Photorefractive Keratectomy

What If You Don’t Qualify For LASIK? Are You Looking For A Safe Alternative?

PRK might be your best surgery option. PRK is a surface treatment option that may be the preferred vision correction for patients with thin corneas or other corneal irregularities. It’s also recommended for those who live an active lifestyle or have a particularly demanding profession like a policeman or firefighter. The reason is because PRK corrects visual errors without creating a flap as seen in LASIK, lessening the risk of complications for certain individuals. The FDA has approved the procedure as safe and effective and is recommended for people suffering from near and farsightedness.

About PRK

PRK is performed with an excimer laser that uses a cool, ultraviolet light beam to precisely remove tiny pieces of tissue from the surface of the cornea in order to reshape it. By reshaping the cornea, light is properly focused into the eye and onto the retina, providing clearer vision than before. Patients also have the option to choose Custom PRK, an advanced technology that allows the surgeon to fully customize the PRK procedure to your individual eye.

During The Procedure

Your eyes will be anesthetized with special drops. The surgeon will use a computer-guided laser to reshape the surface of your cornea to reach your desired prescription. A target light is also used to make sure your eye remains in the correct position while the laser carefully removes tissue. The entire procedure lasts only a few minutes.

After The Procedure

PRK is an effective procedure, with up to 95 percent of treated patients not needing distance glasses to achieve 2/40 vision or better. Approximately 75 percent of patients achieve 20/20 vision. Some patient discomfort is normal. Some studies believe the procedure allows for increased contrast sensitivity, less dry eye, and better treatment results versus LASIK. PRK patients can usually return to work in one to three days.

Conductive Keratoplasty

You had excellent vision until the age of 40 and found that you needed glasses for reading. You and millions of Americans have most likely developed presbyopia. A new procedure, Conductive Keratoplasty (CK), is FDA approved as a safe, non-laser, non-cutting technique that can eliminate or eradicate your need for reading glasses.

CK is one of the first procedures designed specifically for the millions of people with presbyopia. Instead of a scalpel or a laser, CK uses a probe as thin as a strand of human hair to release radio-frequency energy, treating your cornea without cutting or removing tissue. CK reshapes the cornea by using a controlled release of radio-frequency energy to shrink the corneal tissue, steepening the cornea and changing the way the eye focuses light. The radio-frequency energy is applied in a circular pattern, causing a peripheral constriction and a relative central lengthening of the eye.

As the first FDA approved method for treating presbyopia, CK is safer and less invasive than the LASIK procedure. It's quick! -- less than three minutes per eye, using a topical anesthetic. With minimal post-operative discomfort, return of vision is almost immediate.

For additional information, visit:

• myclearvision.com