MightyMan wrote:My concern is why do they offer me different lasers? Did technology chaneg that much?
They did not change the lasers. "CustomVue" is the brand name for when the Visx Star S/4 excimer laser is used in
wavefront-guided mode. There have not been major changes in the last seven months.
Intralase is a brand name for a femtosecond laser that is used to create the Lasik flap. This is often called IntraLasik or
All-Laser Lasik.
The advantage of PRK over Lasik or All-Laser Lasik is that there is no Lasik flap. No Lasik flap means no possibility of a Lasik flap related complication during surgery or for the rest of your life. Although the probability of a Lasik flap complication is relatively small, no possibility is almost always better than a low probability.
The disadvantage of PRK is that it has a slow vision recovery compared to successful Lasik's almost instant vision recovery. With successful PRK you would have very poor vision of 1-3 days, "functional fuzzy" vision for 1-3 weeks, and the crisp vision you seek will slowly develop as the epithelium regenerates, thickens, and smooths. It can be faster, but if you expect this type of recovery then you will not likely be surprised.
In the long-term PRK may be better, but most of us don't "see" long-term. Since Lasik is considered safe and effective and is more convenient, it remains much more popular.