PRK Surgery Experience - Case Study

We’ve put together a myopia case study and a PRK surgery review to help exemplify the powerful results and the patient experience process. We hope that by learning about positive PRK experiences, you too may experience this life-changing procedure.

PRK Patient Information and Diagnosis

Our PRK patient Margo is a 27-year-old account manager at a digital marketing agency here in Chicago. As an active person and amateur dancer, Margo was frustrated when her vision began to decline around the age of 17. During this time, Margo was reading heavily to prepare for her university entrance exams. Her vision continued to decline year after year.

Once her vision was stable, and after mulling it over for 3 years, Margo was ready to make a change and improve her vision. As luck would have it, Margo was assigned to be the Kraff Eye Institute’s account manager to help with our digital marketing. According to Margo, she immediately knew she was in competent hands with Dr. Colman Kraff. He has performed over 70,000 laser vision correction procedures and is considered a pioneer in the industry.

Before surgery, Margo was found to have mild myopia in both eyes. She had a refractive error of -2.75 in her right eye and -3.25 in her left. Both eyes were found to have a small amount of astigmatism as well, measuring at +50. Margo’s uncorrected vision was found to be 20/400 in both eyes.

PRK Procedure Steps and Treatment Recommendations

PRK for myopia is a highly effective surgery that allows patients to be less dependent on glasses or contact lenses. If you are interested in learning more about PRK eye surgery and what the procedure and healing process is like, we've outlined the steps below.

Step 1: Initial Consultation

Before having laser eye surgery, it's important to meet with your doctor to ensure that you're an ideal candidate. In Margo's case, she was able to meet with the eye doctor to discuss her frustrations and concerns, do eye exams, and determine the procedure best for her. This visit resulted in Margo scheduling her procedure a few weeks later.

Step 2: Prep for PRK Surgery

After taking advantage of her free consultation and booking her surgical appointment, Margo was excited about improving her vision. On the day of PRK laser eye surgery, we advise patients to plan on being in our office for about 2 hours. This will give the patient time to check in, have additional testing done if needed, allow time for a mild oral sedative to help relax, perform the procedure, and then review all post-operative information. Any post-op instructions and follow-up appointment questions will be discussed before the PRK surgery day.

Step 3: During Margo’s Surgery

With PRK, instead of making a flap on the front surface of the cornea, Dr. Kraff will use a specialized surgical instrument that will gently brush off the surface cells of the cornea. This takes about 5 to 10 seconds and the patient will feel some mild vibrations but no pain or discomfort. Once the cells are brushed off, Dr. Kraff will then use the laser to reshape the cornea to improve your vision. The laser treatment is typically less than 1 minute. Once completed, Dr. Kraff will place a soft bandage contact lens on the eye. He will then begin the same process on the other eye. The entire procedure, for both eyes, takes about 10 minutes. Once Margo had undergone laser surgery, she began her recovery period.

Step 4: PRK Surgery Complete

Once the actual surgery is over, Dr. Kraff will discuss the post-operative instructions with PRK patients such as Margo. He took another look at her eyes before she was able to leave our office as she eagerly awaited her PRK results. We always encourage patients to get as much rest as possible during the initial recovery period.

Step 5: Rest and Recover

Recovery following PRK is an important part of the process and it's helpful to read about PRK recovery stories like Margo's to see what the process is like. During the first 2 to 3 days following PRK, a patient is encouraged to do very minimal activity:

• no work
• no reading
• ‍no staring at computer screens‍
• no exercise.

There can be some discomfort during the initial healing period, but the patient will be given oral pain medication to help minimize and manage the pain. Margo did not report any intense pain during recovery.

As soon as Margo's cornea was healed, Dr. Kraff removed the bandage contact lenses that were placed in the eyes at the time of her procedure. After 3 days post-surgery, Dr. Kraff was comfortable removing the bandage contact lenses as enough of the epithelium had regenerated, and Margo was able to return to her normal activities and begin to enjoy her new vision.

PRK Patient Testimonial

My PRK surgery results are even better than I anticipated! Instead of suffering from blurry vision day in and day out, I can now clearly see the alarm clock and wake up and see the world around me. My husband is jealous because my vision is now better than his! I no longer need to wear glasses or prescription sunglasses to see and I don't have to worry about losing my contacts when I go swimming. I knew from the first eye exam that Dr. Kraff was going to be the best surgeon for the procedure and I wish I would have taken action to achieve great vision years ago. Even though I was a little bit afraid before entering the surgery room, Dr. Kraff and his team made me feel comfortable every step of the way. If you're reading this and you're considering surgery, I highly recommend doing so!

The Bottom Line

If you want to experience results like Margo, "Dr. Kraff at the Kraff Eye Institute is an incredible surgeon to consider." A PRK good experience like Margo's is only a phone call away, our team is on your side and is ready to help you achieve the kind of results Margo has. If you're interested in learning more about the PRK laser eye surgery procedure or you want to hear more about PRK laser eye surgery experiences, please schedule a complimentary consultation with our team at Kraff Eye Institute.