What is the medical condition that is treated by excimer laser refractive surgery?
Ophthalmologists use excimer laser refractive surgery to treat nearsightedness, or myopia, a condition where the eye is too long and images are focused in front of the receptors (the retina) at the back of the eye. This causes distant images to appear fuzzy. Most commonly, this condition is treated with spectacles or contact lenses, which change the way light is “refracted” to the retina. Approximately 70 million people in the United States — one in four — have varying degrees of myopia.
