Did you know that up to 93 million people in the US are at a high risk of severe vision loss? Or that 12 million individuals already have some form of vision impairment? Of those with impaired vision, 75%, or three in four, have an uncorrected refractive error (URE).

That makes URE the most common and leading cause of visual impairment.

However, URE is highly treatable with appropriate types of corrective eye surgery. Prompt correction can prevent refractive errors from progressing into permanent vision loss.

To that end, we created this guide detailing primary corrective eye surgery types. Read on to discover what they are and their success rates to help you determine which one may be best suited for you.

Photorefractive Keratectomy (PRK) Laser Eye Surgery

PRK surgery can correct nearsightedness (myopia), farsightedness (hyperopia), and astigmatism. It can address mild to moderate cases of these refractive errors. What it can’t treat is presbyopia, as farsightedness caused by age progresses quickly.

How It Works

Photorefractive keratectomy laser eye surgery works by altering the cornea’s shape.

To do this, an eye surgeon must first remove the epithelium, the cornea’s top-most layer. Lasers then reshape the cornea’s sublayers to fix irregular curvatures in the eye. The epithelium grows back right away, but full regrowth can take three to five days after the surgery.

Do note that vision clarity after PRK surgery may take up to a month to become noticeable.

Who Are Good Candidates for PRK?

Unlike other laser eye surgery procedures, PRK doesn’t create a flap on the cornea. For this reason, most eye doctors recommend it for patients with very thin corneal tissue. Corneal thinness makes it easier to access and correct the cornea itself.

PRK may also be a better choice if you have dry eye disease (DED). DED is quite common, with 16 million people in the US diagnosed with it. However, eye specialists believe that about 50% of US adults experience DED symptoms.

PRK may be more ideal for those with DED, as surgeries that involve creating a corneal flap can worsen DED signs. The same goes true if you have a high risk of eye injury. The flap created by other laser surgeries can move out of place if the eye gets exposed to direct trauma.

Laser In-Situ Keratomileusis (LASIK) Eye Surgery

Every year, an estimated 600,000 to 800,000 people in the US undergo LASIK eye surgery. It also has a high patient satisfaction rate of more than 95%. After all, more than nine in 10 people who get LASIK achieve 20/20 vision after surgery.

Like PRK, LASIK can also correct nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism. It also has the same limitation of not being able to fix age-induced presbyopia.

How It Works

LASIK is one of the different kinds of corrective eye surgery that requires making a flap in the cornea. The surgeon then lifts this flap to get access to the cornea and change its shape. After the corneal alteration, the surgeon lowers down the flap back in place.

The cornea heals itself, but it takes about three to six months to stabilize and fully recover.

Who Should Consider LASIK?

More people prefer LASIK over PRK, as the former gives clear vision only a few days after the procedure. If you can’t wait for a month to see as clearly as possible, LASIK may be a better option.

Like PRK, though, your refractive error must have been stable for the past 12 months. Your prescription must also fall within the appropriate range, which includes:

• Within 10 diopters of nearsightedness
• +6 diopters of far-sightedness
• 6 diopters of astigmatism

LASIK is also an ideal option for those who don’t have DED (or experience its symptoms). If you do, your eye surgeon would recommend that you get this disorder treated first.

Small Incision Lenticule Extraction (SMILE) Eye Surgery

The US FDA first approved the SMILE eye procedure in September 2016. This makes it one of the latest additions to laser-guided eye surgeries. The FDA has approved its use for correcting nearsightedness and astigmatism.

How Does It Work?

A surgeon uses a computer-guided laser to create a small incision in the cornea. The specialist then removes a lenticule, which is a tiny piece of corneal tissue. The minute cut starts to heal right after the surgery without stitches.

Lenticule removal results in the flattening of the cornea’s center. This change in shape then reduces or even eliminates nearsightedness or astigmatism. Surgeons can perform SMILE surgery on myopic eyes with or without astigmatism.

Eye surgeons say that SMILE surgery results in an 80% improvement a day after the procedure. This then increases to 90% by week 2. It then slowly peaks to 100% by six months of post-surgery.

Who Can Get SMILE Eye Surgery?

To be a candidate for SMILE eye surgery, you must be at least 22 years old. This age restriction is higher than PRK or LASIK that surgeons can carry out on patients of at least 18 years old.

If your nearsightedness is within up to -10.00 diopters, you may be eligible for SMILE surgery. The same goes if your astigmatism is no more than -0.50 diopters. As with PRK or LASIK, your prescription must have been stable in the last 12 months.

Choosing Among the Different Types of Corrective Eye Surgery

A visit to an ophthalmologist is the best way to determine which corrective eye surgery is best for you. These are medical doctors who can diagnose and treat all forms of eye diseases. They are also the only vision specialists licensed to perform eye surgeries.

See, Work, and Play Better With Corrective Eye Surgery

As you can see, you have many different types of corrective eye surgery options to choose from. However, it’s also for this reason that you need to seek professional medical help.

That’s why it’s best to see an ophthalmologist as soon as possible for a comprehensive eye exam. The eye surgeon can then determine which procedure is most appropriate for your case.

Ready for more health, science, and technology facts and guides like this? Don’t forget to browse our site’s many other blog posts then!