After the initial healing period of 3 to 6 months, your distance visual acuity should remain the same for the rest of your life (provided, of course, that you don't develop cataracts or some other age-related eye disease).

Regression--a return of some of your nearsightedness, farsightedness or astigmatism--is rare.

However, if you are under age 40, at some point in your forties, your up close vision will become blurred due to the normal age-related loss of near focusing ability called presbyopia. When this happens, you will need to wear reading glasses to read and to see near objects clearly.