I spent the past few weeks agonizing over whether the laser vision correction I was going to get would be Lasik or PRK. I was 100% sure that I would get Lasik until I met with the doctor, who said that PRK was generally recommended for people in combat sports because of the very small chance that the corneal flap would come loose during training or competition. Perhaps due to an accidental elbow to the face, a shoulder to the eye when your opponent is half guard…
Ok, I thought PRK. That’s fine. I can deal with that. Then I read a little more about it and talked with a few people and I became completely undecided. There’s pros and cons to both surgeries; Lasik has the whole corneal flap coming loose thing, but the recovery time is very short and you can see well the very next day. PRK has the extended recovery time – basically a week where your vision goes to crap as the cornea heals, and from what I’ve heard, it can take months for your vision to really clear up – but there’s no risk, however small, of anything coming loose from a knock to the face.
Ultimately, I decided to go with the Lasik. I’ve heard that there are plenty of people in combat sports (including BJJ and boxing) who have had Lasik and had no problem.
I am interested in your experiences, though…have you had Lasik or PRK? Has either affected your training?
I go under the laser next week – I can’t wait to get it done with. I am thoroughly sick of glasses at this point.
