Bellevue LASIK & Cornea Blog | Dr. Leavitt and Dr. Farag

PRK is short for photorefractive keratectomy. PRK is a laser surgery similar to LASIK, but offers an alternative procedure for treating patients who don't qualify for LASIK.

The major difference between LASIK and PRK is that the LASIK technique involves creating an epithelial flap that is laid back to give access to the corneal tissue for reshaping.

In PRK, the epithelial tissue is gently brushed away and removed completely, giving direct access to the corneal tissue.

The ophthalmologists at Bellevue LASIK & Cornea use PRK to treat several types of corneas, but three are common examples:

• Patients who engage in rough sports run the risk of impact blows to the face. They can benefit from PRK because there is no epithelial flap that can dislodge as in LASIK.
• Patients who have thin corneas have less corneal tissue to reshape. The LASIK flap includes some corneal tissue that makes the corneas even thinner. PRK preserves the corneal tissue for reshaping.
• PRK has fewer dry-eye outcomes than LASIK, and may be an alternative for patients who present with dry eye prior to surgery.

PRK essentially makes laser surgery available to people who were, otherwise, poor candidates.

If you have been told that you are not a good candidate for LASIK, especially for one of these reasons, please contact Bellevue LASIK & Cornea with offices in Seattle, Bellevue, Everett, Olympia, and Tacoma, Washington, for an up-to-date consultation at no cost to learn about the newest laser surgery procedures.