How many times can I get PRK?
With LASIK or PRK the goal is always to get you to your best corrected vision with one procedure, however, the higher your prescription means more corneal tissue is being reshaped, more corneal thickness is needed and more healing is necessary. With higher prescriptions there is slightly less predictability in healing and thus there is a greater chance of needing an adjustment than with smaller prescriptions Dr. Holzman uses the analogy of a golf putt. If the ball sits far the hole on a putting green, it is more likely that the golfer may need a second putt to put the ball in the hole. Shorter putts are almost always in the hole with just one putt. Same holds true with LASIK surgery treatments. Higher prescriptions are more likely to need a second treatment.
The good news is that the overall risk of needing a second treatment or enhancement is approximately 1% when Dr Holzman is operating. This is far lower than US average enhancement rates, which have been reported to be between 5 and 8 % . For patients with higher prescriptions or high degrees of astigmatism the enhancement rate is a little bit higher. The answer to the question of how many times can I get PRK is based on corneal thickness and structure. Care must be taken on repeat treatments of any kind. Having an enhancement treatment must make good medical sense and have the proper risk to benefit ratio.
