PRK or Photorefractive Keratectomy eceived Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval in 1995 making the first FDA approved Laser Eye Surgery for nearsightedness in the United States. Since that time PRK has demonstrated over a long period of time that it is a safe, effective and predictable method of Laser Eye Surgery. Traditional PRK can correct nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism. Custom PRK may be useful for those patients who require the correction of high order aberrations to achieve their best vision.
With custom PRK, your eye's ability to focus light rays is measured, and a 3-D map is created that demonstrates irregularities in the way your eye processes images. Information contained in the map guides the laser in customizing the treatment to reshape your eye's corneal surface so that these irregularities can be corrected. Wavefront technology is groundbreaking because it has the potential to improve not only how much you can see, visual acuity measured by the standard 20/20 eye chart, but also how well you can see, in terms of contrast sensitivity and fine detail.
In general PRK provides a slower visual recovery than LASIK. The vision is immediately better upon standing up from laser, but will fluctuate for several days to several weeks until the surface healing is complete and stabilized.
PRK has a distinct place for some patients as an alternative for LASIK. PRK is recommended for those patients:
- whose corneas are too thin to have LASIK safely,
- whose corneas display evidence of scarring from infection or trauma,
- who are active or reserve military personnel,
- who have a history of moderate to severe dry eye,
- who want the safest laser vision correction procedure currently available.
Call our office TODAY at 323-937-2269 to schedule consultation with Dr. Kagan to find out which procedure is best for you!
