LASIK vs PRK

[Eyedentist]

OP, I am a refractive surgeon. I perform both LASIK and PRK. Results of both are excellent and the selection depends on a particular situation. How old are you? Is your prescription stable and for how long? Are your eyes otherwise healthy?

[endo4jc]

OP, I am a refractive surgeon. I perform both LASIK and PRK. Results of both are excellent and the selection depends on a particular situation. How old are you? Is your prescription stable and for how long? Are your eyes otherwise healthy?

33. Healthy. Stable prescription for several years (one eye may have changed 0.25).

My surgical field is not necessarily one of finesse. ?

[xraygoggles]

I had Lasik done just under 1 year ago. They said if you have a history of dry eyes before, it may become worse after the procedure and you would need eye drops for a few months.

I personally had no issues with Lasik. Very fast recovery, like 1 day, no side effects aside from some haloes around the eyes for a few weeks, then gone.

[Eyedentist]

33. Healthy. Stable prescription for several years (one eye may have changed 0.25).

My surgical field is not necessarily one of finesse. ?

OK, that's good. Remember the earlier in life you have refractive surgery, the more glasses-free years you are buying yourself. Most emmetropic people start needing reading glasses around age 45. At this point, I'd recommend you find a reputable refractive surgeon and have a full work up done. Some surgeons offer this for free or sometimes the evaluation cost gets rolled into surgical cost. Decision LASIK vs PRK will be based on results of your tests (cornea too thin, moderate to severe dry eyes, etc) and discussions with your surgeon. My wife had PRK at age 27 and she thinks this was the best thing she ever did for herself. Her eyes were too dry for LASIK. Good luck!

[CordMcNally]

Not that it occurs with everyone but I've heard numerous LASIK pts comment their vision is better after LASIK than what they could ever achieve with contacts or glasses.

I'm one of those people where I see better now than I ever did with glasses/contacts. However, I partly blame myself because I feel that I always performed substandard on the 'which one is better' eye tests.

[Tim]

I'm one of those people where I see better now than I ever did with glasses/contacts. However, I partly blame myself because I feel that I always performed substandard on the 'which one is better' eye tests.

I never studied for the eye test. What do you expect? Did you study or take a review course?

[wideopenspaces]

My vision is um . . . -11 :-0 But I have yet to find an ophthalmologist who doesn't wear glasses so I don't trust it :-) My husband had lasik about 15 years ago and loves it. Maybe someday I'll consider it. I kinda like walking around blindly when I take my contacts out ;-)

[TheDangerZone]

Ophthalmologist here. I would be a candidate for LASIK/PRK but I would not get it myself. Every procedure has risks, however small. Don't get me wrong, LASIK and PRK are very safe but the chance of losing vision as a microsurgeon is not worthwhile for me personally. I wear contacts/glasses. There are risks to contact lenses as well but those can be mitigated with proper hygiene. At the end of the day you weight the small risks and potentially significant benefits for yourself. As you can see, there are many happy patients in this thread and if you are a good candidate with a good surgeon, that would overwhelmingly the most likely result for you as well.

[Lordosis]

If I needed corrective lenses I would wear glasses. I do not think I could handle contacts and I definitely would not go for surgery.

Not for fear of catastrophe just because I don't like things near my eyes.

[Cubicle]

I've been wearing glasses since 4 years old. Prescriptions are currently in the -5 - -6 range. Stable. Terrified of any kind of vision damage/loss. To the point I have never (& will never) considered contacts. My eyes work very well with glasses, I'm not risking having to place a piece of glass against my eyeball!

I would love to see perfectly without glasses. But I would never forgive myself if there were any sort of long term complications following LASIK.

So I just keep buying my $12 cheapo glasses 1-2 times per year.

[eyecandy]

Another cornea/refractive surgeon here. I know plenty of ophthalmologists (esp cornea specialists) whom have had LASIK/PRK themselves. We believe in the technology. Luckily I don’t need glasses or contacts, but if I had mild-moderate refractive error (like you) I would have laser surgery without question...even being a microsurgeon.

Avoid the advertised $400/eye refractive centers and find out who are the skilled local refractive surgeons and have an evaluation to see if you’re a candidate. Also if you have any hint of dry eye currently start yourself on preservative free artificial tears, go into exam with moist healthy corneas. Good luck!

[Peds]

i dont understand this fear of contacts.....what do you guys think will happen?

[Dusn]

I’ve seen horrible/blinding corneal ulcers from contact lenses. Contact lenses are way more dangerous than lasik/prk in my opinion. Glasses obviously are the safest option.

That said, refractive surgery does have risks and you can’t take it back if you don’t like it or if your prescription changes after the surgery.

You can lower the risks for contact lenses by using daily disposable contact lenses. And Never sleep in contacts.

Get a refractive surgeon that you trust to turn down your money if you’re not the ideal candidate.

[Dusn]

Btw what do the refractive surgeons here think about some of the newer techniques? (Ie. SMILE)

[Eye3md]

i dont understand this fear of contacts.....what do you guys think will happen?

With contact lens wear, you are at increased risk of corneal infections, so there's always this concern.

If you ever see an acanthamoeba corneal infection, it will put fear in ya. Difficult to treat. Fortunately its rare but it can lead to vision loss. As I said before, I'm just a lowly retina doc, so I (thankfully) do not have to deal with glasses/contact lenses. The refractive folks on here can speak in a more educated manner about the potential disasters with CL use