PRK Corrective Procedure

Corrective PRK Eye Surgery

A few minutes prior to PRK eye surgery, anesthetic drops will be applied to the patient's eye to numb the eye and prevent pain during the procedure. A speculum will be placed to hold the lids apart for the procedure, eliminating any concern that blinking during the procedure would present a problem. The PRK eye surgeon will then gently remove the surface corneal cells (epithelium) and proceed with the laser aspect of the procedure. The laser, being computer driven for accuracy and precision, is programmed based on the patient’s refractive error (nearsightedness, farsightedness, astigmatism).

PRK Eye Surgery Laser Delivery

The laser delivery takes less than one minute for most patients. Once the refractive ablation is completed, i.e., the corneal curvature is reshaped, the surgeon will place a bandage contact lens on the eye for improved comfort along with anti-inflammatory and antibiotic eye drops.

PRK Recovery Time

This contact lens is worn for the first 2 to 3 days until the surface epithelium is healed. Expect at least a few visits with you surgeon during the first month following surgery, with the first visit being the next day surgery. When the surface epithelium is healed, the eye will be comfortable, and the bandage contact lens is removed. Vision may be still blurry at this time. Your vision will gradually improve. Generally, vision will be good enough to drive a car within a week or two, but your best vision may not be obtained for up to 6 weeks to 2-3 months following surgery.

During the post-operative recovery period, most PRK patients will need to be re-evaluated one day, three days, one week, one month, two to three months, and four to six months following the PRK eye surgery.

PRK vs LASIK

PRK surgery results are very similar to LASIK results, at least for patients up to approximately ¬6.0 diopters of myopia (nearsightedness). However, in general, PRK patients will have a somewhat slower recovery of their best vision than LASIK patients. However, studies at the 6 month postoperative visit in LASIK and PRK patients show essentially equivalent results with this range of myopia.

Detailed analysis on LASIK vs LASEK vs PRK by the Department of Ophthalmology, University of Washington School of Medicine.