antibiotic eye drops	Meet your doctor before surgery	preparation for surgery
During the surgery	After surgery

Immediately before your surgery

           - Twenty minutes before the surgery, your eyes are prepared with antibiotic and anesthetic eye drops.
           - Before entering the operating room, you will have another discussion with your surgeon about your treatment, the operation, and to answer any questions you may have.

During your surgery

           - Once inside the sterile operating room, the surgical team disinfects the area around the eyes. A speculum is applied to keep the eye open during the surgery.
           - The first step of PRK involves the removal of the epithelial layer of the cornea. A solution is applied to the cornea to allow the epithelium to be removed (this layer will re-grow naturally).
           - Next, the excimer laser will be applied to reshape the cornea, similar to LASIK surgery. This laser emits energy in the ultraviolet range (193 nm) which acts only on the surface it irradiates. The laser evaporates the selected tissue without generating any heat or transmitting the radiation to any other media. This process leaves no trace on adjacent tissue or elsewhere inside the eye. The actual laser time is less than 1 minute per eye.

                      - For correction of nearsightedness, the laser reduces the central corneal curvature by removing tissue in the center of the cornea
                      - For correction of inborn farsightedness, the laser increases the central corneal curvature by removing some tissue near the periphery of the cornea
                      - For correction of astigmatism, the energy is applied to create a more round cornea.


           - Once the laser treatment is completed, a contact lens will be placed on the cornea in order to reduce discomfort and improve the healing time of the cornea. The entire surgery takes less than 20 minutes for both eyes.
           - The eye is then covered with a plastic eye shield, which is held in place by adhesive tape and has perforations for the patient to see through. The purpose of the eye shields is to prevent the patient from rubbing and scratching the eyes.  The patient can then return home. The shield is left on until the patient comes back to TRSC on the next day to have it removed.
           - The outer layer of the cornea will heal back to normal within 3-5 days, although this amount of time varies between patients.
           - After surgery, patient can return home immediately. The patient will be scheduled to come back to the clinic on the next day for the 1-day follow up examination and daily for about 1 week until the PRK wound is completely healed.