Changes in Corneal Thickness after LASIK and PRK

Submitted by Dr. Dean Dornic on Sat 05/02/2009 - 09:35

Correcting vision by LASIK or PRK involves removal of corneal tissue. Therefore, the cornea is thinner after the procedure than before. Investigators in Denmark wanted to study what happens to the cornea in the months after refractive surgery. They followed patients for 36 months after LASIK or PRK and found a thickening in both the top (epithelial) layer and deeper (stromal) layers in the months after refractive surgery. Doctors and patients can feel more at ease knowing that the cornea does not continue to thin in later years after LASIK.