PRK stands as the best alternative to LASIK surgery, especially when the thickness of the cornea is not at sufficient amount. Another incline to go for PRK is that it is recommended and considered as a recommended procedure for the certain professionals from certain industries, to undergo. Both the refractive eye surgeries have good outcomes with very higher success rates and the only different is the recovery period for PRK is more, comparative to LASIK.
Complete Recovery Period
The complete recovery period is usually, not the same for all the patients as it depends on various factors. Though complete recovery takes a few months duration, recovery of vision is achieved in different phases. After each of the recovery phase, you can gradually resume to more and more regular day to day activities.
Phases of Recovery After PRK Procedure
Right After Surgery – The vision becomes blurry, right after the vision and so it is important that someone accompany you for the surgery to the medical centre and take you back home after completing the surgery. After arriving home, since the vision is not clear enough to do the regular, you should plan to take a nap on the day of the surgery. Do not spend your time watching television or reading books or playing game in your smartphone. Apply the medicated drops, as they can allow you to relax and relieve from any discomfort or pain that is natural after any surgery. The eye gets covered with contact lens bandage.
After Day 1 – After 24 hours of the PRK surgery, some blurry vision continues, though self caring activities can be resumed to a better extent. The bandage is retained and the activities are to be continued, with the bandage itself.
After a Week – This is the time bandage contact lens is removed, by your surgeon. After removal of it, a great improvement is experienced for the vision and this improvement is felt according to the prescription or refractive error the patient had before the surgery. Correction may range from 20/30 to 20/50, usually and so the vision is continued to improve in the following weeks. In a couple of weeks, you would achieve much improved visual acuity.
After a Month – The vision continues to improve during this period and by this time, you may resume most of the personal activities you perform day to day. After first month, corneal tissue is almost healed and eventually, the vision becomes clearer. Most of the daily activities can be resumed by this time. Though, eyes are felt dry, visual distortions and sensitivity to light get reduced.
After 3 Months – The vision gets completely improved by this time and it reaches to 20/40 or even better. In between 3 months to 6 months, the vision reaches to 20/40, for most of the PRK patients.
So, after six months period, the PRK patient feels complete healing and vision is much improved and harder activities can be resumed totally. However, during these phases of recovery, resuming activities must be done after consulting of one’s eye surgeon, such as going for swimming, playing sports, high contact activities etc. Only your surgeon can tell you the best time to resume these activities, as your unique eye condition is known by that doctor only.