Comparing San Francisco PRK vs LASIK
There are two main medical procedures in the San Francisco laser vision correction market: LASIK and PRK surgery. LASIK is considered a depth-based ablation, while PRK in San Francisco is known as a surface ablation. Ablation means corneal tissue removal. Your San Francisco LASIK surgeon will determine which of these two procedures, PRK or LASIK, is right for you.
PRK in San Francisco Treats the Surface of the Cornea
If your San Francisco laser vision correction surgeon determines that your cornea is irregular, say it's unusually thin, he's likely to recommend PRK surgery or LASEK in San Francisco. If it is PRK, your San Francisco PRK surgeon washes away the thin, outer membrane of the cornea, called the epithelium, and treats the exposed surface with the laser, programmed using either conventional or Wavefront LASIK data.
As a San Francisco PRK eye surgery patient, you can expect a longer post-op recovery period than that of LASIK, as the epithelium regenerates to cover the treated area of your eye. LASEK in San Francisco is comparable to PRK. But rather than remove the epithelium completely, as San Francisco PRK surgeons do, San Francisco LASEK surgeons lift the epithelium sheet intact, treat the underlying tissue, then restore the sheet over the treated area. Whether you have LASEK or PRK in San Francisco, your ultimate visual outcomes are likely to be comparable.
Follow one of our patient's post-op recovery period by watching our PRK post-op recovery video.
