What is astigmatism?

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.