How are PRK and LASEK alike?
LASEK resembles PRK because both procedures are considered corneal ablation procedures – meaning they both treat the surface of the cornea only, as opposed to the internal cornea reshaped in the LASIK procedure. In PRK and LASEK, less corneal tissue is removed than during LASIK. In PRK, the epithelium is removed entirely and is not replaced as in LASEK and LASIK. PRK is similar to LASEK also in that a microkeratome is not required, as the epithelial cells are loosened with alcohol. Visual recovery with PRK is slower than LASEK.
