What is astigmatism?

Oval eye shape: Refractive errors require either plus (farsighted) or minus (nearsighted) glasses + an extra amount if the eye is oval in shape (astigmatism). These are called refractive errors and can be corrected with glasses or contacts. The list of other eye problems is long and these are usually unrelated to astigmatism.

Astigmatism: Astigmatism is one type of refractive error. Myopia (or nearsightedness), hyperopa (or farsightedness), and astigmatism all can cause refractive error. Refractive error is what causes a patient to require glasses or contact lenses to see better. Astigmatism is typically when the cornea is shaped more like a football than a basketball. Glasses, contact, and LASIK can fix this problem.

Corneal curvature: Astigmatism just means that your cornea is not perfectly spherically shaped and instead has different curvatures in different directions (kind of like a football in the extreme example). Everyone has some degree of astigmatism although not everyone has enough to notice it. I doubt you "need" any surgery.

Astigmatism: Astigmatism is one type of refractive error. Myopia (or nearsightedness), hyperopa (or farsightedness), and astigmatism all can cause refractive error. Refractive error is what causes a patient to require glasses or contact lenses to see better. Astigmatism is typically when the cornea is shaped more like a football than a basketball. Glasses, contact, and LASIK can fix this problem.