Laser eye surgery for short-sightedness (myopia) in Vienna: Precision, safety & individual solutions

In short-sightedness, the eyeball has grown too long. As a result, the incoming light is not focused exactly on the retina, but in front of it. The result: Distance is blurred, near vision is usually good.

Very often, yes. If the cornea is too thin for the excimer laser, the ICL (implantable contact lens) is the ideal “plan B”. It leaves the cornea intact. However, the prerequisite is that your eye’s anterior chamber is anatomically deep enough (at least 2.8 mm).

If the cornea is too thin AND the anterior chamber is too shallow, we advise against an operation on the healthy eye. The risk to internal eye structures (endothelial cell loss, risk of glaucoma) would be too high.

Yes, regardless of the operation. A highly short-sighted eye (myopia magna) is “longer” than normal, which puts the retina under tension. The risk of retinal holes is statistically increased. Important: A laser operation does not change this risk – it remains. That’s why at EyeLaser we perform a retinal examination with dilated pupils before every procedure.

The removed tissue does not grow back. However, in rare cases (approx. 1-5%), especially with high values, slight regression can occur because the cornea reacts biomechanically. Usually these are low values (e.g. -0.5 diopters). Here we can often perform a straightforward enhancement.

The procedure itself is painless because the eye is anesthetized with drops. After the procedure: With LASIK/SmartSight you have a foreign body sensation for about 4-6 hours. With Trans-PRK, the first 2-3 days are often uncomfortable and light-sensitive.

A fine lid speculum keeps the eye open. The laser has a 7D eye tracker that tracks your eye over 1,000 times per second. If you cough or twitch, the laser stops in milliseconds. Nothing can be “lasered incorrectly”.

Blindness from a laser operation is practically non-existent in modern medical practice. Since we work on the surface (cornea), the optic nerve and retina remain completely untouched. We minimize the theoretical risk of infection through the highest surgical hygiene standards.

After LASIK or SmartSight often after just 24-48 hours, after an ICL implantation after about 3 days. With Trans-PRK, please plan for 4-5 days off work, as the epithelium must first regrow.

Jogging/fitness: After 2-3 days. Swimming (Alte Donau, indoor pool): Strict break of 2 to 3 weeks due to risk of infection (acanthamoeba). Combat sports: Here we strongly recommend flap-free methods (Trans-PRK, SmartSight, ICL).

Not on the day of the operation. The day after the operation you come for a check-up. Usually patients already achieve the legally required visual acuity here. As soon as the doctor gives the “OK”, you can drive again.

No. Hormonal changes can make the cornea thicker (water retention) and falsify the diopters. Please wait with the preliminary examination until about 3 months after weaning.

Contact lenses slightly deform the cornea (warpage effect). So that we can measure with micrometer precision, soft lenses must be left out for 1 to 2 weeks and hard lenses for 2 to 4 weeks before the measurement.

Usually not (lifestyle procedure). Exception: In cases of extreme anisometropia (see question 15) or proven, absolute intolerance of glasses AND lenses, a subsidy can be granted in very rare individual cases. Otherwise, you can deduct the operation from your taxes.

Anisometropia means that one eye is, for example, severely short-sighted (-6 dpt) and the other is normal (0 dpt). Glasses lead to differently sized images in the brain (aniseikonia) and cause dizziness. A laser operation or ICL is often the only medically sensible solution for perfect 3D vision.

Yes. We work with reputable financing partners who enable convenient installment payments.

The pure use of the laser for short-sightedness usually takes only 10 to 15 seconds per eye.

With femto-LASIK and SmartSight, visual acuity is often already at 90 to 100% the next day. Nevertheless, the brain needs time to adapt to the new vision (neuroadaptation).

A temporary feeling of dryness is normal. We use tissue-sparing methods (such as SmartSight without a large flap incision) to protect the corneal nerves, which massively reduces the risk of chronically dry eyes.

There is no upper age limit, provided there is no lens opacity (cataract). From about 50-55 years, however, we carefully check whether a refractive lens exchange is the better long-term investment than the corneal laser.

With ICL (mostly for patients under 45), an additional artificial lens is implanted, the natural lens remains. With lens exchange (from 50 years), your own aging lens is removed and replaced with a premium multifocal lens.

To minimize the risk of infection, we recommend avoiding eye makeup for at least one week and not rubbing your eye when removing makeup.

Yes, that is the absolute standard. The excimer laser reshapes the cornea so that both visual defects are corrected in the same 15 seconds.

No. We only laser from 18 years. The most important factor: The diopter values must have been absolutely stable for at least one year. If the eye is still growing, the short-sightedness would return after the operation.

The progression of short-sightedness in childhood is a serious issue (myopia progression). A laser procedure is not possible here, but there are special eye drops (low-dose atropine) or special contact lenses/spectacle lenses that can slow the lengthening growth of the eye. Talk to your pediatric ophthalmologist about this.

Premium safety takes time. We dilate your eyes (to measure the exact refractive power with the ciliary muscle paralyzed), scan the retina for weak spots, check the anterior chamber depth, the night pupil, and take time for honest medical consultation.