Patients who have had RK in the past often look for further vision correction in the future. These individuals do not make good candidates for LASIK because of the incisions made in the cornea during the RK procedure. If everything else looks good with the cornea, post-RK patients may be good candidates for PRK. See a reputable refractive surgeon to get specific measurements taken of your eyes to see if PRK is the right fit for you.
The PRK recovery process takes a little longer than with LASIK. Your surgeon would be most qualified to determine when and if you'll need a retreatment. Your vision should be pretty stable by about 3 months following your surgery, but fluctuations may continue to occur for up to a year. Be patient with the healing process!
There is a pretty significant difference in your vision following PRK vs. LASIK. After PRK, your vision will typically be very blurry for many days or weeks. There is also pretty significant discomfort for the first couple of days. Following LASIK, most patients see very well the day after surgery and have minimal discomfort. Hope that helps!
Some of my colleagues who perform the LASEK procedure do so b/c of the slight reduction in complications seen (since there is no corneal flap created in this procedure). The downside to LASEK is not only that the healing time takes longer but that the healing process may be more uncomfortable than LASIK. In fact, some surgeons have noted that LASEK is more uncomfortable and has a longer healing time than PRK. For that reason, I perform LASIK and PRK, not LASEK at my practice. If you're interested in LASEK, I would suggest researching PRK. There is much more information out there about PRK and the two procedures are very similar. The only difference is that, in PRK, the outer epithelial cells of the cornea are removed before the laser treatment is performed while, with LASEK, the out epithelial cells are loosened with an alcohol solution and then lifted in a pseudo-flap. From that point on, the procedures are identical. Hope that helps! -Dr. Clinch
I agree with all of the other doctors. It is safe to have laser vision correction surgery after cataract surgery so long as you wait the appropriate period of time after healing from the cataract surgery. This is a great way for patients who undergo cataract surgery to fine-tune their vision if it isn't exactly where it should be following surgery. Sincerely, Dr. Clinch
