In a sense, they have always been farsighted, but in their youth, eye muscles reshaped lenses so that they were able to see clearly. As focusing ability diminishes, the vision now converges at a point behind the back of the eye instead of directly on the light-collecting nerves of the retina. Mr. Mulroy s vision deteriorated enough that he could not see clearly, near or far, without glasses. L.T.K. appears more eye exam than eye surgery. At the office of Dr. Sandra C. Belmont, director of the laser vision center at the Weill Cornell Medical Center in Manhattan, Mr. Mulroy merely sat in front of a sleek white and gray machine that looks not much different from one that tests for glaucoma.
Preparation takes most of the time.
Operating first on the right eye, Dr. Belmont tapes a patch over the left. Next, she drops an anesthetic to numb the right eye, then inserts a ring to prop the eyelid open. Mr. Mulroy then looks into one side of the L.T.K. machine, propping his head on a chin rest while Dr. Belmont peers from the other side. Don t move. Stay like that.