PRK Surgery
Day of Surgery
Before you undergo your laser
eye surgery, your prescription will be verified and you will meet with a
surgical counselor.
Verification of Prescription
We will verify your eye prescription and measure your pupils to
ensure the accuracy of results. If you wear contact lenses, please refer
to our Contact Lens Policy about how long before the vision correction
surgery you should remove your contact lenses.
Surgical
Counseling
The surgical counselor will explain the
different steps you are about to go through, and provide you with all of
the necessary post-operative instructions, such as how to use the eye
drops, etc. You will also be required to sign a consent form. We will
also ensure that payment has been made and will schedule an appointment
for your 24-hour post-operative assessment.
To help you relax before
your surgery, you will also be given the option of taking a mild
sedative, such as Xanax.
PRK is a quick and
painless procedure.
Find out more about the procedure
itself.
You will be escorted to the operating room where you
and Dr. Alexandra will again discuss the procedure you are about to
undergo. Feel free to ask Dr. Alexandra any additional questions.
PRK PROCEDURE (STANDARD AND CUSTOM)
The PRK
technique is used for people whose cornea may be too thin or too soft to
allow for the creation of the corneal flap required for the LASIK
procedure. During PRK, a small area on the corneal outer surface is
gently polished away, renewing skin cells on the surface. The laser
reshapes the corneal surface in exactly the same way as the LASIK
procedure. In very few cases, someone may choose the PRK procedure if
their profession causes them to be at much greater risk of getting hit
in the eye and causing a LASIK flap movement (e.g. boxers, martial
artists, wrestlers).
After the PRK procedure, Dr. Alexandra will
place a soft contact lens on the cornea to protect the eye and reduce
discomfort while healing. The contact lens will be removed after the
initial surface healing is complete, usually within five days of the
procedure. Your vision will gradually improve during the first two
weeks, and in most patients, stabilizes between four to eight weeks
after surgery. Dr. Alexandra will prescribe eye drops to take during
this period.
For the first few days after the procedure, you are
likely to experience some degree of discomfort. During this time, your
vision may be blurry and/or may fluctuate between being clear and being
blurry.
In some cases, a patient’s vision improves immediately
after the procedure, but later becomes blurry. These conditions affect
patients differently. The final outcomes of PRK and LASIK are very
similar; the difference is the healing time.
You should not
drive for at least 24 hours after either procedure and in no event
should you drive until your vision is clear.
PRK is characterized
by short recovery times, learn more about what you can expect after the
procedure.
After the procedure, you will be escorted to a
waiting area where you will relax for forty-five minutes to an hour. We
will then verify your cornea has begun to heal.
Make sure to wear
the provided sunglasses (in your PRK bag). Regular sunglasses do not
provide adequate protection. Please follow the eye drop regimen
recommended.
To allow adequate time for your eyes to recover, we
recommend that you anticipate taking the following number of days off
work after your laser eye surgery. Please note that these are
recommended guidelines and that it is possible to return to work earlier
if your vision is good enough; some patients return as early as the next
day!
Dryness of the eyes is a condition that some patients may
experience after having undergone laser vision correction. While this
condition is temporary - lasting from a few weeks to a few months
depending on the patient - there is a new treatment that can help
alleviate dry eye symptoms, called comfort plugs.
Dr. Alexandra
has established many post-operative measures for our patients to reduce
the risk of complications and to increase the ability for a successful
recovery. However, it is important that you attend the recommended
post-operative examinations to ensure the proper healing process and to
be able to monitor the health of your eyes.
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