This morning I paid for and scheduled my LASIK operation that’s happening in 3 days. I want to share with you my perspective on LASIK vs EVO ICL vs PRK from a real patient’s perspective.
Before I get into anything, I want to be really clear:
I’m not a medical expert.
I’m not giving medical advice.
Please don’t take what I say as fact.
Everything I’m sharing is just my personal experience and the things I learned from researching on my own. And honestly, it’s the kind of information you’d pick up from doing a quick Google search. If you’re considering any kind of vision correction, talk to the doctor you actually want to work with. They’re the ones who can give you the most accurate information that pertinent for your eyes.
Alright… now here’s how I ended up comparing LASIK, EVO ICL, and PRK.
I personally went with King LASIK in Washington state for my consultations. When I first walked in, I only had one plan in mind: LASIK. I barely looked into the other options because I assumed LASIK was the one I wanted.
Back in 2024, I was approved for LASIK, but I couldn’t get the surgery done because of scheduling. So in 2025, I went back for a brand-new consultation. Everything looked good… until a few hours later when I got a call saying the operating doctor wanted me to visit another clinic location with more advanced scanning equipment. Just to double-check that I still qualified for LASIK.
And that’s when things changed. At that point, they told me not to worry because I still qualified for EVO ICL and PRK. This honestly blindsided me. I wasn’t prepared for anything except LASIK.
All I really knew was:
EVO ICL costs about two to three thousand dollars more
PRK has a way longer recovery time
That’s it.
So I had to go and do more research to fully understand what I could possibly be getting into.
The main thing that kept coming up was that EVO ICL is often considered the “premium” option if you qualify and can afford it. With this option, the easy way to think about it is that they operate and insert a contact lens in your eye. This is reversible, which means if your eyes change later in life, the lens can be swapped or adjusted without removing more corneal tissue. This lens is something that you’re not supposed to feel at at all, not like a contact that’s sitting on your eyeball. The EVO ICL just sits inside your eye and does its thing. And honestly, that flexibility is appealing. But again… the price is a huge factor. I could spend the extra money, but I don’t want to spend it unless I absolutely have to.
So then I started comparing LASIK and PRK. From a long-term eye health perspective, PRK actually started to look pretty solid. It removes the top layer of your cornea and lets it regrow naturally. LASIK, on the other hand, creates a permanent flap in the cornea that heals around the edges. That flap can technically be disrupted by significant trauma to the eye. I don’t know how common that is because again, I’m not an expert, but that possibility was enough to make me think twice about LASIK.
For a minute, I actually started to lean toward PRK. But then… I started watching PRK recovery stories. All the stories that I saw depicted people who were happy with their results when all things are considered. They were able to see much better. But these people also mentioned all the rough stages in between the days, weeks, and months after surgery.
There were people who literally described being functionally blind for a few days. Extreme light sensitivity. Needing to hide under blankets. Being unable to open their eyes. Not being able to look at their phone on the dimmest setting without pain. Some people were having to feel their way around their own home.
The realization that this could very well be a possibility because it’s quite common in the days or weeks following PRK, really made me reconsider this option because most importantly in my life right now, I’m a dad. I have a three-year-old and a one-year-old who depend on me every single day. If I chose a procedure that left me unable to see or function for several days… all of that would fall on my wife. I personally felt that this would be an extremely selfish move because at the end of the day and for me, any form of corrective eye surgery is elective. I want to get it done because I hate wearing glasses and contacts but it’s not something that I need to get done. And on top of that, I still have to work. I didn’t plan weeks off for recovery. I don’t have that time to give up. So in my situation, PRK wasn’t realistic. Not because it’s a bad procedure. Just because the recovery demands didn’t fit my life.
But to be fair, medical research does show that PRK is extremely safe long-term and offers very stable results. And some surgeons still prefer it for certain patients, especially if your cornea is thinner or if you’re physically active and worried about flap injuries. For some people, PRK is the best choice.
If I were single, had no dependents, and could take a few weeks off to recover, I honestly might choose PRK. But I’m not in that stage of life anymore.
So for people who need fast healing, minimal downtime, and cost a few thousand less… LASIK really is the winner.
And that’s where I’m at right now, balancing cost, recovery, long-term stability, and my responsibilities as a parent.
This isn’t meant to tell you which one is better. It’s just the honest walk-through of what it looks like as a normal patient trying to decide between three really different options.
And in the next blogs, I’ll break down what the surgery day was like, recovery, results, and everything else I wish I knew earlier.
