Ophthalmology · Updated 2026
Cost of PRK (Photorefractive Keratectomy) abroad
Starts at $1,110 in India. 9 destinations, 72 hospital packages tracked. Bands below reflect what's quoted — final amounts shift on surgeon choice, room, and stay length.
Request quotes See hospitals ranked- Share imaging + case history
- We route to 3 surgeons matching your case
- Itemised quotes in 48 hours, no fee
- Starts from
- $1,110Starts from
- Tops out
- $11,700Tops out
- Destinations
- 9Destinations
- Hospitals priced
- 72Hospitals priced
01 · Country breakdown
PRK (Photorefractive Keratectomy) cost, ranked by destination
| Rank# | Destinations | Starts from | USD | PRK (Photorefractive Keratectomy) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | India 8 hospitals | $1,110 – $3,070 | ||
| 2 | Thailand 8 hospitals | $1,330 – $3,640 | ||
| 3 | Turkey 8 hospitals | $1,530 – $4,230 | ||
| 4 | Malaysia 8 hospitals | $1,630 – $4,500 | ||
| 5 | South Korea 8 hospitals | $1,970 – $5,520 | ||
| 6 | Saudi Arabia 8 hospitals | $2,170 – $5,980 | ||
| 7 | United Arab Emirates 8 hospitals | $2,450 – $6,760 | ||
| 8 | Singapore 8 hospitals | $2,820 – $7,830 | ||
| 9 | Germany 8 hospitals | $4,430 – $11,700 |
USD · Excludes flights, hotel, follow-up imaging after discharge
Get the PRK (Photorefractive Keratectomy) cost & planning report
A free PDF built from today's listed prices. Keep it, print it or send it to your family on WhatsApp.
What's inside
- Prices by country, city and hospital, compared with home
- All-in trip budget: treatment, stay, food, visa
- Day-by-day timeline and recovery milestones
- Visa summary, preparation checklist and questions to ask
✓ Your report is ready
Download PDF Send to my family on WhatsApp Ask a coordinator on WhatsApp → Get a personal quote instead →02 · What moves the price
Six levers that shift the quote
Two quotes from the same hospital can differ by 40% once you drill into the details below. Ask your case manager to break out each line.
-
Surgeon seniority
Senior consultants with 20+ years and high procedure counts command 20-40% above junior attendings for the same operation.
-
Hospital tier
Flagship JCI-accredited facilities cost more than local tier-2 hospitals, even for identical procedures. The gap is usually 30-60%.
-
Room category
Private-room vs twin-share vs deluxe suite can shift total package cost by 10-25% on longer admissions.
-
Implant or device brand
For joint replacement, cardiac valves, or dental implants, the device brand alone can change the bill by $1,500-$4,000.
-
Length of stay
Complications or unplanned ICU days are the biggest variance driver. Ask for the per-diem overage rate upfront.
-
Pre-op workup
Imaging and labs done overseas aren't always re-done locally. If they are, budget 8-15% extra.
03 · What's in the package
Included, and what isn't
Usually included
- Surgery + anaesthesia fees
- Standard private or twin-share room
- Standard implants / consumables
- Routine post-op imaging and labs
- Discharge medications for the admission period
- Case coordinator during admission
Usually extra
- International flights + visa fees
- Hotel before admission / after discharge
- Complications or extended ICU days
- Premium implants (e.g. branded heart valves)
- Long-term medications
- Follow-up teleconsults after the first 30 days
04 · FAQ
Questions that come up a lot
Is prk (photorefractive keratectomy) safe in these countries?
Yes — at JCI-accredited facilities. The variable isn't country; it's surgeon and hospital. Ask for surgeon-specific procedure volume (aim for 100+ per year for elective work) before booking.
How long do I need to stay?
Stay length varies by case. Plan around the typical inpatient window plus 3-7 recovery days before your flight home.
Does my insurance cover treatment abroad?
Some international policies (Cigna, Bupa, Allianz, AXA) reimburse at overseas JCI hospitals. Most domestic insurance doesn't. We confirm cashless vs reimbursement before admission — share your policy and we'll verify.
What's included in the package price?
Typically: surgery fee, anaesthesia, standard room, standard implants, routine post-op imaging. Not typically included: airport transfer, hotel, complications, premium implants, extended ICU days. Quotes always show the split.
How do I choose between countries?
For routine procedures, go on price + your visa ease. For complex cases, go on surgeon-specific volume and outcome data — which we request from each hospital before presenting quotes.
Can I travel home right after?
Commercial air travel post-surgery depends on the procedure and the airline's medical-clearance policy. Most cardiac patients fly 10-14 days post-op; orthopedic patients 7-10 days; cosmetic 5-7 days. Your case manager will flag the specifics.
Quote anatomy
What's typically included in your prk (photorefractive keratectomy) quote
Every quote we surface is itemised at this level before you commit. The line below names what you should expect inside the package versus what's typically billed separately — read both sides before comparing prices across hospitals.
✓ Included in the package
- Surgeon and anesthesiology fees
Lead surgeon fee, named consultant assists, anesthesia consultant — all line-itemised in the quote at the named-consultant level, not as a pooled charge.
- Operating-theatre time and standard implants
OT time at the agreed hospital tier, single-use sterile consumables, and the implant brand specified in your quote (you'll see Zimmer-Biomet vs DJO vs Smith & Nephew called out by name where applicable).
- Standard inpatient ward stay
Inpatient nursing, routine medications, pathology, in-house imaging, daily consultant rounds, and physiotherapy where indicated — for the duration the surgeon's care plan calls for.
- First post-op follow-up consultation
One in-person follow-up before discharge clearance, plus a written discharge summary in English with imaging and pathology attached.
- International-patient department support
Visa-invitation letter, airport pickup, hospital-direct check-in, in-language interpretation where needed, and discharge-day medication walkthrough.
Typically billed separately
- ICU days beyond the standard care plan
Routine ICU is included; days beyond the surgeon's expected protocol (e.g. unexpected post-op complication) are billed at a published per-night ICU rate. Always ask for the rate at quote stage.
- Premium implants or upgraded brands
If the surgeon recommends a premium implant (e.g. ceramic-on-ceramic hip, custom-cut knee, drug-eluting stent variant), the price differential is shown line-item at quote review.
- Pre-op tests not covered in the package
Most pre-op blood work, ECG, and chest X-ray are included; advanced imaging (MRI, CT, PET) and cardiac stress tests beyond the package list are billed separately.
- Extended pharmacy and home-care medications
Take-home medications past the discharge-day supply, branded substitutes for generics in the package, and specialty therapeutics (e.g. immunotherapy, novel anti-coagulants) are quoted separately.
- Travel, accommodation, and recovery hotel
Flights, family member accommodation, and recovery-period stay (typically 14 days post-discharge) are not bundled — but our coordinators can arrange medical-grade hotel rates with the hospital's negotiated partners.
- Revisions, second surgeries, complications
If a surgical revision is medically indicated within the agreed warranty window (varies by procedure and hospital — typically 90 days for cosmetic, 1 year for orthopedic), pricing terms are spelt out before you sign.
Watch out for
Red flags in quotes and clinics
- No corneal topography or thickness measurement.
- Not explaining the recovery pain and slower vision.
- Guaranteeing perfect vision.
- No bandage lens or aftercare drops plan.
Questions
What to ask before signing the quote
- Is PRK better than LASIK or SMILE for my cornea?
- What pain relief will I have in the first days?
- How long until my vision is sharp?
- What is the risk of haze and how is it prevented?
- When can I return to work and fly?
- How will follow-up be handled at home?
Candidacy
Are you a good candidate?
Yes, if
- Adults with a stable prescription for at least a year.
- Thin corneas or irregularities unsuitable for LASIK.
- Active lifestyle or job with trauma risk.
- Willing to accept slower visual recovery.
Not yet, if
- Keratoconus or irregular corneas.
- Pregnancy, breastfeeding or unstable prescription.
- Uncontrolled dry eye or autoimmune disease.
- History of herpes eye infection without specialist clearance.
Methodology and editorial standards
The cost ranges on this page come from package prices that listed hospitals report for prk (photorefractive keratectomy). Each country range runs from the lowest to the highest listed price.
- Hospital data. Hospital details are compiled from public sources and hospital websites. Accreditation (JCI, NABH and others) is shown where we hold a record of it. Always ask the hospital for its current certificate.
- Doctor credentials. Qualifications, specialty and bio come from the doctor's hospital profile. Licence is checked against the national medical-council register only where the profile shows a "Licence verified" badge with a date.
- Prices. Price ranges are indicative, compiled from hospital price lists and packages and shown with the date last updated. The hospital's written quote is what you pay against.
- Clinical text. Written by the Medcasts editorial team from published clinical sources. Unless a named reviewer is shown on the page, it has not been reviewed by a doctor.
- Independence. Hospitals cannot pay to change their position on our pages.
PRK (Photorefractive Keratectomy) cost
Use these to size and route your prk (photorefractive keratectomy) case
Cost ranges are a starting point. These pages help you turn the number into a destination shortlist, a surgeon shortlist and a real itemised quote.
- Procedure Full PRK (Photorefractive Keratectomy) page Description, recovery timeline and hospitals with prices.
- Specialty Ophthalmology hub All programmes and procedures in Ophthalmology.
- Destination Cost in India 8 hospitals with listed prices.
- Destination Cost in Thailand 8 hospitals with listed prices.
- Destination Cost in Turkey 8 hospitals with listed prices.
- Open data Global Price Index Median package prices across procedures and destinations.
- Tool Cost calculator Hospital-reported prices by procedure and destination.
- Tool Match-me triage Answer three questions and get a shortlist of specialty, destination and hospitals.
- Compare Treatments side by side Cost, stay and recovery across procedures.
- Compare Compare destinations Hospitals, doctors and treatments by country.
- Reference Accreditation bodies What JCI, NABH and ISO 9001 mean for you.
- Trust Editorial policy How we source prices and handle corrections.
Next step · PRK (Photorefractive Keratectomy)
Three itemised PRK quotes in 48 hours.
Share recent imaging and reports. Within 48 hours we come back with 3 line-itemised quotes from hospitals matching your budget and timing. No fee, no obligation.