How does LASEK differ from LASIK and PRK?

LASEK, LASIK and PRK are terms that you will often hear especially the first two. Many people do confuse LASEK with LASIK although they are separate procedures. It is easy to become confused by the medical terminology so here is a brief description of the differences between these three laser treatments:

a. LASEK: a form of laser eye surgery in which the surgeon uses a trephine to cut a flap in the outer layer of the cornea. He or she will then fold this flap back in order to reshape the cornea with an excimer laser.

b. LASIK: in this procedure the surgeon uses a special instrument called a microkeratome to make an incision in the epithelium. This incision takes the form of a flap which the surgeon then peels back. He or she can then reshape the middle layers of the cornea (stroma) using an excimer laser.

c. PRK: this was the forerunner of laser eye surgery. It differs from the other two procedures in that no flap is created in the epithelium. What happens instead is that the surgeon uses laser energy to ‘scrap away’ the cells of the epithelium to reveal the cornea underneath. The surgeon then uses an excimer laser to correct the refractive error.

Surgical treatments advance all the time and laser eye surgery is no exception. You will find that clinics such as Ultralase offer advanced forms of these treatments, which use up to the minute lasers such as Wavefront LASIK and Intralase.

LASEK Surgery Guide:

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• Intro to LASEK
• How is LASEK different to LASIK and PRK?
• Who should consider LASEK?
• What are the alternatives to LASEK
• What are the risks of LASEK?
• What are the benefits of LASEK?

• What Should I ask at LASEK Consultation?
• How much does LASEK cost?
• What is the LASEK procedure?
• How long does LASEK last for?
• What does recovery from LASEK involve?

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