Did the same. I really think it’s a pay now or pay later affair. PRK was a more painful recovery for sure, but I’ve had no issues and no restrictions.
I healed very quickly. I did a review of medical research and did a few things to make PRK better for me:
1. Vitamin C supplements leading up to and after treatment. Reduces risk of corneal haze (though risk is very low with modern PRK which uses Mitomycin off-label for prevention)
2. Extra omega 3 supplements before and during recovery. Keeps the tear coatingon your eye from evaporating / breaking up as quickly which supposedly shortens re-epithelialization time (the epithelium is what is removed on the surface of your cornea).
3. Wetting drops way more frequently than the minimum that the doctor prescribes. You basically can’t use these fast enough for the first few days. The wetter the surface of your eye, the faster the regrowth of your epithelium (fun fact: this is the fastest growing tissue in the body—at least according to the surgeon who did my eyes).
Also, pick a surgeon with the latest and greatest laser. I believe the latest ablation tech had some benefits from an optics / recovery perspective.
I had the LASEK (also called PRK) and the recovery isn't as bad as it sounds. The next day was painful and I had patchy vision for a few days afterwards but within a week there was no discomfort at all and my vision was fine. (It does take a month or 2 to settle down but your vision is competely fine during this period).
It does have the advantage of less risk due to no cutting and allowing natural regrowth of the removed upper layer of cornea.
The procedure itself lasts about 10 mintues for both eyes. You lie down and they put numbing drops in your eyes and wait a minute. Then the alcohol paste (for removing the top layer of the cornea) is rubbed on to your eye with what looked like an eyeliner brush. This was the only uncomfortable bit of the procedure - even then it wasn't physical as you cannot feel it, it was more just the idea of it.
A few minutes later they apply the laser; this is over in a matter of seconds for each eye. Now with the expensive procedure I opted for (called wavefront) they do a 3D mapping of your eye and program that into the laser so it's not a random shot. Also the laser tracks any eye movement at 200 times per second.
The LASEK carries less chance and severity of halos (according to studies I believe are referenced in wikipedia). I have them but they are hardly noticable.
High five for PRK. One month in, I was 20/15 and had zero perceptible problems.
But... I used lubricant eye drops religiously during that month. I went through several bottles, putting drops in my eyes several times an hour. I also took omega 3 supplements, which help tears remain intact over the epithelium longer. I read some studies that suggest omega 3s shorten the reepitheialization period significantly.
So, if you're prepared to do some work and take slavish care of your eyes for an extended healing period, I believe you can have great results from PRK. Absolutely no regrets.
I did PRK which is the original procedure before LASIK because the thought of a flap is too scary for me. From what I understand PRK has better long term recovery but short term it takes more time.
People want LASIK for the convenience, almost no recovery time. With PRK I took 1 week off work and the next week was bad too. Then more discomfort for upto 6 months. After that it's great.
I got PRK in college due to my terrible vision (ineligible for LASIK). One of the best decisions I’ve ever made.
Here are my thoughts / recommendations:
(1). Find a highly recommended, extremely experienced doctor for your surgery. Please, do not skimp on this. You only have one set of eyes.
(2). Plan to take a week off (at least) from work. If you have a partner or family who can assist you, then ask if they could help / check in on you during the week.
(3). Recovery is painful. Not initially, but once the epithelial cells on your eyes have regrown for a few days, light sensitivity and pain become more pronounced. Expect to sleep in a dark room and listen to podcasts.
In summary, I highly recommend the surgery. Anecdotally, it has been great for me. Again, the crucial bit is finding a surgeon you’re confident in, scheduling your PTO and caregiving (if possible).
I had PRK because my cornea was too thin to get LASIK. Yeah, the healing wasn't fun (for me, it was really bad for about 3 days).
A few very minor vision artifacts, but by far the most annoying side effect has been dry eyes. I don't know how PRK caused this, but it started right afterwards. If I don't drink a lot of water before bed, I will wake up with dry and highly irritated eyes.
Even so, I still consider it worth it. I lost/broke my glasses frequently, and contacts are not very versatile.
I got PRK in somewhat unusual circumstances, paying $1.6k total. My cornea thickness was compatible with the procedure (which is one of the big reasons to do LASIK over PRK, i think), but my offset was huge (-7.5, where PRK usually caps at ~-5).
The circumstances boil down to having it done in a foreign country, and they used a non-FDA approved eyedrop (toxic if it got in the bloodstream) that allowed the procedure to correct my offset fully. Four years later my vision is going strong.
Long recovery time was 2 weeks with fireworks in my eyes the first two days. After that it was logrithmic improvement in blurriness.
I would also highly recommend PRK, it enabled an entire lifestyle for me which heavy glasses actively discouraged, and there isnt a day i miss waking up to a blurry space.
I had PRK when I was 19 (almost 10 years ago) so I can say with confidence you'll want to go the LASIK route if you can. With PRK, they scrape away the outer layer of your cornea so a laser can reshape its surface. With LASIK, they cut open your cornea and operate on the lens itself.
While cutting may sound traumatic, it doesn't affect your vision (they put a protective contact lens over it afterwards, it heals very quickly) and you come out of the operation seeing 20/20. With PRK, your cornea has to re-grow the cells that were scraped away during the operation which causes your vision to be cloudy for around a week. During this time your eyes will be painfully sensitive to light and you likely wouldn't be able to use a computer for 4-7 days. Another downside to PRK - you don't know how well the operation went until your eyes have fully recovered 2-3 weeks after surgery.
My eye doctor basically told me that I should never do lasik and should do PRK instead. The risk of complications is WAY lower, even if the recovery is a pain.
I wonder how this compares to similar, but different procedures. I had PRK done 7 years ago, and it was probably the best $4000 I ever spent. It went perfect for me - no new issues. However, I did it one eye at a time, just in case!
PRK differs from LASIK in how the top layer of the cornea is removed. In LASIK, a flap is cut and peeled back, then put back in place at the end of the procedure. In PRK, the top layer is scraped off and has to grow back in, a process that takes several weeks and can be somewhat painful.
Ditto, today I'm 1 year to the day after my PRK surgery. The only side effect I had was dry-eye, and man is it a pain. I can't ride my bike without some form of eye protection (sunglasses, or clear goggles). 2-3 times per week I wake up with severely, painfully dry eyes.
All that said, it was worth it and I wouldn't go back. Being able to see without glasses/contacts is a huge improvement on quality of life.
PRK is a different procedure. The main advantage is that there is no incision and less chances of error which is why pilots opt for it. The main disadvantage of PRK over lasik is the much longer recovery time which is a decent trade off for less risk. That said, I still suffer from dry eye years after the procedure though it’s improved compared to before
There are a couple other mentions in this thread about PRK. I went the PRK route instead of Lasik, and don't regret it one bit. I chose PRK because it was less risky, and was more durable. Look it up yourself, but brief summary:
- no flap, they remove top layer of cells with a scraper, then laser
- no flap means stronger eyes. if you box, mountain bike, work in a high risk environment, it's the procedure to get
- long recovery time, and it's pretty painful for the first week. ~ 2 weeks to reasonable vision, 4-6 weeks for 20/20 or better.
- less chance of dry eyes (still a semi-common outcome)
My eye doctor, the casey eye institute, pushed lasik, but that was purely for what people commonly want. They were enthusiastic about PRK, considered it a better procedure for people who were OK with the recovery time, with less chance of complications.
My complications:
- dry eyes, but nothing worse than contacts get midway through a day
- sensitive eyes. meaning, a scratch on the eye becomes eye wateringly bad
- slight halos at night, but again, nothing worse than contacts at the end of the day
I am happy with the results, would do it again, and am currently advising my wife to do PRK instead of lasik (she's on the fence of doing anything). I ride mountain bikes, dirt bikes, and do lots of building, so chances of complications with a flap are non-zero. If you haven't read, those complications are pretty bad - get lazik, take a stick to the eye a year later which causes the flap to dislodge, you now have potentially uncorrectable vision in that eye.
Search the rest of this discussion for PRK. If you aren't afraid of pain, discomfort, and a long recovery time, it's the procedure to get.
Also there's a HUGE difference in lasik or PRK providers. As you can imagine, it's worth spending extra. My procedure cost $4k total, which is $3k more than budget lasik providers. However, I worked with some top eye doctors that regularly perform serious eye surgery, and are at the forefront of optometry. Strip mall discount lasik has less time spent on planning, comes with less experience in recommending procedures, and has less experience working with complications. Definitely don't cheap out!
My father had it done due to cataracts, and was satisfied with the artificial lenses and resulting vision.
I had PRK done instead of LASIK (the top layer of the cornea is discarded [it regenerates] instead of being cut and lifted prior to abalation; recovery time is longer, but corneal integrity is preserved) 8 years ago. The recovery time was a few weeks, but I had no LASIK side effects. I highly recommend it versus LASIK.
In PRK, the outer layer ("epithelium") of the cornea is removed chemically, and the laser ablates the surface of the eye. Over a few days the layer grows back.
For LASEK, the outer layer of the cornea is peeled away. The laser ablates the surface of the eye, and the skin is pushed back into place.
For both of these, there is no flap. The cornea retains its original structural integrity. PRK and LASEK are quite similar in process and outcome. PRK is a faster procedure and gives the patient less discomfort. LASEK has a slightly lower risk of corneal haze.
Having experienced both... I'd never choose LASEK again.
I had laser eye surgery, but I went with PRK. Less invasive, more durable, far less wasteful of cornea, and its end results are just as good as LASIK's. The only downside is it's a little less convenient because each eye takes a few weeks to heal, so people usually do one eye at a time.
The LASIK procedure is just utterly insane in comparison, especially given its extremely limited advantages.
I just had LASIK a few weeks ago and the experience was great. I was told I could go back to work the next day. After surgery (4pm), I was asked to keep my eyes closed as much as possible for the rest of the night. At my 9am appointment the next morning, they already tested me as having 20/15 vision. I didn't experience any discomfort looking at my screen (for probably about 7-8 total hours over the day).
As far as I understand, PRK has little bit longer recovery, maybe 3-5 days, as it's a slightly different procedure (carving your cornea directly instead of cutting a flap, doing the work and putting it back). I'm not a doctor so I can't speak to exactly what's recommended with both or what to expect but my LASIK experience was great and I was told I could go back to work the next day.
I healed very quickly. I did a review of medical research and did a few things to make PRK better for me:
1. Vitamin C supplements leading up to and after treatment. Reduces risk of corneal haze (though risk is very low with modern PRK which uses Mitomycin off-label for prevention)
2. Extra omega 3 supplements before and during recovery. Keeps the tear coatingon your eye from evaporating / breaking up as quickly which supposedly shortens re-epithelialization time (the epithelium is what is removed on the surface of your cornea).
3. Wetting drops way more frequently than the minimum that the doctor prescribes. You basically can’t use these fast enough for the first few days. The wetter the surface of your eye, the faster the regrowth of your epithelium (fun fact: this is the fastest growing tissue in the body—at least according to the surgeon who did my eyes).
Also, pick a surgeon with the latest and greatest laser. I believe the latest ablation tech had some benefits from an optics / recovery perspective.
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