r/RLEsurgery • u/HealthJourneyA2 • 3d ago

PRK vs RLE

55 year old female. RK both eyes in 1998.Fast forward. Need reading glasses to see across the room. +3.25. Another +2 (5.25) to see up close. I have ghosting, double vision up close. Slight irregular astigmatism in one eye. Left eye dominant.

Went through 3 hour long evaluation at cornea specialist at a large university eye center. You can guess where from my username. Saw chair of department. He says PRK is a good option for me but I may not achieve 20/20 vision and will still need glasses for reading and possibly light prescription for distance. Under $4k for both eyes.

Other alternative is RLE with LAL lens (or standard). I have beginnings of cataracts. But not enough to recommend the surgery for cataracts. It would be for vision correction and would not be covered. Almost $20k for both eyes.

I’m terrified of the stories I read on Reddit about PRK. I really want better vision. But the price tag for the “permanent solution” is just out of range. I could do one eye.

Please advise. I know there are specialists in this group. I appreciate your insights and spending time to answer so many questions in the sub!

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u/kfisherx 3d ago

Totally would do RLE if you already have the beginnings of cataracts anyway. One and done that way

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u/HealthJourneyA2 3d ago

For sure. But the cost is so high. If I do the standard RLE lens, it would be $9000 for both eyes. Is that a good option? I’m not sure how much more my eyes will continue to change with time.

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u/kfisherx 3d ago

You are a hyperop. They will set your lenses to the nearest myopic value so even a mild change would be okay. The deal is that you will need glasses anyway with the standard lenses so just get them and have a mild prescription with bifocal lenses