PRK and Lasik eye surgery
 

Anyone have any good or bad stories about Lasik/PRK that I should know about before I go through with this procedure? I'm going to be doing PRK and the doctor has done over 10,000 procedures without any mess ups so far, but I'd hate to be the 1st one to get screwed up.

Also, any advice on how long to take off from work/flying before going back without vision issues/pain from PRK procedure?

Thanks to all for any info.

I did LASIK back in '01-'02 and LOVED IT. Back then, they couldn't correct stigmitisms(sp?) so I still wear a very thin pair of glasses to correct my 20-20 to 20-15/20-10.

Ask the doctor about return to service... I think it has something to do with a small percentage of people and cornea detachment issues - which probably don't really exist anymore. I had to have my surgeon fill out some paperwork for my medical and send it to the FAA saying that I was still ok for my Class 1. (But, this was 10 years ago... so things might have changed... I'd check with your Aeromedical Doc and your surgeon to make sure that you have all your bases covered)

There is multi-focal lasik that is used for people that are both near and far sighted. When people reach age 40 they will certainly develop presbyopia, which means old eyes. This is why their near vision deteriorates (reading glasses). Multi focal lasik corrects both near and distant vision without destroying binocular vision. I have been reading on this and I can't really tell if anyone has had positive experience with this. What can you find?

I have been researching LASIK for over 1 year now, and never heard of this type of LASIK. You either get LASIK or you don't.

I had LASIK back in 2003 and it went very well. I've been happy with the results.

However, I have a coleague who is NOT happy and hasn't been since he had it done.
His night vision is bad. Lots of halos, "streaks", etc.
Good enough to drive but not good enough to be happy about it.

I got my medical cert. very quickly. Your surgeon will fill out the doc. you need to take to your AME (if there're no complications).

Here's my recommendation:

Forget about the type of laser, the brand, the specific method, etc. and focus on the doctor.

He/she makes all the difference. The wrong doctor will ruin your life. Guaranteed. Get lots of references. No such thing as too many.
Yes, you always run some risk with any surgery but some guys are just incompetent and some are just hustlers. Don't let the "M.D." fool you.

If you're in the Boston area I can recommend someone for you.

Good luck.

Back in '03 that was the LASIK doctor's holy grail. My doctor said, at the time, that it was at least 10 years away.

I haven't heard that it was available either. Maybe.

I had LASIK in 2002. No problems at all after the first three months. They were not really problems as much as the time it took for the clarity to get to 20/15. Right after the surgery, I'd look up at the stars. They would all be large halos with my left eye and sharp pin prick stars with my right. The next night it would be the opposite. It was kinda scary but as time progressed, the halos got smaller and smaller until they disappeared. They told me it would take about 3 months and they were right.

Not sure why you are choosing PRK over LASIK though. It seems to have a longer and more painful recovery from the comparison charts I've found

I have to go with PRK due to the fact that my cornea isn't thick enough to do LASIK. I know that PRK is going to be more painful, but they said that the long term clarity is better than LASIK, but it's going to hurt like for at least 2 weeks. Thank goodness I'm using my sick bank at work to take a month off and some FMLA.

This particular doctor has performed over 10,000 procedures. My friend at Southwest just had his done by the same guy 2 months ago and loves it. So, we'll see how it goes. I will keep you all posted.

How did the PRK go? How was recovery? Any complications?

I am looking into doing it my self, and I did a consultation with a doctor in st pete fl. DR. Updergraph And he is legit, all kinds of awards and was the first one in Asia to perform the surgery, still teaches other doctors how to perform it, but that being said he is very pricey, but then again what is your vision worth too you. ESP in our business.

Good luck

I've wanted LASIK for a long time (about 5 yrs now) but am VERY hesitant. Both my mom and aunt had it done and both have a lot of issue with their night vision.
I would love nothing more than to get rid of my contacts and glasses during the day. Glasses at night I could live with. I have an astigmatism in both eyes too.
Anyone else have a similar family history and/or eye sight issues?

Feel free to PM me if you'd rather not post on the forum.

PRK is scheduled in April. I will keep you posted.

Eyes
 

There is a new type of LASIK out there that may not yet be FDA approved. It is multi-focal lasik. This corrects both near and far sighted problems. This is new. Check it out.

I also have been looking into lasik (had an evaluation today) and have never heard of that. What can be done is correct one eye for distance and one for reading just like the monovision contacts: a real no-no for flying.

The AF offers Lasik to its pilots. I know because a friend of mine is the AF MD who does it, and there's about a 6 month waiting list.

Free Flyer, the surgery seems to be safe and effective in most cases, as you know.

If you ever think you're going to work overseas, though, be careful. Some countries, most notably Japan, look askance at such procedures. Now when I was (what I think is) your age, I would never have dreamed that I'd be working in Asia. Nevertheless, it happened. Just a thought ... :)

This thread is old, and I'm only posting to get my five posts required for membership. I had LASIK nearly 14 years ago, and I still see 20/20. Best money spent ever. The procedure is not fun, though it is painless. The risks are real, but manageable.

LASIK is the one of the best things I've done, EVER. 20\15 Vision.

Only minor downside has been the dryness....constant eye drops. Well worth it. Paid about 3,500 bucks.

I got PRK which is more recommended for military, police, and pilots, due to the stronger re-healing of the eye. LASIK is "approved" for military pilots but unofficially they advocate PRK. Same doctor, same laser, same machine. Wavefront Guided PRK. Do some google research.

However for Joe Blow who works in a cubicle 9-5 or a tranquillo job, LASIK is fine. Just remember that the flap never reheals to original strength. This is one reason that 10 years later, most LASIK patients need a "touch up" surgery. This is rare in PRK patients.

Either surgery, pay for Wavefront Guided surgery.

My vision is 20/10 both eyes. Good Luck

I did the PRK and 1 year later I'm holding strong at 20/15. Best $ I have ever spent.

I had PRK done in 2009 (by the military). 20/15 in both eyes and no astigmatism. I love it - it's awesome! I get some occasional dryness and have to put a couple of drops in at night.

The first few days after surgery were uncomfortable and it took about six weeks for my eyes to heal and vision to stabilize.

I had custom LASIK, all laser, have been seeing 20/15 for four years now. No problems.

rightside02, I would seriously recommend that you have a Doctor do it.;)
fbh

I'm in the Air Force and just had PRK done about 16 days ago. They say on average it takes about 2.5-3 months to get back on flying status. That will vary with each individual person.

I had some burning in the eyes about 24 hrs after the surgery that lasted about 1.5 days, but that's it. Some pain meds they gave me fixed that right up. The vision changes daily, but that's just part of the healing process. I have to take steroid eye drops for 4 months to keep the eyes from healing too fast so that they don't scar.

I still don't have the clarity I had with glasses yet, but they say it takes 6 months to get optimal vision. Also, that's just to be expected at the stage I'm at after the surgery.

I talked to several guys I fly with before I had it done. They all highly recommended it.

Mode - what you are experiencing is absolutely normal. Not sure if your doc's recommended 1000 MG vitamin C every day for 90 days after the surgery but mine did. Some web research also supports that. Obviously listen to your doctor. Later

Mode - Where did you get it done? I'm "deploying" stateside and won't be flying for 5 months next Fall and want to get it done just before I go. I've talked to the flight doc a bit and was told I could "pick" the location, just had to pay for the flight and lodging. True in your experience?

lots of AF PRK/LASIK stuff here guys

Baseops Military Aviation Forums

Satpak -- yep, they told me about the Vit. C. I've been getting at least that much every day. Thanks for confirming that this is all normal.

Nextlife -- got it done at Travis. I'm up at Beale so it was a short drive down there. Travis puts a ton of people through every week so they get lots of practice. If you pick there, you could setup your pre-op appt for Thursday morning, tour Thursday afternoon, and have the surgery the following Monday. That's there standard schedule. I'd say your eye Dr. is correct on just paying for the airfare/lodging. You'll get convalescent leave for the procedure so won't cost you any which is nice.

After the Monday Surgery, you return Tue and Friday for followup appointments. After that, all can be done back at your home base.

Good luck with it. They have tons of opening so the process can be as fast as you want. The only thing that takes a few days is getting Wright Patterson to sign off on your approval. I doubt you'll have any problem with that.

Mode and anyone else, in April 2013 (next month) I will be at the 1 year mark. Be advised that even at month 6, my eyes weren't "perfect" again. They were about 90% there. 9 month mark, you are 95-100% fully back to normal. For a good year I took the Vitamin C and being paranoid, put lubricating drops in multiple times a day. At the 9 month mark, I installed drops once in AM and once before bed and thats kinda what I still do. Probably not needed to be honest but I feel better doing it.

I took sick time/vacation time and just my personal opinion, wouldn't go out solo flying until past 30 day mark. You can drive (again my opinion) after 1 week but probably better to wait 2 weeks. My employer was aware of surgery and I was doing admin work/etc during some of the healing. Prior to surgery I called my AME and gave him a heads up of my plans and literally prior to surgery I filled out the PDF FAA forms and gave them to the doctor and said "before we proceed, these forms will be required by FAA after we are done, any issues/heartburn/etc with that." So basically both AME and Eye surgeon were on board with FAA requirements before the laser got turned on.

My earlier posts about it

http://www.airlinepilotforums.com/pi...ery-diary.html

Yep, great info satpak. The eye Dr. said about 6 months to optimal vision. The Air Force just requires you to get to 20/20 and have two eye checkups with stable vision 2 weeks apart. I'm hoping that will only take about 2-3 months. Historically it's taken about 3 months on avg to get there.

roger that

I had PRK in November and like most people, the procedure was quick and painless, but the next few days were a bit uncomfortable and it takes some time for your eyes to heal so get lots of rest, and use your drops and medication as recommended and you will be fine. Definitely worth it though since my vision is perfect at this point. I'm at the Naval Academy and I have had classmates who have had both Lasik and PRK so I think the military may be accepting Lasik for aviators. But I would double check that.

I got Lasik, waited the 1 year waiting period, and have cleared my FC1. At least for the air force, Lasik is fine for pilots.

I had PRK in '05. Was 20/15 after the surgery. Now I am 20/30 and fly with glasses. Thinking about it now, the procedure freaks me out. But it allowed me to fly for the AF (would have otherwise been DQ'd), so it worked out. Be sure to take care of your eyes post-op and use the drops. My vision at night is a little different, but it passes all the AF tests.

I had lasik two years ago in June. I love it. Haven't suffered from any of the side effects. Going into it, I thought not being able to rub my eyes for the first 30 days was going to be the hardest. It wasn't. Every time I would think about rubbing my eyes I would stop in fear of my lens ripping off. My vision was corrected 20/12. It's amazing.

I had to have a friend bring me to the surgery because you can't drive after. He got to watch the operation on a TV via a camera close up to my eye. He got through the first one and ran outside thinking he was going to throw up. He said it was the nastiest ******* thing he has ever seen.

Just a quick follow up - I had PRK done on 7 November at the Academy in C-Springs. On my 1-month follow up I was 20/20 and at my 2-month follow up (yesterday) I was 20/10. I didn't have a lot of correction, but had a decent astigmatism. My night vision, as far as clarity, halos and starbursts go, is awesome! Far better than it ever was with glasses or contacts. Starting my waiver paperwork and hope to be back on flying status in the next few weeks. DNIF for less than three months total. The process is a bit of a pain for the first few weeks afterwards, but certainly worth it.

Great news. Just my personal opinion based on my own PRK, but I would be putting drops in every 2 hours and taking 1000 MG Vitamin C. Plus lots of sleep. At least until month 6 and ideally thru 12 month mark. Your vision doesn't really normalize until month 6, FYI. Don't get all freaked out if traffic lights at night are all blurry.

Good advice. I started with the 1000MG Vitamin C a few weeks prior to the surger and am still taking it. Same with 2000MG of Omega 3's, which helps with the oily part of the tear layer and keeps the eyes from drying out. I don't ever feel that I need drops, but do them at least every 3 hours. I expected bad night vision for a bit, but it's perfect so far. No blur or halos at all. Better than with contacts.

I did Lasik about one year ago. I waited 10 years to get is done but it was worth the wait. 20/15 vision with no side effects. I used Millennium in South Florida. It was expensive but worth every penny.

Do you mind me asking what they charged?