MY PRK Eye Surgery & Recovery

After about 26 years of not being able to see far away without contacts or glasses, I decided to go for a LASIK consultation, only to discover I have thin corneas and am therefore not a candidate for LASIK. However, PRK surgery was an option for me. To put it most simply, the difference is that with LASIK a flap is created and the next morning you wake up with excellent vision. With PRK you have the outer layer of your eye removed, you leave with a clear bandage contact in your eye, and the healing process is much more difficult and longer (about 6 months). However PRK has been around longer than LASIK, and it is the preferred corrective eye surgery of the military, pilots, and pro athletes because it is safer. I decided to confidently go through with PRK, despite the long healing process. This video can explain the differences between the two procedures in more detail.

After three consultations with different doctors, and reading many reviews, I proceeded to have PRK eye surgery from Dr. Martin Burger, of LASIK Specialists LLC in Clearwater, FL near Tampa He has performed over 70,000 of these procedures. This post will detail my experience, and recovery process.

The Procedure

I went into a room and laid down on the operation bed, without any sedation (no Valium or laughing gas). After administering numbing eye drops, the doctor and a nurse put an eye patch over my left eye, and a clamp on my right eye to keep it open. A series of bazaar textures, temperatures, lights, and scents ensued. I would not say this was painful at all, but the complete and utter lack of control, while my eyes are being prodded was uncomfortable. I felt like I was undergoing some psychedelic MK-Ultra experiment. I could feel small toothbrush-like instruments removing the epithelium outer layer of my eye. I could smell the burning of the laser. I saw a series of red, green, and bright white lights. Then for about 30 seconds at a time, my vision turned to white nothingness (which was a bit terrifying), followed by very cold water flushing a few times. Keep in mind, during all of this you can’t blink because your eye is clamped open. Now having said all this about how uncomfortable I felt mentally and physically, I was very still, and brave, and focused. I tried to breathe deep and stay calm to the best of my ability. Within 10 minutes, both eyes were complete! I was lead over to the optometry chair for a post-op eye test, and to my delight, all was quite successful. I could see words from across the room for the first time in years.

I was given a pair of clear sleeping protective goggles and went back to the hotel to sleep quite well for the rest of the night.

Post Op Day 1

The first thing I noticed when I woke up that next morning, was that I could read the words on the side of a coffee cup across the room! There was a bit of haze like I was looking through layers of saran wrap, but the letters were clear. Later in the morning I went to my follow up eye appointment. I was able to read the letters off a much lower line of the eye chart than the doctor would have expected at this point. He said everything looked good, and to leave my clear bandage contact in for the next 10 days. I also was told the importance of following the strict regimen of specific eye drops throughout the day, at very specific intervals. These eye drops were for pain, antibiotic, and to reduce swelling.

The rest of the day I actually felt quite fine, I saw decently but hazy, and we even stopped in the city of Venice, FL to have a lunch of seafood, and walk around the downtown. I wore 2 pairs of sunglasses in the car, because light was making my eyes sensitive. The remainder of the day, and into the night all was fine. I did not experience pain or discomfort at all, only difficulty seeing a phone or computer.

Post Op Day 2

I was still able to see pretty well up close and far away, but it was hazy just like the day before. I rode in the car, went to a coffee shop, and wore sunglasses to block out the light. Overall, post op day 2 was very similar to post op day 1.

Post Op day 3 – THE WORST DAY of the process!

Day three I woke up and could not see anything near or far, it was like I was underwater in a complete blur. I could not open my eyes for more than several seconds at a time, because they would automatically close. A good way to describe how my eyes felt is like my contacts were on inside out, with sand particles under them. I had to keep my eyes closed with sunglasses on for most of the day. I took naps. I experienced burning a bit and some watering. I have heard that some patients experience level 7 or 8 pain on this day, but I was thankful to never experience any pain at all. It was just very unfavorable but tolerable. I knew that this day of the healing process would be coming, and therefore I was mentally prepared for such a rough day.

Post Op Day 4 Saint Patrick’s Day

Today I woke up and I could actually leave my eyes open, which was such a relief. I could not see far away, but I could see up close, a slight bit better. I could see well enough to make out the words to make a Saint Patrick’s Day recipe for an Irish dinner. But it was not easy. I walked to the store with the dark medical sunglasses and a hat, and it proved to be too much light. I regretted having tried that.

Post Op Days 5 & 6

These days are similar. I can somewhat see the words on my phone or computer, but not great. I cannot see far away. My eyes are still a fair bit sensitive to light. I would not want to try to drive. Day 5 my left eye was more blurry and scratchy feeling than my right eye. Day 6 it no longer is scratchy. The clear bandage contact is very bothersome and cloudy.

Days 6-9 Every day was about the same. I couldn’t see great far away or close up, but it wasn’t awful. I had no pain. Vision fluctuated.

Day 10 – This was the day I was finally able to take the clear, non prescription bandage contact lens out. I was really nervous to touch my eyes to take them out, but it turned out it was absolutely no big deal and they were removed as easy as any contact lens I have ever removed. I lubricated them with eye drops, and they came out in seconds. While it felt good to have them out, my vision decreased a great deal. This was to be expected, and I accepted it as normal. The rest of the day I couldn’t see much of anything.

Day 11 – I have achieved a state of being able to see somewhat better. Not great, but enough to function. My vision fluctuates a great deal. It will continue to get better. I probably won;t update this blog post until 1 month post op, because the slow healing process, which is to be expected, will probably not see much daily change at this point.

Day 17 – They were not kidding when they said this was a long recovery. I still have a great deal of trouble seeing up close. For example I can’t read words on a page without extreme effort. It is difficult to look at this computer monitor as a type, or my phone. I cannot see far away very well either. At night everything is blurred into starbursts of light. At this point, I still feel like it is what is considered normal, but it is a bit worrisome. I feel like there has been no change since day 10 when the bandage contact was removed. I hope there is a positive change soon.

3 weeks and 2 days – Today was the first day that I didn’t really think about my eyesight as much as I had. I feel this was a turning point. Not that my eyes are seeing totally clear, but it was “good enough” that all of my thoughts were not consumed by how annoying my vision was. I was able to drive in the night a little better as well.

1 Month – I still have blurry and double vision pretty frequently. There is certainly ability to see further away that I used to be able to see without vision correction. That is encouraging and keeps me hopeful. But I cannot say my vision is without ghosting and blurriness. Especially my near vision. It has never been a problem in my whole life to see up close, and now it is. I hope my vision continues to get more focused and clear in the weeks to come. Ii can certainly manage because I have gotten used to it. But I hope for much better results as the healing progresses.

6 weeks – Things continue to get better. I would say about 60% of the time I don’t even think about my eyes. The other 40% of the time I do because I will have double vision, especially up close. I trust that my eyesight is getting better slowly.

2 Months – My vision is doing quite well! Most days I do not think about the vision at all, because I see well enough both far away and close up that it is not a problem on my mind. I feel very good about the progress, and it is almost as good as it was with vision correction before I had this done. There are still some fleeting points in time when I have slight double vision. I have faith I am healing, however. Don’t forget, it takes at least 6 months to see the true healing benefits, so I would say my vision is right where it should be.

3 Months – I can see exceptionally well both up close and far away. I had given myself markers ahead of surgery to later prove to myself if my vision was equal to what it had with the help of contacts or glasses. One of those markers was if I could read the exit wording (with 2″ letters) from one side of an aircraft to the other. As of now, I can successfully see that well! Praise the Lord! I am also getting much better at reading tiny up close writing, like the date dial on my watch.

Final Update – 6 Months Post Op – I am happy to say my eyes are healed and my vision is exceptional. I cannot stress enough how thankful I am that I had PRK eye surgery. I can see clearly from one end of an airplane to another. I can see, and read 2″ letters more than the distance of a standard swimming pool (25 yards) with clarity. Many days go by and I do not consciously think about my eyes at all because they are such a non-issue. They are so good that I don’t thin about them! How nice to finally have eyes that see this well after years of poor vision. This surgery was emotionally a bit of a ride in the early healing because healing from PRK takes additional time, but now that I am a bit more than 6 months post- op, I can tell you every penny was well spent.

FAQ’s

How much did PRK surgery cost?

The entire cost for two eyes combined for PRK at Lasik Specialists LLC in Clearwater, FL was $2280. In addition, I had $110 for the RX eye drops. (in addition, there was the cost of gas to drive to Clearwater, FL from Fort Myers, a hotel which cost $124, and food). So conservatively, I would allocate a budget of $2600-ish. It all depends on if you are traveling or what not.

I had a quote locally in Fort Myers for PRK surgery, and it was for $4500, not including the RX. I feel it really pays to shop around and do your research. Clearly you do not want to get a poorly trained doctor and pay less. But if you can pay less and find a highly trained, highly experienced doctor with over 70,000 surgeries performed all over the nation, yes it pays to shop around! LASIK surgery facilities are pretty popular to come by these days, so I would certainly check out a few.

What did you need to do to prepare ahead of time?

I had to stop wearing contacts for two weeks leading up to surgery. Instead, I wore glasses. I also prepared by booking our hotel, and making sure we had the correct addresses and phone numbers of the hotel and the surgery center in a folder. I sent an email to my husband with direct links to things I would like to listen to, so that later he could help me open those if I couldn’t see the computer. I also suggest washing your hair soon before surgery, because it will be a little bit before it’s safe to get water or shampoo near your eyes afterwards. Finally, I turned my text on my devices to the largest setting, and the brightness to a very low level. It’s helpful to have it that way for the days to follow.

Will you need someone to assist you home after the surgery?

Yes, you absolutely will. You will need someone to drive you around after your eye surgery, and to your follow up appointment(s).

Were you able to sleep well with the protective goggles on?

Oh yes! I found that they were not bothersome. I have a pillow I sleep on at night that causes my face to not be smashed. I made it myself, but it is very similar to this pillow. I would highly recommend getting a pillow like that so that your face and goggles are not smashed. The rest of the year, the special pillow prevents wrinkles too.

How long should I take off for work?

I am on day 6 of healing, as I am writing this, and I do not believe a person with a desk job at a computer would want to be back yet. It is not easy to see a computer for long. I would say three weeks if it is possible!