Haze following PRK

  Have had PRK several times on both eyes.  Following each surgery a haze developed due to, according to the surgeon, epithelial scarring.  The haze developed anywhere from 1-3 months after the surgery.  Following the most recent surgery on the right eye, I began using a locally compounded eye drop.  This drop is supposedly experimental and was prescribed due to the fact that I have a tendency to form keloid scar tissue.  Have you seen this occur in any other patients, and if so, what is being done as treatment?
  If you have seen cases similar to this what is normally the prognosis and is there a limit to the number of times the surgery should be repeated?

[HFHS MD JL]

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Certainly it is known that some people may develop inflammation of the surface layers of the cornea in the postoperative period following PRK.  This may cause a haze in the vision as you described.  This may resolve spontaneously or you can treat this with topical nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications such as Acular or Voltaren.  Sometimes topical steroids may be used.  There is no hard rule as far as how many times PRK can be repeated, but giving your history of possible scarring of the cornea, I would be leary of repeating this procedure.  You may want to seek an additional opinion just to confirm that you are on the right course.  I would recommend a corneal specialist for this opinion.  Good luck.
This information was provided for medical educational purposes only.
Sincerely,
HFHS M.D.-JL