All laser eye surgery vision correction that falls under the PRK form involves an ablation to remove the outermost layer of the cornea, where as laser eye surgery vision correction that falls under the Lasik form is performed by creating a flap with a cutting technique in the cornea.

PRK surgery

During this form of laser eye surgery vision correction the outer layer of the cornea will be scraped away.  Then a laser will be used to reshape the underlying surface of the cornea.  After the surgery has been performed the epithelium layer will grow back over time.

Generally speaking this form of laser eye surgery vision correction is better suited to those who have a thin cornea since cutting a cornea flap in this case would not be a good idea. However this surgery does have a drawback in that the recovery times can be longer than other forms of laser eye surgery vision correction and there can be some slight discomfort during the healing process. On the positive side though, the fact that you do not need to create a flap is good since this process often carries more risk plus with PRK there is no deep penetration of the eye which means the patient has no risk of suffering from inner eye pressure.

LASEK surgery

Basically LASEK is a more advanced form of PRK in which an alcohol solution is employed to soften up the epithelium before removal. Once the cornea has been reshaped with the laser the epithelium is once more put back in place. The main advantage of LASEK over PRK if that the recovery time is quicker. Since this operation is based on PRK there is still no need to create a flap in the cornea.

LASIK surgery

With this form of laser eye surgery vision correction a metal blade is used to cut the cornea flap and then a laser is used to reshape the eye itself. Once the surgeon has finished with the laser he or she will return the flap back to its correct position.  In most cases this surgery is painless and the vision of the patient is corrected immediately, normally with the patient suffering from blurry vision for around 24 hours.  In most cases the vision of the patient will improve completely in just a couple of weeks.  This method gives far quicker results than the PRK method.

At the end of the day each one of these types of laser eye surgery vision correction has its place.  Any person interested in undergoing laser eye surgery vision correction should consult with an eye doctor to see which of these forms of laser eye surgery would be best for their eye condition.