I had PRK a year and half done into my second tour flying Hornets for the Navy. I wouldn't trade it for the world. PRK has many more benefits, mostly in terms of long term side effects, over it's LASIK counterpart, especially with night acuity issues. The Navy currently is conducting several studies with LASIK for aviators, but to date it is NOT approved for Naval Aviation(USMC/USCG as well). One thing you must consider for military aviation before getting PRK is that your initial refractive error will determine if you are eligible for a waiver regardless of your PRK outcome(read: If you're correction is large, and diopters are big numbers, you may be disqualified from flying).

As for your FAA exam you're fine as long as you can pass the test. I had no issues. I'm 20/15 in both eyes now nearly a year and a half after the procedure. I was 20/40 and 20/50, but was 20/100 in both eyes when they were dilated. My eye muscles were compensating alot. Now, life is good, and NO night issues. The week worth of pain and 90 days of not flying was well worth the reward.

 

Several years ago an ANG unit was considering me for a flying position, but my eyesight didn't meet their requirements. They had me consult with their eye doctor, and he gave me the following advice:

If I had a non-flying career and was interested in flying solely for the military, take the chance with the PRK surgery. If I ended up only being able to see 20/25, or had trouble with night vision - as a regular non-flying person, I wouldn't be very affected by it in day-to-day life. Therefore, it would be worth the risk.

However, if I also wanted a flying career as a civilian (which was the case), he advised me not to jeopardize my chances of being able to pass a 1st Class Medical, in the event that the surgery didn't turn out perfectly. He said the chances were good that everything would turn out great, but why take the risk, when I'm able to pass a 1st Class Medical now. He also mentioned that if the military accepted LASIK, he would be less inclined to dissuade me, because he believed PRK surgery was too crude of a method in correcting eyesight.

Reluctantly, I had to agree with his judgement, and I passed up the opportunity to fly for the military. Glasses and contact lenses are a pain, but at least I still get to fly airplanes. I know of pilots who have had LASIK and swear by the results - I'm just not willing to take the chance in risking my whole career over an unnecessary procedure. If you decide to go for it - good luck!!!!

 

I know plenty of folks who have had good luck with the surgery, but I don't know anyone who has gone 30 years post-surgery without complications

Have the procedures been around for that long? I thought they were fairly recent developments in medicine.

 

A pretty common misconception wrt PRK/LASIK is that you will not need glasses. NOT TRUE. As you age(i.e. get close the the 40ish region) your ability to read close up still goes by the wayside, hence the need for bifocals. That requirement doesn't change with the surgery. I had PRK done at 31, so the 9 years of not wearing glasses/contacts was well worth the risk, not to mention I see a heckuva lot better.

As for the post debating risk vs reward and PRK with the military career vs civilian, your assumptions are a bit off. Even if the procedure for PRK was only to allow you 20/25, you'd most likely still be able to get a class I with glasses correcting you to 20/20. Its definitely a personal decision, most noteably influenced by the fear of someone scraping or cutting your eye with either a blade or a laser. Could the computer screw up and zap your eyes the wrong way....sure, is it likely.....no, is there risk, yes, is there risk each time you fly.......most definitely. If you look at statistics for these procedures.....you're in good shape. Just my .02.

 

how does the PRK and/or lasik effect those with astigmatism?
are there any benefits? or is astigmatism uncorrectable?

 

I had PRK done with the aforementioned condition. I am now seeing 20/15 in both eyes. It really depends on the amount of correction they need to make and how 'off shape' your eyes are. It can be done, certainly an exam with a LASIK/PRK specialist(get a consult from your flight doc if you're military first) will be able to answer the questions you have.