LASIK eye surgery is one of the most common forms of laser eye surgery. But what do you do if your cornea is too thin for LASIK? In these scenarios, you may want to turn to PRK eye surgery.
PRK stands for PhotoRefractive Keratectomy, and is used to correct astigmatism, nearsightedness or farsightedness. Just like LASIK eye surgery, PRK uses an excimer laser to reshape the cornea.
Both PRK and LASIK eye surgery are forms of laser eye surgery, and have their pros and cons for different patients.
Differences Between PRK and LASIK eye surgery
- LASIK eye surgery requires a flap to be created on the cornea, to be replaced after the surgery. Such a flap is not created for PRK procedures.
- Instead of creating a flap, PRK surgery removes the thin outer layer of the cornea, which repairs itself within a few days after surgery.
- Because the thin outer layer of the cornea needs time to repair, the recovery time is longer for PRK compared to LASIK eye surgery.
PRK was actually the first form of laser eye surgery, before LASIK was introduced. LASIK is far more popular, not only because of the faster recovery time, but because there is generally less discomfort immediately following the surgery.
LASIK patients stabilize their vision quite quickly after surgery, while you may experience hazy vision within the first few days or weeks after PRK surgery. However, the final result is comparable between the two surgical approaches.
While it may take several weeks for your PRK surgery to bring your eyes to their final, stabilized vision, you’ll benefit from a reduced risk of compromised corneal thickness, and avoid any corneal flap complications.
Who Would Benefit From PRK?
We may recommend PRK to you for medical or lifestyle considerations.
At BoydVision, we offer custom PRK as the base procedure for all patients. Custom PRK is significantly better than “standard” PRK, as we use additional information from corneal mapping to allow for a more sophisticated and precise procedure.
At BoydVision, we offer free consultation to assess the moistness, shape and thickness of your eyes. After reviewing your general health and medical background, we then present you with options such as LASIK eye surgery or PRK.
The actual PRK surgery will generally take only 15 minutes, as our excimer laser precisely and efficiently reshapes your cornea.
After the excimer laser is used to reshape your cornea, Dr. Boyd will place a soft contact lens on your eye to act as a “bandage” while the thin outer layer of your cornea repairs itself. The “bandage” is removed within a week.
We offer custom PRK at the best rates, offered by an experienced ophthalmologist. Book a free consultation today, or call us to learn more about PRK eye surgery.