HOW DO I KNOW WHICH REFRACTIVE EYE SURGERY IS RIGHT FOR ME?

The surgeon will explain and help you decide if LASIK, PRK, SMILE, or LASEK is best for you during your complimentary pre-surgery consultation.

• PRK is a good option for patients with thinner, asymmetrical or irregular corneas as well as patients who are predisposed to chronic dry eye, and patients whose jobs or lifestyles cause them to take a lot of direct contact to the eyes.  The visual results of PRK are comparable to LASIK and SMILE.  PRK is considered to be the first generation of vision correction procedures with excimer lasers.  The procedure involves reshaping the surface corneal tissue and not the inner corneal tissue like LASIK.PRK differs from LASIK in that no corneal flap is required but PRK has the longest recovery period out of all 3 laser surgeries.
• SMILE is often the right solution for patients with nearsightedness (it can’t correct farsightedness and astigmatism yet) and for those with thin corneas, dry eyes, or contact lens intolerance.  SMILE causes less disruption of the corneal nerves than other laser vision procedures as it does not create a flap like with LASIK.  As a result, you may have even lower chances of dry eye.  However, SMILE takes a slightly longer time for recovery (1-2 days) when compared to LASIK (“instant” visual recovery).