LASIK and PRK Equally Effective
April 28, 2006
TA review of recent studies has concluded that two popular laser vision correction procedures—LASIK and PRK—work equally well at restoring 20/20 vision six to 12 months after surgery.
LASIK (laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis) and PRK (photorefractive keratectomy) both use a laser to reshape the cornea of the eye. In LASIK, extra tissue is removed below the cornea and PRK works by removing thin layers of the cornea to improve vision.
However, the review found that patients who had LASIK gained their vision back quicker and reported less pain after the procedure than PRK patients. But LASIK patients may feel more discomfort during the surgery.
The authors of the review, published in The Cochrane Library, examined six studies involving 417 eyes, which were treated with either LASIK or PRK. Some patients only received surgery in one eye and some opted to have each eye treated with different procedures.
The studies found evidence that a larger percentage of eyes treated with PRK lost visual perception about six months after the procedure in comparison with eyes treated with LASIK. However, the vision loss after PRK could be a result of corneal “haze,” which may occur due to inflammation caused by the surgery.
“The risk of significant haze after PRK is an important difference between these two procedures,” review author Dr. Alex Schortt said in a statement.
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