PURPOSE. To investigate whether photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) performed in infant primates can modify emmetropization and therefore could be used to study mechanisms of refractive error development. METHODS. Six healthy rhesus monkeys ranging in age from 2 to 3 months were randomly divided into two groups (n=3 each). Anisometropia was induced in each animal by performing PRK on one eye. Hyperopic anisometropia was induced in group A monkeys by flattening the cornea of the right eye, whereas myopic anisometropia was produced in group B monkeys by steepening the cornea of the right eye. Corneal morphology and topography, refractive status, and axial growth were evaluated over a 5-month observation period. RESULTS. All the PRK-treated corneas were re-epithelialized and transparent within 3 days after surgery. Subsequently, all the surgically treated eyes exhibited interocular alterations in axial growth rate that were appropriate to compensate for the PRK-induced anisometropia. Specifically, vitreous chamber elongation rates were faster in the eyes with induced hyperopias than in their fellow eyes (0.63