• Please take a moment and update your account profile. If you have an updated account profile with basic information on why you are on Air Warriors it will help other people respond to your posts. How do you update your profile you ask?

    Go here:

    Edit Account Details and Profile

PRK in the Fleet

Status
Not open for further replies.

Killer2

TRONS!
None
Ok so I was wondering if you could get PRK while you are already in the fleet. I don't really care about switching from NFO to NA, call me crazy, I just want to live life with out contatcs or glasses. Also am I even a candidate to get the surgery done since I can see 20/50 one eye and 20/60 in the other. Just thought throw a few questions out there. Will the military pay for it? thanks
 

NFOwife

Aviator Spouse
Yes, the military will pay for it. My husband (an NFO) had it done in 2002, at the Naval Hospital in Portsmouth. He did it through his squadron flight surgeon (that's who arranged it). Quite a few guys in his squadron had it done as well. The military pays for the surgery, but the orders to go up there are no-cost. Meaning, we had to pay for his flight up to VA and also for his lodgings (he had to stay there for I think 5 days). If you have specific questions I can have him come on and answer them for you- but yes, it is pretty common in the fleet to have it done on the Navy's tab.
 

Flash

SEVAL/ECMO
None
Super Moderator
Contributor
It is very common in the fleet to have it done, I would say it is unusual for it not to have it done if you are eligible. As for having to pay to get to and from the surgery, it is up to your individual command. Before they started doing it locally in Bremerton, my squadron would pay the airfare and lodging for anyone who went down to San Diego to get the surgery. All in all, it i a good deal.
 

Slammer2

SNFO Advanced, VT-86 T-39G/N
Contributor
Killer2 said:
Also am I even a candidate to get the surgery done since I can see 20/50 one eye and 20/60 in the other.


From what I've read, you need to have 20/40 vision or worse to be a candidate for the surgery. I'm sure theres other parameters beyond that, but it seems if you're better than 20/40, it's not worth the procedure/risk. But, this is a requirement from the doctors I believe and not the Navy. I don't know if Navy might have their own set of rules regarding candidates whose eyes aren't bad enough to have it done.

Speaking of the risk, does anyone know about the "bad stuff" that has happened from the surgery? I can only seem to find all of the success stories. I know there are some side effects such as seeing halos around lights at night, but have you heard of anyone going blind or something crazy like that from the procedure??

I'll probably have the procedure done sometime at the end of this year.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top