I just came back from my exam. I am well suited for LASIK or PRK, but I think I am going to do PRK. I have given this a decent amount of thought, here's what I have come up with..
Why PRK?
- I am generally anti "break and heal" types of solutions.. and lasik feels the same to me with the cut the flap and heal
- Military pilots cannot get lasik.. they have to get prk. There have been some studies that say that pressure changes could possibly cause the flap to pop off again. I'm sure the risk is really low for that though. For pilots the issue is that someone in an F18 pulls enough G's for the flap to bust.
- I'll get the same results either way. Custom vue (wavefront) is available for prk as well as lasik.
- It feels more future proof to me. Lasik creates a flap and trims the inner portion of the cornea instead of the outer (as with PRK); it seems like there is less overall change to the eye with PRK. I don't want to have a "oh there's this new thing that even fixes your eyes so that you don't need reading glasses in your 40s now, but if you had lasik you might not qualify" sort of thing.
- The only negative difference appears to be healing time/pain. It takes longer with prk. It also takes longer for your vision to hone in and become clear. I imagine it happens because the outermost surface of the eye has to heal with prk and not with lasik.. so as it heals your vision improves.
Cost
At kraff the surgeries cost:
| procedure | cost/eye |
| Photorefractive Keratectomy (PRK) | $2,400 |
| LASIK | $2,400 |
| CustomVue (Wavefront) | $400 |
| IntraLase | $400 |
VSP (vision insurance) gives me a $600 credit/eye.. So it will cost me $4,400 total for the surgery. I am going in January 3, 2006.. wish me luck!
Your comments have proven
Your comments have proven quite helpful. It seems because I have very steep corneas and they are asymmetrical, the PRK is the better call for me. My concern is the longer healing process. They tell me optimum vision should be expected in about 3 mos. I am curious to know how you are doing, and if you are happy with your decision. I go in Aug. 4, 2006.
Full recovery time
Good luck with the surgery. I don't know if you read The recovery: PRK vs LASIK but in it I documented pretty much how I felt immediately after the surgery. I was told that full recovery doesn't really happen until 6 months out, so that's what I had in my head. It took about 5 months for my eyes to be completely stable and for the halos to go away completely (especially at night). After about the third month, I started to worry, though. I would have rock solid vision until dusk, then my eyes would get tired (don't know how to describe it) and start to blur out. It is a slow process but the blur time kept on decreasing until it went away all together.
So my only advice is, set your expectations to a 6 month recovery time and for your sake get them to give you Nevanac! Seriously, you should demand it. Just realize the stuff is like crack, and you only have a limited supply. If you can make it last for the first five days, everything will be a breeze.
how do you feel now?
I'm considering PRK but I'm afraid I will not be able to see the stars at night and drive at night. I've hear lots of stories of people seeing halos permanently after surgery. How do you feel? Do you still see halos? Do your eyes get tired quickly when it's bright outside? Are you still able to enjoy the colors of nature as you did before surgery? Is there anything negative about surgery that you noticed after the healing process? thanks