PRK in Minneapolis

The majority of patients may anticipate experiencing some discomfort or minor pain for up to three days after their PRK laser eye surgery. Most of the time, frequent dosages of over-the-counter pain medication may be used to treat this. In some instances, your refractive surgeon may prescribe eye drops for pain relief. While some discomfort may be experienced, on the whole, it is quite tolerable and, most patients agree, well worth the improved vision afterward.

Your PRK continues to provide the same results permanently and does not diminish with time. Your vision correction is permanent after your eyes have stabilized, which often takes three to six months. However, this does not mean that your eyesight won’t change. Age-related reading vision loss, called presbyopia, is common, and PRK doesn’t stop it. Additionally, more than simply the cornea, other elements of the eye contribute to vision. Your eyesight may alter as a result of changes to the eye’s other structures, such as the early development of a cataract. However, we often discover that eyesight remains great for many years or even decades following PRK. When you get older, it’s possible to undergo an enhancement surgery to restore your superb eyesight without using glasses.

From start to finish, the PRK procedure takes only about 10 to 15 minutes. You should plan to be at the eye center for 2-3 hours the day of your photorefractive keratectomy procedure to complete any paperwork before the surgery and allow time for recovery afterward.

The team at Chu Vision Institute will deliver numbing eye drops prior to starting your PRK laser procedure. This not only prevents discomfort, but it also restricts the urge to blink. Additionally, a small device is used to hold the eyelid open so the surgeon may reach the treatment area and prevent the possibility of any blinking. We’ll keep your eyes moisturized so they don’t dry out as your refractive surgeon works. When the surgery starts, a light appears. Throughout the course of the treatment, patients are asked to fixate on this light. Throughout the whole surgery, your eye doctor keeps a careful check on the eye’s movement. Additionally, a built-in eye tracker follows each little eye movement. The device immediately turns off in the very rare case that a patient looks away, coughs, or sneezes. These factors make the danger of blinking or moving the eye during LASIK or PRK almost nonexistent. Even if you do move, safety precautions are in place to ensure your safety and avoid problems.

Since PRK is seen as an optional or elective procedure, insurance may not cover it. Similar to LASIK, your vision insurance may partly cover some of the preliminary scans or examinations leading up to PRK, but the price of the procedure itself is probably not going to be covered. However, you should still get in touch with your insurance provider to find out what aspects of PRK could be covered.

Yes, you can use your Flexible Spending Account (FSA) or Health Savings Account (HSA) to pay for the cost of PRK. A PRK procedure is an FSA- or HSA-eligible medical expense. You may utilize a health or flexible spending account provided by your employer to pay for PRK.

People with refractive errors (myopia, hyperopia, and astigmatism) who want to attain excellent vision without the need for contact lenses or corrective glasses are the best candidates for PRK. They should be generally in excellent health and over the age of 18. Patients who are interested in LASIK but aren’t ideal candidates because of thin corneas or shape may be better candidates for PRK in certain circumstances. PRK is very similar to LASIK and is a good option for laser vision correction for many people. Call our office to schedule your consultation and see if PRK is right for you.

The majority of our PRK patients have a reasonably fast recovery period and return to work within a few days following surgery. Your eyesight will normally become clear the next day, and over the following weeks, blurry vision becomes progressively clearer. Your eye surgeon will let you know at your follow-up appointment when it is safe for you to return to work.