Many patients with thin corneas have been told they are not candidates for LASIK. Many of these patients, however, are excellent candidates for customized wavefront PRK laser vision correction.

Many patients with thin corneas have been told in the past that they are not candidates for LASIK. Many of these patients with thin corneas, however, actually are excellent candidates for customized wavefront PRK. PRK can offer patients with thin corneas a result with a high degree of safety, accuracy, and long term stability.

The average human cornea is approximately 550 microns thick, roughly half the thickness of a credit card. Although definitions vary, most ophthalmologists consider corneas under 500 microns to be “thin.” In the past, patients with thin corneas have been told they are not candidates for LASIK.

When LASIK is performed, a surface layer of the cornea is first lifted as a “LASIK flap.” The laser treatment is then applied on the underlying cornea. By contrast, when PRK is performed, no flap is made and the laser treatment is applied to the surface of the cornea. For this reason, the treatment with PRK ends up being signficantly less deep than with LASIK, which makes it a better option for patients who are starting out with a cornea that already is thin.

The American Journal Of Ophthalmology recently published the results of a long term study that looked the results of 68 eyes with thin corneas that underwent PRK. All eyes in the study did very well in terms of accuracy, safety, and long term stability. The authors of the study concluded, “PRK in patients with thin corneas (less than 500 microns) seems to be a safe and predictable technique for myopic refractive corrections.”

I have performed several hundred cases of PRK on thin corneas and all of these patients have experienced excellent results. As in all cases, my preference is for customized wavefront PRK over conventional PRK when performing surgery on patients with thin corneas .

See Also

American Journal of Ophthalmology
American Journal of Ophthalmology

Long Term Results of Thin Corneas After Refractive Surgery
A long term, retrospective, non-randomized follow-up study of patients with thin corneas undergoing laser vision correction

American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS)
ASCRS

Advanced Wavefront PRK Techniques Produce Vision Better Than Glasses or Contacts (Shapiro)
Advanced wavefront PRK techniques produce vision better vision than glasses or contacts in 96% of patients in a study presented by Dr. Shapiro to the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery