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Astigmatism No Longer Has to Blur Your World: Toric Lenses and Laser Correction Can Help

Astigmatism is a common refractive error that causes blurred, distorted, or warped vision at all distances. Mild cases can be corrected with glasses or contact lenses, but modern ophthalmology now offers permanent solutions as well. The defect can be corrected with high precision using laser eye surgery or by implanting a toric intraocular lens, which provides sharp and stable vision without dependence on glasses.

Astigmatism – common, yet often unnoticed

Astigmatism is a cylindrical refractive error that reduces visual acuity at every distance. It is caused by an irregular curvature of the cornea, and less commonly of the natural lens. Instead of being spherical, the cornea has a more ellipsoid shape, causing light to refract differently in areas with steeper or flatter curvature. As a result, light rays fail to meet at a single focal point on the retina, producing blurred, distorted, or warped vision. Patients also often struggle to distinguish certain letters and numbers.

“Astigmatism is not always easy to recognise – patients often don’t realise they have it, even though they experience blurred or distorted vision, reduced night vision, eye strain, or headaches. People usually don’t associate these symptoms with astigmatism, so the condition is often discovered only during a comprehensive eye examination,” explains Andrea Janeková, MD, FEBO, FEBOS-CR, Head Physician of the Cataract, Refractive, and Vitreoretinal Surgery Centre at Oční centrum Praha.

Treatment options: from glasses to toric lenses

Astigmatism is typically corrected with glasses or contact lenses that compensate for the irregular corneal curvature using cylindrical dioptres. These solutions provide clear vision but require regular adjustment and everyday wear.

Modern eye medicine, however, also offers surgical solutions that correct the defect permanently – either through laser surgery or implantation of a toric intraocular lens. The most suitable approach depends on the type of refractive error, the patient’s age, and their expectations.

Toric intraocular lenses: correcting astigmatism during lens surgery

A toric lens is a specially designed intraocular lens that compensates for corneal astigmatism – the irregular curvature of the cornea. Unlike a standard lens, a toric lens has varying optical power along different axes, allowing it to precisely neutralise corneal irregularities and direct light to a single focal point. Accurate alignment and selection of the toric lens require meticulous preoperative diagnostics, including corneal curvature and topography measurements that enable the surgeon to plan and implant the lens with precision. The result is sharp, stable, glasses-free vision.

“During cataract surgery or lens-based refractive surgery, it is advisable to choose a toric lens variant. If astigmatism is not corrected, the patient will still need glasses afterwards. Toric intraocular lenses offer a comprehensive solution that ensures sharp, stable vision without dependence on glasses,” says doctor Janeková.

Toric lenses are available not only in monofocal versions (for clear vision at one distance) but also as premium lenses – toric multifocal and EDOF (Extended Depth of Focus) options providing high-quality vision at multiple distances.

Vision with a toric lens correcting astigmatism

Basic vision with a standard lens	Vision with a toric lens correcting astigmatism

Laser surgery can correct astigmatism as well

Astigmatism can also be permanently removed with laser eye surgery, which reshapes the cornea so that light rays focus precisely at a single point.

 “Laser correction removes astigmatism with exceptional accuracy based on each eye’s individual parameters. Precise preoperative measurements are crucial, as all data are entered directly into the laser. This allows us to reshape the cornea with pinpoint accuracy and achieve sharp, stable vision without glasses,” explains doctor Janeková.

Laser correction is ideal mainly for younger and middle-aged adults who want to eliminate both dioptres and astigmatism in one procedure and remain fully independent of glasses.

Seeing the difference with your own eyes

The difference between uncorrected astigmatism and vision after treatment is remarkable. While astigmatism makes the image appear blurred, distorted, and wavy, correction – whether with a toric intraocular lens or laser surgery – results in sharp, stable, and distortion-free vision. Modern eye surgery can now correct astigmatism with exceptional precision – permanently and without the need for glasses.