Your PRK Procedure

Please make sure that you eat lightly that morning. Also avoid wearing eye makeup and any hair accessories that could get in the way of Dr. Davidorf’s ability to position your head during your procedure. Also, be sure and wear comfortable clothing.

In the surgical suite, we will ask you to recline under the laser and relax. Dr. Davidorf will apply a topical eyedrop anesthetic. To prevent you from blinking during the treatment, he will prop your eyelids open with a speculum.

1. Dr. Davidorf will gently remove the epithelium, which is the layer of clear "skin" or cells that cover the cornea. The epithelium has to be removed because it would block the laser in its reshaping work. To remove it, Dr. Davidorf may use a laser, a blade, a brush, or a special instrument called an epi-keratome. This step differs from the first LASIK step, where the flap is pulled back from the corneal surface to expose the deeper corneal layers.
2. Based on measurements taken during your consultation, Dr. Davidorf will reshape the cornea, enabling light to focus correctly on the retina. PRK uses the same excimer laser as LASIK, which has a cool, pulsing beam of ultraviolet light. The laser works its way down into the stroma (structural part of the cornea), where the real reshaping takes place. This takes only 20 to 90 seconds per eye. You will hear a tapping noise which is caused by the laser energy.
3. A clear contact lens called a bandage lens is placed over the eye to increase your comfort while the corneal epithelium regenerates itself, usually for three to four days.

A typical PRK procedure takes three to five minutes per eye. The entire process may take up to 30 minutes though, counting the time spent on preparing your eyes.

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