PRK Surgery – What you should know

If you are considering getting laser eye surgery to correct your vision, the initial procedure that might cross your might will most likely be LASIK eye surgery, however for many candidates PRK Surgery might be a better option. For some individuals it might be the only option.

So you might be wondering why someone would consider going through PRK laser eye surgery, well it’s main benefit that can be seen over LASIK is that a corneal flap is not left remaining and also their are fewer chances of complications visible. When discussing the corneal flap, we can see that it is an actual change in the structure in the eye and it may prevent future surgical treatments if their are any complications.

To date, LASIK can be seen as being more popular when considered to PRK surgery and that is because of some of the cons of PRK surgery. PRK laser eye surgery has a much longer recovery time because the epithelium is completely removed and it takes time for it to grow back. This alone causes recovery to be a lot more painful when compared to LASIK even though there is no cutting involved in PRK surgery. Also it takes quite some time for PRK patients to reach their best uncorrected vision, which is usually between one to three months. LASIK results are far more faster.

For many individuals, the option of the two is not even a consideration. The limitations are due to the fact that these candidates have thin corneas and are only suited for PRK surgery. If LASIK surgery were to be preformed on an individual with a thin cornea than their is the possibility of jeopardizing the integrity of the cornea and therefore PRK is the recommended method because it does not do as much change to the structure of the cornea when compared to LASIK.

This decision is one that should be made carefully by an individual only after learning and understanding both options that are available for laser eye surgery. You should do your research and weigh the pros and cons of both procedures and make a decision that works best for you.

Is PRK Surgery for You?

Photorefractive Keratectomy or PRK for short is a popular method of laser eye surgery used to correct near sightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism. With this procedure, your vision becomes corrected by correcting and reshaping your eyes cornea. The cornea is described as the clear front of your eyeball.

With PRK eye surgery, the doctor will use a pulsating laser on the surface of your eyes cornea, however in the LASIK eye surgery, a flap is cut within the cornea and the laser beam is targeted under your eyes cornea.

The PRK procedure is precise in correcting nearsightedness. It is known that approximately 80% of patients that under go this procedure using PRK laser eye treatment have 20/20 vision without the use of glasses after a year of the surgical date. The cost of PRK and LASIK eye surgery is the same however the recovery time to total corrected vision a lot longer with the PRK procedure. 80% of individuals who have had PRK reach their best vision after about a month and 95 to 100% after 3 months. LASIK vision correction is a lot faster.

After completion of PRK surgery, the patient is expected to have some discomfort for the first day or two and light sensitivity may also be expected during this time.

It takes about 10 minutes to perform a PRK laser eye surgery on both eyes. It is a quick procedure that is done under local anesthesia. Immediately after the procedure a bandage type contact lens is applied to the eyes which remains for three days to let the exterior of the eyes to heal. It is required for the surgeon to remove it upon your follow up visit. The day after your surgery you will be required to visit the surgeon to ensure a successful surgery. Three or four days after to remove the contact lens and probably several times over the next few months for check up visits.

You may experience a fluctuation in your vision for a few weeks after your surgery. Your eye may feel dry, you will have eye drops prescribed by your physician to ensure you eyes remain moist and also to prevent an infection.

Over time, you will notice a significant improvement in you vision, after only two or three weeks you will see well enough to be able to operate a motored vehicle, however your optimal vision is not reached until six weeks to even six months after your surgery.

PRK surgery comes second to LASIK eye surgery these days as most surgeons prefer and recommend LASIK due to the fact that the healing process is a lot faster and the overall results are more predictable. Make your decision carefully to determine which laser vision correction is best for you. Do your research, weigh the pros and cons of each surgical option and don’t be afraid to ask you surgeon questions. It is your responsibility to learn and understand the benefits that laser eye surgery has to offer.