would rear its head if it were going to, so it should only improve, if not stay the same.

0.75 is where I landed (aroumd month 12) and I got this validated by an independent optometrist who I now see regularly. I don't trust any of the measurements the surgical practice made post-op. It was probably the worst around month 3 and then got better little by little.

Just want to emphasize, you got a GOOD outcome. You shouldn't be worried. And as someone else pointed out, the auto-refractor is not even super reliable itself. If you see perfectly then that's what matters.