6 ms·

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 o

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. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photorefractive_keratectomy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photorefractive_keratectomy

d23 7y ago
I did PRK and have had chronic dry eyes ever since. I can't recommend it. I would go back to contacts if I had the choice.
- jniedrauer 7y ago
  I also had dry eyes after PRK, for about 6 months. Been back to normal for a long time though and I consider the minor discomfort for 6 months well worth it.
  - peatmoss 7y ago
    I occasionally have mild dry eyes after my PRK a couple years ago (very infrequent discomfort in the morning when I wake up), but over all, I’m happy with the results. The staff and doctor all tried mightily to get me to do LASIK, and after I refused multiple times, every staff member confessed that they either did or would have made the same choice.
- saurik 7y ago
  Do you not have the choice? (I was under the impression that PRK couldn't correct very large prescriptions, but maybe it is larger than contacts? They claim it is very reversible, but the studies I read made it seem like maybe your eyes start to have permanent changes due to different growth rates, so are you saying you wish you had never done it? Or are you just saying "if I were you", but using phrasing that I am misparsing?)
  - scott_s 7y ago
    It's a form of surgery, with potential negative side-effects. You can't "undo" the surgery if you experience those negative side-effects.
    - saurik 7y ago
      Oh, I got "PRK" confused with "Ortho-K".
- CharlesColeman 7y ago
  > I did PRK and have had chronic dry eyes ever since. I can't recommend it. I would go back to contacts if I had the choice. IIRC, from my research, dry eyes are more common with Lasik than PRK. But you make a good point: PRK isn't side-effect free, either.
Reason077 7y ago
LASIK seems to work well for many people. My sister had it years ago, and I have several friends who've had it too. None of them, to my knowledge, have any regrets whatsoever.
- toomuchtodo 7y ago
  For the people it works for, LASIK is great. For those who experience complications (the corneal flap needed for LASIK never heals entirely, therefore it can become displaced, causing much discomfort and possible permanent damage under the right circumstances), it can be long road of chronic issues because they wanted to save some recovery time over PRK. My recommendation (having had PRK done a decade ago) is to prefer PRK over LASIK, and take the recovery time needed. You're going to have your eyes for a lifetime. Take shortcuts elsewhere.
  - AndrewBissell 7y ago
    Surgeons should be required to offer PRK over LASIK and explain the many advantages in terms of less risk of complications and lower cost. I had to get PRK because I have thin corneas, but I'm not sure it would have even been raised as an option for me had that not been the case.
    - toomuchtodo 7y ago
      100 percent. My biggest beef with LASIK was it was rapidly commercialized and commodified by surgeons who were maximizing for volume, not patient outcomes. I won't disagree it's helped improve quality of life for a lot of people, but at the cost of folks who saw a significant decrease in quality of life because they weren't steered towards better options (surgical or otherwise). Misaligned incentives.
- forgot-my-pw 7y ago
  It comes with a lot of risks and side effects: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LASIK#Risks https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LASIK#Risks
mschaef 7y ago
> far less wasteful of cornea, The argument years ago that convinced me NOT to have this procedure done was that they'd have to remove fully half my cornea. I'm assuming there are ways to recover from that with a corneal transplant, but that's a big risk and a lot of resources consumed just for the sake of not wanting to wear glasses. Flash forward fifteen years and I'm diagnosed with early onset cataracts. Turns out they can pick a lens implant that corrects out the distortion caused by the shape of the eyeball. That was the procedure that got me to where I didn't need glasses, even though that wasn't remotely close to the primary motivation.

d23 7y ago

I did PRK and have had chronic dry eyes ever since. I can't recommend it. I would go back to contacts if I had the choice.

jniedrauer 7y ago
I also had dry eyes after PRK, for about 6 months. Been back to normal for a long time though and I consider the minor discomfort for 6 months well worth it.
- peatmoss 7y ago
  I occasionally have mild dry eyes after my PRK a couple years ago (very infrequent discomfort in the morning when I wake up), but over all, I’m happy with the results. The staff and doctor all tried mightily to get me to do LASIK, and after I refused multiple times, every staff member confessed that they either did or would have made the same choice.
saurik 7y ago
Do you not have the choice? (I was under the impression that PRK couldn't correct very large prescriptions, but maybe it is larger than contacts? They claim it is very reversible, but the studies I read made it seem like maybe your eyes start to have permanent changes due to different growth rates, so are you saying you wish you had never done it? Or are you just saying "if I were you", but using phrasing that I am misparsing?)
- scott_s 7y ago
  It's a form of surgery, with potential negative side-effects. You can't "undo" the surgery if you experience those negative side-effects.
  - saurik 7y ago
    Oh, I got "PRK" confused with "Ortho-K".
CharlesColeman 7y ago
> I did PRK and have had chronic dry eyes ever since. I can't recommend it. I would go back to contacts if I had the choice. IIRC, from my research, dry eyes are more common with Lasik than PRK. But you make a good point: PRK isn't side-effect free, either.

Reason077 7y ago

LASIK seems to work well for many people. My sister had it years ago, and I have several friends who've had it too. None of them, to my knowledge, have any regrets whatsoever.

toomuchtodo 7y ago
For the people it works for, LASIK is great. For those who experience complications (the corneal flap needed for LASIK never heals entirely, therefore it can become displaced, causing much discomfort and possible permanent damage under the right circumstances), it can be long road of chronic issues because they wanted to save some recovery time over PRK. My recommendation (having had PRK done a decade ago) is to prefer PRK over LASIK, and take the recovery time needed. You're going to have your eyes for a lifetime. Take shortcuts elsewhere.
- AndrewBissell 7y ago
  Surgeons should be required to offer PRK over LASIK and explain the many advantages in terms of less risk of complications and lower cost. I had to get PRK because I have thin corneas, but I'm not sure it would have even been raised as an option for me had that not been the case.
  - toomuchtodo 7y ago
    100 percent. My biggest beef with LASIK was it was rapidly commercialized and commodified by surgeons who were maximizing for volume, not patient outcomes. I won't disagree it's helped improve quality of life for a lot of people, but at the cost of folks who saw a significant decrease in quality of life because they weren't steered towards better options (surgical or otherwise). Misaligned incentives.
forgot-my-pw 7y ago
It comes with a lot of risks and side effects: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LASIK#Risks https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LASIK#Risks

mschaef 7y ago

> far less wasteful of cornea, The argument years ago that convinced me NOT to have this procedure done was that they'd have to remove fully half my cornea. I'm assuming there are ways to recover from that with a corneal transplant, but that's a big risk and a lot of resources consumed just for the sake of not wanting to wear glasses. Flash forward fifteen years and I'm diagnosed with early onset cataracts. Turns out they can pick a lens implant that corrects out the distortion caused by the shape of the eyeball. That was the procedure that got me to where I didn't need glasses, even though that wasn't remotely close to the primary motivation.