PRK, or photorefractive keratectomy, is a type of laser surgery used to right moderate near sightedness, farsightedness, or astigmatism. Like other laser eye surgeries, your vision is corrected by reshaping the cornea of the eye. The cornea is the real, front part of your eyeball. Light travels through the cornea and is focused on the retina in the back of your eye. If the cornea is misshapen, the light does not focus on the retina, and your insight is impaired.
In PRK eye surgery, the eye surgeon uses a cool, pulsating laser beam on the surface of the cornea. In Lasik eye surgery, a flap is cut in the cornea, and the laser beam is directed under the cornea.
PRK is very accurate in correcting nearsightedness. About 80% of patients have 20/20 vision without glasses one year after surgery. PRK in general costs about the same as Lasik eye surgery. The recovery time to best corrected vision is longer with PRK than it is with Lasik eye surgery. The typical PRK patient has about 80% of their best insight after a month, and 95% to 100% after 3 months. Lasik corrects insight much faster than that.
There will be some discomfort for the first 24 to 48 hours after PRK eye surgery, and frequently patients expertise light sensitivity as well.
PRK is performed under local anesthesia, and takes about 10 minutes for both eyes. Generally, a bandage contact lens is called immediately after the surgery. This contact lens is worn for three to four days to allow the surface of the eye to heal. You will visit your surgeon the day after surgery, and probably several times over the next six months. Once the surface of the eye has healed, the bandage contact lens will be removed.
Your vision might fluctuate for the first few weeks following surgery. Your eyes will be dry, even if they dont feel like it. Your physician will prescribe eye drops to prevent infection and keep your eyes moist.
Your vision will gradually improve over time. After two to three weeks, you will see well enough to drive a car. Your best vision, but, will not be reached until 6 weeks, to 6 months after the surgery.
PRK has become less common recently. More eye surgeons prefer Lasik procedures because healing time is faster, and the results are more predictable. The final decision on what type of eye surgery to have is up to you. Be sure to understand all the information, and ask lots of questions.
There are currently three propositions that affect eligibility for tax relief; Proposition 13, Proposition 60 and Proposition 90. You'll learn how each of these propositions are saving the over 55 home owners a significant amount of money.
Prop 13 - The Golden Egg
Proposition 13 prohibits property tax increases until property ownership is changed. If you currently own your home you know how much money you are saving in light of the fact that housing values have sky rocketed over the last 5 years!
However, what happens when you sell your home? Will you have to give up the advantage of the lower cost property tax you currently enjoy? Not necessarily...
Prop 60 - Transferring Made Easy
Proposition 60 allows you to transfer your current property value to a new home within the same county you live in now. You must be replacing your primary residence and the cost of the new home must be equal or lesser value than your current home.
This allowance can be used once in your lifetime. For those of you who have a spouse that has taken advantage of this tax break previously, you will not be allowed as a couple to use this tax loophole again.
What happens if you move out of your current county?
Prop 90 - Distance No Longer an Issue
Prop. 90 allows a county to choose to accept or deny Prop. 13 and accept a grandfathered property value assessment when buying a new home. As of June 1, 2005, seven California counties honor Proposition 13; Alameda, Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, San Mateo, Santa Clara and Ventura.
Prop. 60 and 90 apply if you are "trading down." (i.e. The value of your new home is less than the value of your old home.) However, the government being who they are, has stipulations.
If you buy your new home first, then sell the old home, you must go down in price.
If you sell the old home first, then buy the new home:
o In the first 365 days after the sale of your old home, you may go up 5% in the purchase price of your new home.
o If you buy your new home more than one year from the sale of your old home, but less than two years, you may go up 10%.
o You must file a claim with your county assessor's office within three years of the acquisition or completion of construction of the replacement property.
o Claim forms are available at the Assessor's public counter and in regional offices, or you may visit the State of California website, State Board of Equalization at: http://www.boe.ca.gov/proptaxes/assessors.htm.
Some buyers may choose to pay the commissions outside of escrow to keep the cost of the purchase price down. Your lender will prove invaluable in helping you maximize your costs/mortgage package to take full advantage of this incredible tax break.
Both Sarah Jones & Emil Emilov are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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