Final answer:
Yes, patients with various visual impairments should be tested. The Snellen chart and visual field tests assess visual acuity and peripheral vision, while eye movement tests and ophthalmoscopy examine other aspects of eye health. Presbyopia requires reading glasses even after LASIK as it affects near vision accommodation.
Step-by-step explanation:
Patients with ocular trauma, bandages, pre-existing blindness, and other disorders of visual acuity or fields should indeed be tested to understand the extent of visual impairment and to plan appropriate treatments or interventions. Testing for visual acuity is commonly done using a Snellen chart, which presents letters in various sizes to determine how well a person can see at a distance. For checking the visual fields, a simple examination involving the patient reporting when fingers held out to the side are no longer visible can be used, with further tests if necessary to establish detailed visual field perceptions.
Additionally, eye movement can be assessed by having the patient follow an object without moving their eyes to see the functionality of extraocular muscles. Tests like ophthalmoscopy can inspect the optic disk. Those over 40 should routinely test for intraocular pressure, which is a risk factor for glaucoma. Unique symptoms like bilateral hemianopia may suggest a problem with the optic chiasm, often unrelated to the visual system itself, such as a pituitary gland growth.
Presbyopia, the loss of the eye's ability to change focus for different distances, can be partially corrected with LASIK surgery for distance vision, but reading glasses may still be needed for near vision because LASIK does not resolve accommodation issues.