Benefits of PRK Enhancement
PRK (photorefractive keratectomy) was the common choice for vision correction before the development of Lasik came along. Both of these procedures are laser eye surgeries, although they do differ slightly when comparing the pros and cons. PRK takes longer for vision improvement and is a gradual process compared to Lasik surgery, but when patients are not good candidates for Lasik, surgeons often choose PRK as the alternative. This is especially true for patients with thin corneas. PRK surgery first began being practiced on patients in the 1980’s, but was not FDA approved until 1995 in the United States.
When eye surgeons perform Photorefractive keratectomy, it requires the use of an excimer laser. This laser uses cool ultraviolet light aimed directly at the cornea and removes very small amounts of tissue from the cornea to reshape it. Reshaping the cornea allows more focused light to enter the eye, which provides clearer vision. This procedure is effective in the treatment of nearsighted and farsighted individuals. For farsighted people the cornea is reshaped to be steeper as with nearsighted individuals the cornea is flattened. PRK surgery is also effective in the correction of astigmatism, as the cornea can be smoothed, making it a more normal shape.
Eye surgeons all want to perform PRK surgery perfectly to achieve the desired results of the patient, but sometimes this procedure can cause overcorrection or under correction, which can cause vision haziness. It this is the case, the eye surgeon will normally choose to perform a PRK enhancement procedure to correct the problem. Because PRK surgery takes time for the correction to be noticed, most eye surgeons wait at least four months after the initial PRK procedure before performing the enhancement surgery. Most individuals who have PRK never need the enhancement surgery, but about 10% do require this procedure afterwards.
Eye surgeons who perform PRK surgery on their patients normally explain that visual recovery time can take 4 weeks or longer for complete recovery. During the first week after the PRK procedure individuals can expect their vision to greatly fluctuate. Most individuals after having this procedure can expect their vision to be 20/30 to 20/50 after the first few days following the procedure. If the patient’s vision is less than perfect after the allotted time, PRK enhancement may be required, as the desired results are then normally achieved.
The main benefits of PRK enhancement are correction of haziness that can occur from the initial PRK procedure, the elimination of glasses or contacts that may have to used if the PRK was overcorrected or under corrected and the improvement of vision that the individual desired before the initial procedure