PRK

INTERACTIVE: PRK procedure RELATED VIDEO: Laser PRK Doctor: Hideharu Fukasaku, MD 10 sec 0.9 Mb quicktime movie Please enable Javascript Source: ASCRS-ASOA

August 18, 1999
Web posted at: 11:45 a.m. EDT (1545 GMT)

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PRK, or photorefractive keratectomy, is generally used for nearsightedness (up to about -5 diopters), farsightedness (to about 3 diopters) and astigmatism (about 3 or 4 diopters).

Using the excimer laser, the surgeon vaporizes the surface of the cornea to a precise depth specified by the computer so that it is reshaped.

"The outcomes are similar for PRK and LASIK," says Hersh. But with PRK, there tends to be more post-op discomfort.

Complications are similar to those with LASIK. "The potential risk for infection, while small, is a little higher with PRK,'' says Dr. Kerry Assil, a Santa Monica, California, ophthalmologist who specializes in refractive surgery.

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