Refractive surgery is a group of surgical procedures designed to help you reduce or even eliminate your need for glasses or contact lenses. Various procedures are available to help correct the various types of refractive errors: myopia, hyperopia, and astigmatism.

Refractive surgery improves your vision by changing the focus power of your eye. This is accomplished by altering either of the two focusing structures of the eye—the cornea and the lens. The cornea or lens can be altered by various surgical techniques.