Home › Procedure comparisons › PRK vs LASIK
Same laser, same outcomes, one structural difference — and that difference decides which one belongs in your eyes.
In the PRK vs LASIK decision, both use the same laser to reshape the cornea and reach the same 20/20 outcomes. The difference is the flap. LASIK lifts a thin corneal flap and puts it back; PRK removes the surface layer entirely and lets it grow back.
That single difference decides everything else. LASIK is comfortable and clear within a day. PRK is blurry and sore for three to five days, but leaves no flap that could ever be displaced — which is why it is preferred for contact sports, military service and thinner corneas. At CCRS, LASIK is $2,000 per eye and PRK is $2,500 per eye, both all-inclusive.
| LASIK | PRK | |
|---|---|---|
| Corneal flap | Yes — a thin flap is created and repositioned | None — nothing to displace, ever |
| Comfortable vision | Within hours; most see 20/20 next morning | Blurry 3–5 days, sharpening over weeks |
| Back to desk work | Day two | About one week |
| Discomfort | Mild, a few hours | Gritty and sore for several days |
| Final visual result | Excellent | Excellent — equal to LASIK |
| Thin corneas | May not be a candidate | Often still a candidate |
| Contact sports, military | Possible, with the flap to consider | Preferred |
| Dry eye tendency | More short-term dryness | Less long-term dryness |
| Price at CCRS | $2,000 per eye, all-inclusive | $2,500 per eye, all-inclusive |
Both prices cover the surgeon-led evaluation, the procedure, all medications, every post-operative visit and any future enhancement.
LASIK. A ZEISS VisuMax femtosecond laser creates a thin corneal flap in about 15 seconds. Dr. Lee folds it back, the ALCON WaveLight EX500 excimer laser reshapes the cornea underneath for 20 to 40 seconds, and the flap is laid back into position. It seals without stitches. Because the surface nerves and epithelium are largely preserved, vision is usable within hours.
PRK. The outer epithelium is gently removed rather than hinged aside. The same excimer laser reshapes the surface directly, and a bandage contact lens protects the eye while the epithelium regrows over three to five days. The reshaping is identical — only the route to it differs.
This is why the outcomes converge. Once healed, a PRK cornea and a LASIK cornea have been reshaped to the same prescription by the same laser. PRK is not a lesser procedure or an older one. It is the surface-level route, and for some eyes it is the better one.
If PRK hurts more and takes longer, why do thousands of people choose it every year?
No flap, permanently. A LASIK flap heals but never regains full original tensile strength. Displacing one is rare and usually needs a significant direct blow, but the possibility never fully disappears. PRK creates no flap at all, so there is nothing to displace in year one or year twenty.
That matters if you box, wrestle, do martial arts or jiu-jitsu, play rugby, or work in law enforcement, the fire service or the military. Several US military branches specify PRK for exactly this reason.
Thin or irregular corneas. LASIK needs enough corneal thickness for the flap plus the reshaping beneath it. When the cornea is thinner than that arithmetic allows, PRK often remains safely possible because no tissue is used for a flap.
Dry eye. Creating a flap severs more corneal nerves, which is why LASIK dryness is common for the first months. PRK disturbs fewer of those nerves long-term, so patients with an existing dry eye tendency often do better with it.
LASIK usually makes more sense if you have adequate corneal thickness, no significant dry eye, no contact-sport or service requirement, and you want to be back at work in two days.
PRK usually makes more sense if your corneas are thin or irregular, you have a dry eye tendency, you are heading into military or law-enforcement service, you compete in contact sports, or you would simply rather never have a flap.
Two things worth saying plainly. First, this is not a decision you have to make before your consultation — corneal topography and pachymetry answer most of it objectively. Second, if your corneas rule out both, that is not the end of it: EVO ICL corrects up to −20 diopters without removing any corneal tissue at all.
LASIK. Vision is hazy for a few hours, then usable the same evening. Most patients are 20/20 or better at the one-day follow-up and cleared to drive. Desk work resumes on day two, light exercise after a week, swimming and contact sports after two to four weeks. Dryness and night-time halos are common for the first weeks and settle for the large majority by three to six months.
PRK. Days one to three are the hardest: gritty, light-sensitive, genuinely uncomfortable, with a bandage lens in place. Vision is blurry and fluctuates. The bandage lens comes out around day four or five once the epithelium has closed. Functional vision returns over the following week or two, and vision continues sharpening for one to three months. Full stabilisation takes three to six months.
Anyone who tells you PRK recovery is easy is not being straight with you. It is a worthwhile trade for the right eyes, not a free one.
Both are among the most studied elective procedures in medicine, and serious complications are rare in both. The risk profiles differ in shape rather than size.
LASIK carries the flap-related risks: displacement from a direct blow, and rare flap-healing irregularities. It also causes more short-term dry eye, because creating the flap severs more corneal nerves.
PRK has no flap risk at all. Its own risk is corneal haze during healing — uncommon at modern treatment levels, managed with medication, and largely avoided by following the drop schedule. The trade in the lasik vs prk decision is therefore not safe versus unsafe; it is which small risk suits your eyes and your life.
Neither procedure causes blindness. That is worth stating plainly, because it is the fear people arrive with. There is no documented case of blindness from either procedure performed to standard on an appropriate candidate.
Yes. Once healed, both corrections are permanent in the sense that the cornea has been physically reshaped and does not revert.
What changes with either is the rest of the eye. From the mid-40s the natural lens stiffens and reading glasses become likely with or without surgery, and a cataract may eventually form. Neither is the LASIK or PRK "wearing off" — it is the lens ageing, which happens to everyone. A small number of patients see a mild return of nearsightedness and can be re-treated; at CCRS any future enhancement is included in the original price. See how age changes the answer.
LASIK is $2,000 per eye and PRK is $2,500 per eye, both all-inclusive. PRK costs more despite using less technology because it requires more post-operative care — more visits, more medication, longer monitoring while the surface heals.
Neither price has anything else attached to it. No separate charge for the workup, the medications, the follow-ups or a future enhancement. Financing is available at 0% through CareCredit, and FSA and HSA pre-tax dollars are accepted. See the full cost breakdown.
LASIK is not the only comparison worth making. CCRS performs every vision correction procedure, so the recommendation you get is the one that fits your eyes rather than the only one on the menu.
Neither wins outright. The lasik vs prk choice comes down to your cornea and your life. Both use the same excimer laser and reach the same 20/20 results. Choose LASIK for a one-day recovery if your corneas are thick enough. Choose PRK for thin or irregular corneas, contact sports, military service, or a dry eye tendency, because it leaves no corneal flap.
Neither is better overall; they suit different eyes. Both use the same excimer laser and reach the same 20/20 outcomes. PRK is better for thin or irregular corneas, contact sports, military service and patients with a dry eye tendency, because it creates no corneal flap. LASIK is better if you want comfortable vision within a day and your corneas have the thickness for it.
The flap. LASIK creates a thin corneal flap, lifts it, reshapes the cornea underneath and lays the flap back. PRK removes the surface layer of the cornea entirely and lets it regrow over three to five days. The laser reshaping itself is the same in both.
Yes, for the first few days. PRK eyes feel gritty, sore and light-sensitive for roughly three to five days while the surface layer regrows, protected by a bandage contact lens. LASIK is typically mildly uncomfortable for only a few hours. Both are numbed with drops during the procedure itself, so neither is painful while it is being performed.
LASIK vision is usable within hours and most patients are 20/20 by the next morning. PRK vision is blurry for three to five days, becomes functional over the following week or two, and continues sharpening for one to three months. Both are fully stable by three to six months.
PRK is $2,500 per eye and LASIK is $2,000 per eye. PRK costs more because it needs more aftercare, not more technology: additional post-operative visits, more medication and longer monitoring while the corneal surface heals. Both prices are all-inclusive.
Several US military branches and special-operations roles specify PRK, because it leaves no corneal flap that could be displaced by impact or rapid pressure change. Requirements vary by branch and role, so check your specific programme, but if you are heading into service it is worth raising at your consultation.
Often yes. The most common reason for being turned down for LASIK is insufficient corneal thickness, because LASIK needs tissue for both the flap and the reshaping beneath it. PRK uses no tissue for a flap, so it frequently remains possible. If both are ruled out, EVO ICL corrects up to -20 diopters without removing any corneal tissue.
Medically reviewed by Paul C. Lee, MD, board-certified ophthalmologist (American Board of Ophthalmology), cornea & refractive fellowship, Tulane University · last reviewed September 2026.
Your free consultation measures corneal thickness, surface regularity and tear film, then Dr. Lee tells you which procedure your eyes can safely take — including the one he would rule out.
Call 
Book 
Quiz 
Locations