Custom PRK no good?

[MettGT]

While looking at the NOMI website http://www.nomi.med.navy.mil/NAMI/WaiverGuideTopics/pdfs/Waiver Guide - Ophthalmology.pdf

I read the following section:

"PRK (wavefront-guided): Not currently approved for waiver if performed after 1 July 2006. For those cases performed prior to 1 July 2006, waivers will be considered on a case by case basis; for preoperative refractive error in the range -5.75 to -8.00 (high myopia) or +0.25 to +3.00 (hyperopia) total diopter sphere, the final refraction may be measured no sooner than six
months after surgery. For mild to moderate myopia in the range <-5.75, the final post-operative refraction may be measured no sooner than three months after surgery."

Anyone know why custom PRK is no longer waiverable? I've got my custom PRK scheduled for Aug. 4, but I guess I'll have to tell them to do regular PRK.

 

[FelixTheGreat]

Wow! Good catch. I am having PRK done tomorrow(7/7/06) and was supposed to get the wavefront guided proceedure. That was a bit of a heart stopping moment. Thanks for bringing that up, I must have glazed over it when reading the NOMI stuff. So regular PRK it is. Good save, thanks again!

 

[Brett327]

If this is what it appears to be, I predict a bevy of unhappy SNA hopefuls. Life's a b!tch.

Brett

 

[zippy]

Yeah, but who knows how long its going to take to get rechanged... I say go with what you know is approved...

 

[NeoCortex]

I had that, thank god I already have my waiver.

 

[AppleCello]

wow i had mine on June 6... I guess that means I'm still ok for a waiver regardless of whether they go with this new policy or scrap it. but wow...

 

[zippy]

Even better, I say HOLD OFF and RESCHEDULE. Wavefront is much better than non-wavefront.

If things work there like the rest of the government, It could take years to get changed... If you can afford to wait, then by all means...

 

[pdx]

According to the Navy Doc i spoke to in San Diego: the official policy has never changed to prohibit wavefront....

NAMI just took the liberty to change the waiver document without the official policy ever changing to ban wavefront.

Doesn't NAMI dictate the official policy?

 

[AppleCello]

What would prompt them to change the document?

 

[zippy]

Maybe Feddoc can chime in here...

 

[MettGT]

I just sent an email off to NOMI myself to hear straight from the horse's mouth, so to speak. Hopefully, I can independently confirm what we all want to hear.

 

[Whalebite]

That is odd that they would get rid of Custom, I got wavefront and had absoultely outstanding results.

 

[MettGT]

Good news, I just got an email back from NAMI, and it basically said what JetJunkie said before - it's waiverable for applicants, but NOT designated aviators.

 

[Bernie Kosar]

This thread has been dead for awhile, but for anybody using this website to research PRK you should be aware that NOMI now recommends wave front guided (WFG) PRK.

Page 21 of the following linked document contains the WFG, NOMI recommendation that I am referencing (I recommend reading the entire PRK section before you get the surgery and also checking the waiver guide the day before your surgery to make sure that nothing in it has changed): http://www.nomi.med.navy.mil/NAMI/WaiverGuideTopics/pdfs/Waiver%20Guide%20-%20Ophthalmology.pdf

 

[FDX]

My consultation is on thursday and i was gonna get just regular prk, but now with this amendment, should i consider getting WFG? Does NOMI change their policy on things like this? Regular prk is a sure thing, but with the start of the this thread, i kinda feel like wfg could be more risky as far as NOMI and their policy changing goes. What do you guys think?

also, i have read where it recomends wfg on page 21, but is this the entire prk section? Also where is the waiver guide that is spoken of? i want to make sure that i am checking all of and the right stuff. thanks
FDX