PRK: How It Works, Explained Simply

Video Transcript

P R K is a laser vision correction procedure. Like LASIK, it reshapes the cornea, but it does so without creating a flap. The cornea has a thin protective skin on its very surface, called the epithelium. In P R K, that surface layer is gently removed to expose the tissue underneath, rather than being lifted as a hinged flap. The same cool laser then reshapes the cornea, using a map of your eye, exactly as it would in LASIK. A soft contact lens is placed as a bandage while the surface skin grows back over the next few days. Because that layer has to regrow, P R K involves more discomfort at first, and vision clears more slowly than after LASIK, often over weeks. So why choose it? With no flap, there is no flap to displace later. That can suit thinner corneas, certain corneal surfaces, and people in contact sports or physically demanding work. In the long run, the visual results of P R K and LASIK are broadly similar. Your surgeon's measurements decide which is the better fit for your eyes. This video is for general education only. It is not medical advice. Ask your eye doctor what's right for you.