A patient in my Ventura office asked me today if LASIK could treat astigmatism. While there is a myth that LASIK cannot correct astigmatism, it turns out LASIK has been able to correct astigmatism with great accuracy for nearly 20 years! Over that time, technology has improved and improved and more complicated and unusual types of astigmatism could be treated with greater and greater accuracy. One of the biggest advances in treatment of astigmatism came with the development of customized wavefront technology and iris registration systems which allowed precise alignment of the axis of treatment. This week, another advance in complex astigmatism treatment with LASIK occurred when the FDA approved VISX’s iDesigns Wavefront System for mixed astigmatism. Mixed astigmatism is a specific and somewhat rare type of astigmatism in which the ratio of astigmatism to spherical error (nearsightedness or farsightedness) falls within a certain range. It is one of the most complex shapes for laser eye surgery to treat. Mixed astigmatism treatments have already been approved with the VISX WaveScan Wavefront System. In the FDA data for the iDesigns Wavefront System, 92.9% of the 149 eyes studied achieved 20/20 vision without glasses or contact lenses, which is quite impressive for these challenging cases.