PRK Surgery Los Angeles

How is PRK eye surgery performed

LASEK eye surgery uses a laser treatment to shape the outer layer of the cornea to make the vision correction. AGEI surgeons use the same cool ultraviolet laser during a LASEK procedure.

In a LASEK procedure, your surgeon gently cleanses the outer cornea with a chemical that dissolves the tissue and exposes the underlying layer. The laser beam works directly on the stromal layer — the perfectly transparent and thickest layer of the cornea — to precisely shape it to achieve vision correction.

Once the eye surgery is complete, which takes about 10 minutes for each eye, the surgeon lays a transparent soft contact lens bandage on your cornea to cover the site until the outer layer grows back. The bandage is typically removed by your surgeon in three or four days. 

What to expect during PRK laser surgery 

With LASEK (PRK) eye surgery the laser power energy is applied directly to the surface of the cornea

At the onset of PRK, your ophthalmologist will place numbing drops into your eye. Once the drops have taken effect, your surgeon uses chemicals to remove the outer layer of the cornea.

When the middle layer of the cornea is exposed, the eye surgeon will ask you to concentrate your vision on the light of the laser while he corrects a layer of your cornea.

Once the ophthalmologist has completed his work the clear bandage contact lens is placed over your cornea. Post-op discomfort can be mild to moderate.

The benefits of PRK (LASEK):

• LASEK does an excellent job of correcting high degrees of nearsightedness.
• LASEK leaves a greater portion of the cornea untouched by the surgery, which is important in patients with thin corneas, corneal tissue issues, or who are at risk for future eye problems.
• Corneal nerves heal faster with LASEK, minimizing dry eye symptoms that can sometimes occur after surgery.
• By leaving deeper layers of the cornea untouched, LASEK may also provide an extra margin of safety in patients whose corneas have an unusual shape and don’t qualify for LASIK surgery.
• LASEK Involves less depth of laser treatment than with LASIK
• More corneal thickness is preserved, so if additional surgery is needed in the future, it can be done
• Because there's no corneal flap as there is with the LASIK procedure, so the risk of corneal flap complications are eliminated

Recovering from PRK eye surgery 

After LASEK surgery, patients usually feel like they have something in their eye, which is not their imagination but rather the contact lens bandage on the surface of the eye. Other normal reactions to PRK include tearing, light sensitivity, blurred vision, and seeing halos around bright objects at night.

Post-op symptoms typically last for about three days, with day two and three being the most severe. By day four or five the symptoms begin to abate as the corneal service heals.

Simple eye care can decrease discomfort during the healing process. Make sure you use the chilled lubricating and medicated eye drops prescribed by your ophthalmologist.

Do not plan to drive or go to work on the day of your LASEK eye surgery. Sometimes it takes several days to recuperate, so take that into account when planning your LASEK procedure.

On day four, when the contact lens bandage is removed by your ophthalmologist, your vision will be much better, and you should have a clear vision. You may resume work at that time.

During the next four to six weeks your vision will continue to improve. At about three months vision will be startling clear from eye surgery. At a year, most patients will be healed from their LASEK procedure and their eyes are considered stable.

The benefits of the best PRK surgery in Los Angeles

AGEI is an acclaimed ophthalmology practice known for its distinguished level of care and ongoing energy to improve laser refractive surgery and artificial lens implantation through innovation.

Dr. Assil — internationally recognized for his innovative ophthalmologic innovations and named by Los Angeles Magazine as a top ophthalmologist work — assembled a talented team of highly trained eye surgeons. Dr. Assil is known for his contributions to the practice of laser refractive surgery and performed his first laser procedure over 25 years ago. 

Assil Gaur Eye Institute, the best laser vision correction in Los Angeles

AGEI, founded in 1949 by Dr. Robert M. Sinkey, recognized as the father of modern cataract surgery is internationally recognized to employ the most superior techniques in vision correction procedures anywhere.

Dr. Assil, an academic ophthalmologist at the beginning of his career, established new frontiers in correcting refractive error via the field of refractive surgery. He quickly became known as a trailblazer in the practice of cataract surgery. Doctors also utilize excimer lasers that can remove exceptionally fine layers of eye surface material with almost no heating.

AGEI practices iDesign™ an innovative laser procedure that captures your personal optics using Wavefront technology. Doctors are able to view a completely personalized 3-D map of your visual pathway (the path that a light ray travels from the front of the eye, through the cornea and all the way to the back of the retina). It does this by dividing the visual surface area of your eye into over 1,200 adjacent zones and measuring each zone’s prescription individually.

AGEI provides patients with the highest-quality eye care found anywhere from laser eye surgery and dry eye syndrome to thin cornea conditions and providing contact lens. In addition, patients find AGEI to be comfortable and friendly, much small medical practices used to be. 

How to contact AGEI in the Los Angeles area:

Beverly Hills Office

310-651-2300

450 N. Roxbury Dr., 3rd Floor

Beverly Hills, CA 90210

Santa Monica Office

310-382-5050

2222 Santa Monica Blvd., Ste. 107

Santa Monica, CA 90404

Click here or call our eye center today for a free consultation.

About Los Angeles, California

The City of Los Angeles, often known as L.A., is the largest city in the state. With a population of 4 million people, it is the second most-populated city in the United States, behind New York City. Los Angeles is known for its comfortable Mediterranean climate, ethnic diversity, Hollywood entertainment industry, and its sprawling metropolis.