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Question about PRK eligibility

afsf1

Active Member
Hello, I am 22 years old and looking into getting PRK corrective surgery. I have gone to several well regarded surgery clinics in my local area, and in some of them they will only perform the surgery if they have vision tests 6 months apart with less than .5 diopter change in myopia or astigmatism. The other clinics will take my word for having steady vision, and do not require my vision records.
I have worn glasses my entire life, and my last prescription is ~5 years old, however it is not current. (As in it does not correct me to 20/20 right now, and quite a bit worse.) I believe that my vision has been stable (just based on the distance I can see several things such as clock etc. that I see almost daily) for quite some time, however with this you can never be sure. What would happen if I had the surgery and my eyes were still changing? Would the myopia/astigmatism simply return? (Is that the reason for the touch up surgeries?) I would like to get the surgery ASAP, however would like any advice etc. on people who have had the surgery while their eyes are still changing or what the risks are.
 

Crazy*Carl

New Member
Yes, it could return, but you need 20/40 to qualify for Flight School. You can also get the surgery again, though LASIK is a much better option for touchups, as the recovery is at least 10-20 times faster than PRK. I was worried about the same thing when I was doing mine, but I don't think its a deal breaker for you. The alternative is you don't qualify for aviator.

My vision was considered stabled when I got LASIK, but I wouldn't be surprised if it drops another half a diopter over the next few years. But you never know. Worst case your back into contacts, or you get the surgery again. when you get older, your far vision actually reverses and starts getting better, so you would rather be slightly under corrected than over corrected.
 

afsf1

Active Member
Yeah I understand that, what I don't want happening is that my vision is still drastically changing (although my prescription now 5 years post my previous one has changes of <1 diopter of both myopia and astigmatism) and I just believe that it is stable. (I.e. you dont really notice if you grow 6" over several months or years, same thing here).
 
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