I've Had my Right Eye Scraped Twice Since PRK Due to Hazing Because of Dry Eye. Is This Normal? Will my Outcome Be Affected?

Question

I'm 2 1/2 weeks post PRK and have experienced a very difficult and painful healing process. Days 1-3 were fine, days 4-now have been horrible. I have had my right eye scraped twice since my surgery due to hazing. He said that the cells are clumping abnormally and he doesn't like it. Because of my extreme dry eyes I have plugs in all my tear ducts and could not have the bandages in longer then 2 days before extreme pain kicked in. Is this normal? Is my right eye ever going to heal right?

Michael K. Tracy, MD · Answer

Scraping for haze so soon after PRK is unusual.  Haze normally forms a month after surgery and is often treated with steroid drops and if that fails with superficial keratectomy and Mitomycin C. Haze will eventually go away even if it is not treated, but can take a year to resolve. Dry eyes can definitely slow down the healing process.  If you cannot tolerate the contact lenses it may be best to let you heal without them and use a thick gel or ointment to lubricate your eyes while healing.

Mark Golden, MD · Answer

One of the potential complications from PRK is the risk of haze.  Although haze is not common, it can occur.  Factors that can increase that chance include dryness of the eyes, allergies and UV exposure.  The medication mitomycin placed at the end of your surgical procedure can decrease the chance of haze production.  My suggestion is that you use frequent preservative free tears during your healing period.  You may also benefit from the use of Restasis which can increase your own natural tear production.  Restais, though, takes at least a month to start working.  Omega oils either from a fish source or flax seed when taking at 4 gm per day can also help with dryness.   I strongly encourage you to avoid UV exposure by wearing sunglasses when outside even on a cloudy day.  I suggest that all of my PRK patients take 1 gm of Vitamin C a day for at least a year to decrease the chance of haze production.  Lastly, a second opinion is never a bad thing.  I suggest that you find a surgeon with a large experience with PRK for their advice.

I've Had my Right Eye Scraped Twice Since PRK Due to Hazing Because of Dry Eye. Is This Normal? Will my Outcome Be Affected?

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I've Had my Right Eye Scraped Twice Since PRK Due to Hazing Because of Dry Eye. Is This Normal? Will my Outcome Be Affected?

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