Are you having difficulty seeing near or far objects, having double vision, difficulty focusing on objects, blurring of vision, halos around the light, headaches, eye fatigue, irritation, and dry eyes? If yes, then you may be having a type of refractive error.
Your eyes are a gateway for your vision, and different parts of your eyes work in conjunction to pass the light that enters your eye to the brain. Light enters your eye and passed through the cornea (the white clear part of the eye). The cornea then passes the light through the lens (this is like a camera, which helps to focus and transmits the light) onto the retina (layer of nerve cells at the back of the eyeball). The nerve cells present in the retina then convert the light into electric signals. These signals are sent to the brain via the optic nerve in the eye. The brain processes these signals and converts them into an image. Refractive errors develop when the light is unable to focus directly on the retina due to the change in the shape of the cornea, eyeball, or lens leading to the above symptoms.
Photorefractive Keratectomy (PRK) is an advanced laser surgery that is used to treat refractive vision errors like myopia (nearsightedness), hyperopia (farsightedness), presbyopia (loss of the ability of the eye to focus and see near objects) and astigmatism (an imperfection in the curvature of your eye’s cornea or lens). The goal of PRK surgery is to allow less dependency on glasses and contact lenses. It is a flapless procedure that takes approximately 10 to 15 minutes per eye. Let us discuss how does PRK surgery work?
Once you have decided to go for PRK surgery, you need to plan well in advance for it. You should be aware of the care you need to take before, on the day, and after the surgery for a quick and safe recovery.
Before the surgery
In the initial visit, Your surgeon will ask about your medical and family history and will confirm if you are an ideal candidate for PRK after examining your eye’s health, vision in your eyes, and refractive error of your eye and will measure the cornea and the pupil size of your eye. PRK surgery is preferred if you have a thin cornea, flat cornea, corneal scars, or dry eyes. Your surgeon will inform you about the surgery cost, benefits, risks, and precautions to take before and after the surgery. Before the procedure, you should inform your surgeon about any medications or supplements you are taking, as you may need to stop some before surgery. You will be advised to stop using contact lenses at least 2 weeks before the scheduled surgery date. You will be asked to arrange for someone to drive you to your surgery and back home after the surgery, as PRK is an outpatient procedure, and you will be permitted to go home the same day.
The surgery
PRK is an outpatient procedure, meaning you can go home the same day. The procedure takes less than 20 minutes per eye. Local anesthesia is used for the procedure; hence you will be awake during the surgery.
Postoperative recovery
You will be kept in the observation area to check your vitals and progress and be allowed to go home after some time. You should arrange for a family member to drive you home on the day of the surgery as you may be feeling dizzy anf sleepy from the effects of anesthesia. Initial recovery from PRK takes about 4 to 6 weeks. Complete vision is restored between 3 to 6 months. You may experience watering, sensitivity to bright lights, pain, blurry vision, dryness, irritation, itching and a feeling of a foreign body in the eyes for the first 2 to 3 days of surgery. These will subside with anti-inflammatories, antibiotics and painkillers prescribed by your surgeon. You will be advised not to- indulge in high impact, drive, swim, apply makeup, wash your hair for a few weeks after surgery as the waer and chemicals can enter your eye and cause infections.
PRK surgery is a safe procedure when other surgical methods are not an option. The restoration of visual acuity is the same as with LASIK, but thee are some advantages of PRK surgery.
PRK is a simple and safe surgery with minimal side effects, but any procedure has its own disadvantages. Some of the disadvantages of PRK surgery are
When you weigh the pros with the cons, PRK surgery comes out as a winner. PRK is the most popular, safe, and effective surgery that provides excellent visual outcomes. At Medfin, we have state-of-the-art equipment and trained ophthalmic surgeons to perform the surgery. Consult our surgeons to know more about PRK procedures- Book your appointment NOW!