Laser Eye Surgery-LASIK PRK and LASEK
                           Laser Eye Surgery: LASIK, PRK, and LASEK
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A surgical subspecialty, ophthalmology deals with the diagnosis and 
treatment of eye disorders. Just like any other medical field, it is also going 
through numerous advancements. Vision correction surgery has seen a new 
revolution in the form of laser eye surgery. Laser eye surgery benefits 
include lower risk and less recovery time. Let’s know about some laser eye 
surgeries.
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LASIK
LASIK stands for Laser-Assisted In-Situ Keratomileusis. LASIK surgery is 
one of the most well-known refractive surgeries. 
It is a blade-free surgery as it only utilizes two lasers to reshape the 
cornea. It is used to treat eye conditions like myopia, hyperopia, 
astigmatism, and presbyopia. It is recommended because it causes the 
least discomfort, and its recovery period is faster than other laser eye 
surgery methods. Its success rate is quite high. The great thing about this 
surgery is that you need just topical eye drops as an anesthetic. Let’s 
discuss the LASEK procedure:
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• The first laser uses a femtosecond laser that makes a flap in the 
superficial cornea that measures 105um deep. 
It’s an infrared laser that uses a wavelength of 1053nm. This laser 
creates millions of small gas bubbles that again combine to shape 
this superficial flap. This silent laser takes less than 15 seconds to 
complete the flap.
• The second laser uses an excimer laser that is used to reshape the 
cornea that is under the flap. If you have myopia, then this laser will 
be used to flatten the curvature of the cornea. In cases of hyperopia, 
this laser will steepen the cornea. But still, the surgery will be done 
as per the treatment prescription for your glasses.
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• The higher the treatment prescription of your glasses or contact lenses, 
the more corneal tissue is reshaped. This laser emits a cool beam of 193 
nm of ultraviolet light. Unlike the first laser, you can hear its sound.
• Approved by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration), all the procedures 
for this operation take around 10–15 minutes. If we discuss LASIK vs. 
glasses and contact lenses, we will understand that people will choose 
the latter due to affordability. But they need to know that LASIK will have 
a permanent result.
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PRK
PRK stands for Photorefractive Keratectomy. PRK is the predecessor to LASIK 
and is the original laser eye surgery technique. A blade-free technique, it 
reshapes the cornea just like LASIK, but the difference is that in PRK, 
reshaping is done on the surface once the epithelial cells are removed. It is 
good for treating and correcting myopia or nearsightedness but is not 
recommended for hyperopia or long-sightedness. Unlike LASIK, recovery 
after PRK surgery is more. PRK existed even in 1988 and was FDA-approved 
in 1995.
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LASEK
LASEK stands for Laser-Assisted Subepithelial Keratomileusis. LASEK is quite 
identical to PRK because the corneal epithelium is removed. But unlike PRK, it is 
not completely removed; instead, the ultra-thin "flap" of epithelium is pushed 
off to one side of the cornea. Thus, it is able to remain attached to the eye. 
After the surgery, the epithelial tissue is repositioned. The eye is then covered 
with a bandage contact lens so that it can heal itself. There are some risks and 
complications with LASEK. It creates more discomfort and takes a long time to 
recover.
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Only after gaining proper knowledge and surgical expertise , 
a medico can perform these surgeries. As these surgeries are frequently 
being performed nowadays, aspiring ophthalmologists must get proper 
education, surgical skill set, and training related to it.
DigiNerve, a renowned medical edtech platform provides one of the 
best ophthalmology lectures. To further enhance the student’s knowledge, 
along with the video lectures for ophthalmology, you get practice 
questions, notes, and much more in ophthalmology MD online.
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Conclusion
Laser eye surgery will surely become more common in the near future. 
There are different types of surgeries as per the needs and budgets of 
the patients. Aspiring ophthalmologists can enroll in online 
ophthalmology courses to get interactive 
ophthalmology video lectures for medical students and excel 
in ophthalmology MD course.
 
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