What is PRK?

Would you believe that PRK was once the most common eye surgery, before lasik came about?  PRK (Photorefractive Keratectomy) was the original eye laser surgery, now, PRK is the laser surgery performed on patients that are not ideal candidates for Lasik.

Commonwealth Eye Surgery performs hundreds of PRK procedures for patients needing vision correcting surgery, who might have walked in our doors expecting to talk about Lasik, however discover they are a better candidate for PRK.  PRK differs from Lasik surgery, in that the “down time” is longer for patients getting PRK.

“LASIK patients have less discomfort and obtain good vision more quickly — whereas, improvement with PRK is gradual and takes days, weeks or even months. But many surgeons prefer PRK in circumstances such as when patients have thin corneas.” – allaboutvision.com article

PRK (Photorefractive Keratectomy) does not require the creation of a corneal flap, but requires longer healing time. The results for PRK and LASIK are identical at six months.  Whether you might be considering Lasik or PRK, contact us today at Commonwealth Eye Surgery to schedule your consultation.