For some branches of military service, PRK is the preferred or only allowed procedure. All I knew was that it might hurt and recovery would be somewhat long. Going into the clinic on Tuesday afternoon, I was terrified, but the Valium calmed me down. Combined with the anesthetic eye drops, the procedure wasn’t that bad — only about 15 minutes. It was slightly discomforting and not all painful. Due the Valium, I actually walked out of the surgery room laughing. My vision was slightly blurred, my eyes weren’t too sensitive although the halo effect was pretty severe.
Wednesday morning I walked three miles to the clinic for the follow-up. Vision had improved. Wednesday evening, the pain and light sensitivity kicked in until Friday morning. It was quite unpleasant. Despite the curtains being pulled and my dark Wiley X goggles on, it wasn’t dark enough.
Friday I walked to the appointment. I wasn’t in a position to drive yet. That Friday afternoon the vision had improved but I was still light sensitive, wearing my goggles indoors. By Sunday I could drive home but the light sensitivity had diminished; I still wore my goggles indoors for another two weeks. Had a bit of difficulty reading for 10 days afterward, but nothing severe. Slight dry eye for about two months after.
One month after, I noticed an improvement in the crispness of the vision over a weekend. It has improved slowly since then. Two months after, I was 20/10. The dry eye had virtually gone. Halo effect still, but much better than before.
I have no complaints about the service I received at LA Sight and result of the surgery. It was painful 24-60 hours after and I was not able to drive for five days, but after that, it got better slowly. At 20/10 vision two months after, it is hard to complain.
Regards,
Mark D.
Doctor Wallace says:
Mark did experience more pain and light sensitivity than some do after PRK (also called “ASA” for Advanced Surface Ablation, or epi-LASIK, or LASEK). I try to warn patients that the first couple of days can be rocky, with soreness, light sensitivity, and overall diminished enthusiasm due to this situation. It does pass. Mark experienced more pain than expected, and he’s a tough guy so I know he’s not exaggerating. But this passed and the healing progressed; he is now very comfortable, and his vision now is awesome.
And we now recommend Wiley-X sunglasses to all people involved in military service following this treatment — they’re great!
