iLasik

[DSL1990]

Has anyone ever heard of "iLasik"?

See the left column of page 10 in this brochure:
http://www.theeyecenter.com/iLASIK Brochure.pdf

They say it's approved for military pilots, but I don't know if it applies to Navy pilots and SNA's.

 

[UMichfly]

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that it's not approved for Naval Aviation. Given that they still cut a flap on your eyeball, it still qualifies as LASIK, regardless of whether they use a microkeratome or a laser to cut the flap.

 

[DSL1990]

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that it's not approved for Naval Aviation. Given that they still cut a flap on your eyeball, it still qualifies as LASIK, regardless of whether they use a microkeratome or a laser to cut the flap.

But isn't there a flap for LASEK too? And I thought that is approved.

 

[Jeff29]

But isn't there a flap for LASEK too? And I thought that is approved.

LASIK cuts a flap in the cornea, LASEK cuts a flap in the epithillium (the epithilium is the tissue that is removed and then grows back with PRK)

 

[snake020]

AFAIK the air force has approved it recently for fliers, but not the Navy.

 

[johnny utah]

But isn't there a flap for LASEK too? And I thought that is approved.

I've had LASEK, aka the PRK, and I can tell you there's no flap whatsoever. Instead, they soak your eyes with the secret ingredient, then scrape like mad until the top surface tissue is gone. The recovery time is longer than with the flap. I cried myself to sleep the first three nights. But most docs feels PRK is better. 7 months after and I have 20/15 each eye, and night vision intact. Dr. Moshirfar, you're my hero!

 

[Jeff29]

I've had LASEK, aka the PRK, and I can tell you there's no flap whatsoever. Instead, they soak your eyes with the secret ingredient, then scrape like mad until the top surface tissue is gone. The recovery time is longer than with the flap.

This is not exactly right. PRK and LASEK are similar, but not the same (I've had both). If they "scraped like mad", you had PRK. In both procedures, they soften the "top surface tissue", which is called the epithelium, with an alcohol based solution. With PRK, they then scrape the epithilium to expose the cornea. However, with LASEK they cut a flap in the epithilium to expose the cornea (in Lasik they cut a flap in the cornea). If you had LASEK and it seemed like they were scraping, they were actually just "polishing" the corneal surface after pulling back the epithelium flap. After PRK, the epithilium must grow back, whereas in LASEK they just lay the flap back down and it seals. The advantage of LASEK is that post-surgical haze is often connected to the regrowth of the epithilium that is removed during PRK (also LASEK is less painful post-op).

 

[Jeff29]

The iLASIK in that brochure is just this clinic's fancy name for Intralase LASIK which has been around for a couple years. It's just a way of cutting the corneal flap by using a laser instead of using a blade (probably makes a cleaner and safer cut). I know that the Navy has been doing trials with LASIK for aviators but I would confirm by checking two places. First check with NAMI (as of right now, the waiver guide still says that LASIK is non-waiverable http://www.nomi.med.navy.mil/NAMI/WaiverGuideTopics/pdfs/Waiver Guide - Ophthalmology.pdf ). Also check the Navy Refractive Surgery Center located in San Diego http://www-nmcsd.med.navy.mil/service/services_view.cfm . The Head of the Center used to be CDR (CAPT?) Mitch Brown (not sure if he's still there).

Honestly though, I would save myself the trouble and just get PRK or LASEK. Good Luck!

 

[HeyJoe]

Has anyone ever heard of "iLasik"?

Sure have because an Ad-spammer has been trying to promote the Eye Center here for weeks and been banned at least 4-5 times under various false usernames.

 

[Swanee]

AFAIK the air force has approved it recently for fliers, but not the Navy.

Yeah, AF and ANG have approved lasik, but from what I hear it's a not yet for the Navy.

I guess no one like to believe or share other services' medical studies... :banghead_

 

[johnny utah]

"Honestly though, I would save myself the trouble and just get PRK or LASEK. Good Luck!"- Opthalmologist Jeff29

Truth is, make certain you know what you're getting. And double check the Nomi sites to make sure you're not gonna screw up your chances for a waiver. PRK is the safest bet, and most docs i've talked to think it's better anyways.

 

[ea6bflyr]

Ah, this reminds me of another post: http://www.airwarriors.com/forum/showpost.php?p=413118&postcount=51

http://www.nomi.med.navy.mil/NAMI/Wa...rch 2007.pdf

Secion 12.15:
Definitions:

Corneal Refractive Surgery (CRS): A laser is used to reshape the anterior corneal surface reducing refractive error and reliance on spectacles or contact lenses. A “wavefront-guided” (WFG) or “custom” procedure uses wavefront analysis technology to perform the procedure.

Photorefractive Keratectomy (PRK) or Surface Ablation or Advanced Surface Ablation (ASA): Laser energy is applied to the anterior corneal surface after the epithelium is temporarily displaced or removed. No corneal flap is created. PRK variants include LASEK (epithelium is preserved), and Epi-LASIK (epithelial flap is created).

Laser in-situ keratomileusis (LASIK): A corneal flap is created with a surgical blade or laser after which additional laser energy is applied to the exposed corneal tissue underneath the flap. The flap is then repositioned.

CAUTION:
Brand names, marketing strategies and technological advances often cause confusion regarding CRS terminology.

PRK/ASA/LASEK = Waiverable
LASIK/iLASIK/Super-Duper LASIK/etc = Currently NOT WAIVERABLE for AVIATION!!

-ea6bflyr