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I have been wearing glasses/contacts since I was 8 and every year my optometrist says my near vision is 20/15 while my distant vision tops out at 20/200. I just renewed my medical today and when I did the near vision test, I seemed to struggle more than before. We'll see what my optometrist has to say at my upcoming eye exam. I have previously talked to her about it and she suggested that since my vision has been stable for about 7 years and if I don't have any problems with the contacts I wear now I should avoid it. However, I feel that optometrists have somewhat of a bias to tell me to avoid LASIK.
Has anyone here actually had the procedure done? If so are you satisfied or have you noticed "side effects" of the procedure. Will it affect my medical at all? Also anyone with valid imput to offer is also greatly appreciated however I would like to avoid "I heard that...". From what I have been told is the main risk is degradation of night vision such as glare/refaction. Like I said my near vision has always been exceptional and if that is starting to go, I may be prepared to make the leap.
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I had the procedure done about a year ago and have had zero problems. I was about in the same boat - nearsighted, and had both eyes corrected for that. I did it during vacation so I had some time for the peepers to settle down before I went back to flying; was out about a week.
Got my AME on board before hand so there wouldn't be any surprises when the next medical came due. He made sure I knew what he'd require for documentation so there were no problems.
Had the usual halo effect at night for a few days, but that goes away as you get used to actually being able see. I still remember the first night landing I made after the procedure; man, those PAPIs looked like lasers and were crystal clear.
I highly recommend it... it's sure great waking up seeing 20/20 and going to sleep that way, too!
Ive been thinking about having the procedure done also. There is a new way of having it done, its called "Intralase" , bladeless surgery which is suppose to eliminate the helo effect. Its all done by laser, the cornea is cut by air/water bubbles by the laser so it is more acurate for each person....check it out. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-ry8mLaY8M
Had it done 4 years ago. No problems. Went from 20/400 to 20/15 in both eyes at the same time. Highly recommended. One thing- Don't use the cheapest guy you can find, use the best guy you can find. I knew people who used the cheap guys: They ended up going back a few times to get it "mostly right".
Did y'all experience any anxiety about the potential of a premature end to your flying career?
Every once in a while I think about getting the procedure done. However, I have yet to get past the possibility of losing my medical, no matter how small the risk. Has the risk factor improved? Even in the last 5 years? Is there any kind of insurance available that would provide you some kind of income/compensation for loss of medical if things go wrong?
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Did it 4 years ago, blade used, custom lasik completed. Never had any halo, starbursts or any other night vision side affects. Like the other person said, get the best doctor you can. Ask the doctor is the pre-op evaluation: What complication have patients had in the last year and how did you handle them? My guy seemed offended at first, but then explained the there complication and how he handled them (he took a measured approach to fixing the problems rather than trying to fix them all at once). About halos, they reason people shouldn't get them with good doctors/surgeons: back in the day, they did the laser correction to the center section of the eye and then had a sharp transition between the corrected center and uncorrected outside. The good guys should work on corrected a larger section of your eye and created a smooth transition from the corrected to uncorrected part which doesn't cause halos. Halos can come from transitions from corrected to uncorrected that are too abrupt. Having the corrected vision has been absolutely wonderful.
Also about the risks: the doctor/surgeon should be able to tell if you are a good risk or bad. If your vision isn't too bad, you have thick enough corneas and a few other factors, you are a good risk. Kind of like someone who gets a heart procedure--if you exercise and eat right, you are good risk and more likely to be a successful patient. Having the corrected vision has come in very handy on a daily basis and it has been worth the small risk to me. By the way, I remember reading the risk of getting an eye infection that permanently affects your vision is a bit slightly higher wearing contacts (accounting if some mis-handles their contacts) vs having something going wrong in the lasik procedure.
I thought my AME told me you couldn't fly for a couple of months after having lasik, is that not true?
My AME pointed me to http://www.faa.gov/pilots/safety/pil...aserEye_II.pdf and it spells out what's required. I used my follow-up exam a couple of days after the procedure to comply with the "...eyecare specialist has determined that their vision is stable..." bit. No paperwork, per se, is required for this determination. As remarkable as it seems, your eyes really do heal very quickly.
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