The excimer laser improves your distance vision by slightly altering the shape of the cornea. However, it is not possible to correct the aging of the muscles which make us read up close. This condition is called Presbyopia. Just as in all people with good distance vision, it is very likely that you will require reading glasses after surgery after the age of 40.

For a myope, it is possible to avoid the need for reading glasses by programming the laser's computer to leave one eye slightly myopic after treatment, with the other programmed for distance. This method, called "monovision", is not always tolerated because of the imbalance between the 2 eyes. For this reason, it is only done after a trial in contact lenses to verify that the patient will be visually comfortable.