What is PRK?

Dr. Matthew Russell discusses PRK laser eye surgery

PRK is a type of refractive surgery that we do to correct long-sightedness, short-sightedness, astigmatism or dry eye problems. We also do it for restoring the reading vision of people who are losing their capability because of age.

PRK involves reshaping the surface of the eye.

With LASIK, we create an ultra-thin flap of corneal tissue and raise that to do the treatment. With PRK, we do the treatment directly on top of the cornea after removing the very thin layer of epithelium or skin of the cornea.

The primary difference between LASIK and PRK is that the thin layer that we replace at the end of the LASIK procedure isn’t there. The skin of the cornea’s epithelium has to regrow or regenerate…

That means that the healing process takes longer, and the comfort level of PRK is not as high as LASIK. After the procedure, a bandage contact lens is used to let the cornea heal. Sometimes, medicated eye drops are prescribed to help you recover as well. The eye is quite uncomfortable for somewhere between two or three days after the procedure. Nevertheless, PRK’s very accurate and takes just a matter of minutes to perform.

The results between PRK and LASIK, if you compare them, are virtually identical.

An excellent place to start when you’re thinking about laser vision correction is to go to our website and take the online suitability test. In that way, you can, in a detailed manner, find out whether you’re likely to be a good candidate for PRK treatment and then take the next step to call us and make an appointment for a free assessment.