Photorefractive Keratectomy

Excerpt

Photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) is a laser eye surgery for the correction of visual refractive errors such as myopia, hyperopia, and astigmatism. PRK was developed in 1983 by Dr. Steven Trokel and colleagues and first performed in 1987 by Dr. Theo Seiler in Berlin. After receiving approval by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1996, PRK was briefly the preferred surgical treatment of ametropia as it provided more predictable and stable results than incisional keratotomy. However, the number of PRK procedures fell in the late 1990s with the growing popularity of laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK). Today, LASIK remains the most commonly performed visual refractive surgery; nonetheless, there remain select situations in which PRK may be preferable.