Can you have lasik surgery after having RK surgery?

Question

Can you have lasik surgery after having RK surgery?

Answer 1

RK, performed in the '80s and early '90s, used a blade to make a series of incisions radiating from the center of the cornea. The procedure turned out to be unstable and most RK patients end up with blurred vision for both near- and far sight. Some of the RK eyes eventually stabilize but some keep changing, so the PRK can be repeated again if necessary. Normally doctors wont do  LASIK in RK eyes because it is riskier, because you have these incisions from the original RK surgery to deal with. The Lasik flap would have to cut through these RK incisions and it's a complication you'd rather not have to deal with.