Thin Corneas, High Prescription....PRK?

asked 7 months ago by KCM
Latest answer by Christopher Coad, MD
Question viewed 230 times
Tags: candidate, cornea, opinion, thin

Hi, Just looking for some thoughts on this.... I've gone to 4 different offices for consultations, looking to see if I'm a candidate. My eyes are -7.25, and -7.50, corneal thickness of 475. I've gotten 2 no's and 2 yeses. Only for PRK, obviously no LASIK. Why the difference in opinion? I don't have any eye problems, contacts are fine, no dry eyes. It would just be nice to be free from it all. Oh, I turned down ICL, btw. Does anyone have and advice/thoughts/comments? Thanks!!

5 answers to Thin Corneas, High Prescription....PRK?

PRK and thin corneas

Many factors are considered for candidacy and corneal thickness is only one factor. 475 is certainly on the thinner side. Other factors include topography (shape of the cornea) age, residual corneal thickness, pupil size, and available technology such as femtosecond lasers (IntraLase) to create flaps.

Christopher Coad, MD
New York Ophthalmologist

www.lasikdoctornyc.com

PRK for thin corneas

I do not consider you a LASIK candidate with your correction. Understanding that, you may be a candidate for PRK or the ICL. The quality of the vision may be slightly better with the ICL than PRK, but the difference is minimal. The potential risk of serious complications is hugely less with PRK than the ICL as long as the curvature of your cornea is adequate. Good luck.

Mark Golden, MD
Chicago Ophthalmologist

Intraocular Contact Lens vs PRK For Patients With Thin Corneas

One of the benefits of nearly 20 years of experience with Laser Vision Correction(Lasik and PRK) in the United States and over 15 million procedures performed worldwide, is we have learned alot. Surgeons now know, down to the micron, how thin a cornea can be made with a laser before visual complications arise. The patient who posed this question is truely on the borderline between being able to have PRK or not. If I were this patient, I would reconsider the Intraocular Contact Lens(ICL)... more

Anthony J. Kameen, MD
Baltimore Ophthalmologist

www.kameen.com

Thin cornea and LASIK vs PRK vs LASEK

You are not a borderline candidate. i will explain the math, so the confusion of conflicting answers goes away your corneas are 475. you cannot have LASIK, because after wasting over 100 microns of tissue to cut the flap, you'd still need to remove almost 100 microns to get rid of your prescription. the math looks like this: 475 initial - 125 flap - 100 laser ablation (removal of tissue) = 250 = minimum safe residual limit for LASEK that means you won't be able to get... more

Emil Chynn, MD
New York Ophthalmologist

www.ParkAvenueLasek.com

Thin corneas and high myopia

You have definitely done the right thing by getting multiple consultations. The fact that you have gotten different answers from different places shows that you are a borderline candidate for laser vision correction. A safer option may be Intacs corneal inserts which can reduce your nearsightedness without removing tissue from your already thin corneas.

Howard S. Kornstein, MD
White Plains Ophthalmologist

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