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LASIK, PRK equally effective

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WASHINGTON — A literature review indicates both LASIK and PRK are equally effective at restoring 20/20 vision to patients 6 months to 1 year after surgery, according to the Center for the Advancement of Health.

That LASIK patients tend to recover their vision more quickly than patients who underwent PRK may account for the increase in LASIK since the late 1990s, according to Alex Schortt, MD, and Bruce Allan, MD, of Moorfields Eye Hospital in London, who published their findings in The Cochrane Report.

Patients undergoing LASIK report less pain after surgery than patients undergoing PRK, but tend to be more uncomfortable during the surgery, the report found.

The researchers found “no significant difference in the number of eyes regaining 20/20 ‘perfect’ vision 6 to 12 months after each type of surgery,” regardless of the initial severity of myopia. The six studies used in the review included 201 eyes treated with PRK and 216 treated with LASIK.

Some evidence was found that a “greater proportion of eyes lose some of their visual acuity with PRK compared to LASIK 6 months after surgery,” the Center said. Dr. Schortt attributes the visual regression in part to corneal haze, the center said.