Gulf South Eye Associates - Ophthalmology Specialists, Metairie, LA :: Offering eye care, cataract and glaucoma treatment, LASIK, eye glasses and contact lenses, eye doctor Metairie LA


	Photorefractive Keratectomy also known as PRK, has been FDA approved since 1983. PRK was the 1st refractive procedure that utilizes the Excimer Laser to modify the shape of the cornea to correct refractive errors such as myopia, hyperopia, and astigmatism. The PRK process involves your surgeon abrading away the epithelium layer or the outer most layer of your cornea. This exposes the deeper layers of your cornea at which time, like LASIK and LASEK utilizes the Excimer Laser, a cool-beam laser which removes the precise amount of corneal tissue in an area 5 to 9 millimeters in diameter of your cornea, this allows the light rays to focus on the retina without the help of glasses or contact lenses. The most important benefit of this procedure is that the integrity and strength of your corneal dome is retained. PRK candidates must be in good general health, have had a recent normal eye exam, and have had all pre-operative exams as listed in steps to PRK. In order to determine if you are a candidate, certain exams will need to be performed by your surgeon such as the ones listed in the steps to PRK. Click here for an explanation of what to expect the day of and after your PRK procedure. PRK is intended to help patients minimize their dependency on glasses or contact lenses but cannot guarantee that you won't need glasses after the procedure or at some time on the future for certain tasks. Our office statistics indicate that approximately 90% of our PRK patients are able to pass a driver's license vision test without the help of glasses or contact lenses. PRK will not prevent any part of the natural aging process such as cataracts, the natural clouding of the lens on the inside of your eye and Presbyopia, which is the loss of the eye's natural ability to accommodate or read without the help of reading glasses or bifocals after the age of 40. You can discuss with your surgeon the possibility of a modified PRK treatment to help decrease the need for reading glasses. As with any surgery there are certain risks involved and no guarantees of the exact outcome. We recommend that you educate yourself on the pros and cons of PRK before you make any decisions about having an elective surgery. Click here for a complimentary consultation visit or FDA's page about the PRK procedure.

  Who is a candidate?
  Steps to having PRK
  Day of your PRK
  After your PRK