Adéu, thin-cornea worries.PRK
No flap, and no incision at all. PRK works on the surface of the cornea, which makes it structurally the gentlest option there is, and the slowest to settle.
On the surface, not inside it.
Every other laser method works under something: a flap folded back, or a disc lifted out through a small opening. PRK works on the surface of the cornea instead. There is no flap and no incision at any point.
The thin outer layer of the cornea is removed, an excimer laser (the ZEISS MEL 90) reshapes the surface underneath to the plan built from your own scan, and a protective contact lens goes on while that outer layer grows back over the following days.
That regrowth is what PRK asks of you, and it is also why nothing in your cornea has to be cut to get the laser where it needs to be.
The end result is the same as the other methods. It just takes longer to get there.
Three steps, PRK.
The surface is prepared
The thin outer layer of the cornea is removed. There is no flap and no incision at any point.
The cornea is reshaped
An excimer laser reshapes the surface underneath, following the plan built from your own scan.
The surface regrows
A protective contact lens goes on and stays there while the outer layer grows back over the following days.
Is it for you?
- Your cornea is on the thinner side, or an unusual shape.
- A flap would be unwise for your eyes. The scan is what tells us that, not you and not us.
- You would rather nothing was cut or folded back at all.
- You can give the recovery the time it takes. This one is measured in weeks, not days.
Your eyes decide this, not a web page. The free check measures your cornea and tells you the same day whether PRK suits you, whether another of our six methods suits you better, or whether this is not for you at all.
When you get your life back.
- The uncomfortable part
- 3 to 4 days
- Screens and driving
- 1 to 2 weeks
- Back to work
- 1 to 2 weeks
- Sport
- 1 to 2 weeks
- Eye makeup and swimming
- 2 weeks
- Vision fully settled
- Weeks, not days
These rows are the honest ones, and they are longer than the other methods on purpose. That is the trade PRK asks for in return for working on the surface rather than under a flap. The check-ups are included: the day after, one week and one month. You buy the prescribed drops at a pharmacy.
Both sides of it.
What it is good at
- No flap, and no incision at all.
- It suits corneas that are thinner or an unusual shape, where a flap method would not.
- Structurally the gentlest option there is.
- The end result is the same as the other methods.
- It is the same price as LASIK, so your scans decide between the two and your budget does not.
What it asks of you
- The first 3 to 4 days are genuinely uncomfortable. We say it plainly because it is the part people are least prepared for.
- Vision takes weeks, not days, to settle fully. Day one is not the day you see.
- Back to work is 1 to 2 weeks, not 1 to 2 days.
- You wear a protective contact lens while the surface grows back.
The ones people actually ask.
Not during the treatment. Drops numb the eye before anything starts, and you feel pressure rather than pain. The days after are the uncomfortable part, not the treatment itself.
The first 3 to 4 days are the uncomfortable part: a gritty, watery eye rather than pain. The drops we prescribe help, and it passes. What follows is a waiting game rather than a painful one.
Because your cornea asks for it. A thinner or unusually shaped cornea can make a flap unwise, and PRK works on the surface instead. The scan decides it, and you get that answer on the day of your free check.
One to two weeks for most jobs, and at the longer end if yours is dusty or your eyes are on a screen all day. We agree the date with you at the check-ups, once we can see how the surface is healing.
The end result is the same as the other methods. It just takes longer to get there, and the weeks in between are the whole difference.
If your result needs fine-tuning, we correct it at no cost during the first year.
If this one is not the answer.
We run six. That is the whole point: the one we recommend is the one your eyes need, not the one machine we happen to own.
Adéu, maybe.
Thirty minutes, no cost, and a straight answer the same day. We measure your eyes, learn how you use them, and tell you which of our methods fits, if any of them does.