Can PRK be done after LASIK?
Surface treatment is one of the ways a residual prescription after LASIK is corrected, because it does not require lifting the original flap. The decision depends on how much tissue remains and on the reason the residual is there.
- Subject
- Vision correction
- Topic
- PRK & TransPRK
- Kind of question
- Can I…
- Procedures
- PRK, LASIK
- Last reviewed
- 22 September 2026
In more detail
This is one of the practical differences between the procedures that is easy to miss when choosing: after a flap procedure, enhancement can often be done by lifting the existing flap, and after a surface or lenticule procedure the options are different.
What this answer depends on
- How much corneal tissue has already been removed
- The size of the residual prescription
- Whether the residual has stabilised
Related guides
People also ask
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Where this answer sits
It is one of 483 answers in the vision and eye health knowledge base, filed under Vision correction & laser eye surgery in PRK & TransPRK . The subject page carries the answers either side of it, and the hub is searchable.
Subjects this question touches
The pages that answer the subject behind the question, rather than the question itself.
- Procedure LASIK
- Procedure Femto LASIK
- Comparison LASIK vs SMILE
- Comparison LASIK vs PRK
- Place LASIK in Dubai
This information is for educational purposes and does not replace an examination by a qualified eye-care professional.
General answers cannot tell you what is happening in your own eyes. Only an examination by a qualified ophthalmologist can do that.
Sources & further reading
We prefer primary sources. Where a claim comes from a manufacturer, a single study or a regulator, it is labelled as such below.
- Laser In Situ Keratomileusis (LASIK)
The equivalent clinical reference chapter for LASIK, used so that comparisons describe both procedures symmetrically.
Used for How LASIK creates and manages a corneal flap; LASIK complication categories.
Link checked 22 September 2026