• 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

The PRK process from start to finish

mxracer19

Hanging out in K-Vegas.
A lot of the information on the PRK board is scattered about, and so I hope to somewhat unify most of that information into one area. This morning I had my eyes done. For those of you that care to read, I will describe my experience in detail. Your experience may vary. An asterix (*) indicates information that I will be double-checking very shortly after I receive more information from my OSO.

NAMI website:
http://www.nomi.med.navy.mil/NAMI/index.htm

NAMI Aeromedical Waiver Guide: http://www.nomi.med.navy.mil/NAMI/WaiverGuideTopics/index.htm

NAMI Ophthalmology-specific waiver guide: http://www.nomi.med.navy.mil/NAMI/WaiverGuideTopics/pdfs/Waiver%20Guide%20-%20Ophthalmology.pdf


Preliminary Information:

Currently for Marine/Navy aviator applicants, three processes are accepted. PRK, or Photo-Refractive Keratectomy, and the PRK variants known as LASEK and Epi-LASEK, neither to be confused with LASIK. RK, LTK, and ICR are permanantly disqualifying. PRK touch-up procedures are allowed, but the end result must meet waiver guidlines. The Air Force has just approved LASIK, however I have no experience with the Air Force or LASIK, and so I will not go into detail. I had LASEK.

The general process follows sequentially. Discuss your surgery with your OSO. Have a comprehensive pre-op exam. If you are under 21, he will submit the information up to division for pre-approval. Have your surgery, fulfill your post-op requirement, and apply for your PRK waiver. PRK and PRK-variant waivers may be submitted no earlier than 3 months for myopia less than -6.00 sperical equivelant, or no earlier than 6 months if myopia is greater than -6.00 sperical equivelant or for hyperopia measured under cycloplegia. That comes direct from NAMI. Consult your OSO or division medic for specifics. Depending on your manifest refraction, a 30 day and 90 day post-op check are required for the lower limits of correction, and a 30, 60, and 90 day post-op for corrections above a specific point. I will update this information with specifics the next time I talk to my OSO…he’s checking on that. One small note to remember is that you must continue seeing the doctor or office that performed the surgery for your post-op checks.* I was told not to wear contact lenses 3 days prior to my surgery.

The Surgery:

I arrived at the office to fill out paperwork. I paid (damn). A technician double-checked several measurements of my eyes. I was lead into the pre-op room where I was briefed on post-op care and given a valium. A driver is necessary, you’re a bit woozy afterwards, and you’re in some pain so just keep your eyes closed. I was led downstairs to wait for 15 or so minutes. The valium kicks in pretty quick on an empty stomach. I was led into the op room and laid out on the rubber bed with the machine over my head where I promptly fell asleep until the doc came in. Numbing eye drops are applied, your eye area is swabbed with iodine and dried, and a second set of drops, the ones that actually numb your eye totally are applied. Your eyelashes are taped back. At this point, you are under a small machine with (in my case) three sets of LEDs in a triangle. Your field of vision is very restricted due to the close proximity of the instrument cluster over your face…that’s basically all you can see. The eye not being worked on is covered. Your eyelids are held open by a spreader. A small rubber suction ring attached to a metal instrument is rested on your eyeball. At this point, you feel pressure, but not pain. Vision is highly restricted. The microkeratome is attached to the suction ring and this is where the fun starts. The microkeratome sounds like a Dremel; it basically is. You can feel it passing over your eye removing in my case, 60 microns. It doesn’t hurt…but it doesn’t tickle either. Things start out fuzzy, and slowly fade to black as you lose vision in your eye. The machine is then removed and your vision is cloudy. The rubber suction donut is removed, and the doctor slides the flap of outer cornea off your eye, rinsing with saline (this feels good). After that portion of cornea is slid off, things become extremely fuzzy. This is where the laser process begins. You are told to focus on a blinking light in the center of your view. At this point, the process develops a science fiction feel. Your field of vision is highly restricted, however a pattern of hundreds of red dots appears in the shape of a circle. This pattern almost appears as an overlay to your vision…I can’t quite describe it but trust me when I say it’s like something out of a science fiction movie. The laser process is started and as you focus on the green light, one second your vision is blurred, and in an instant, things become crystal clear. It prompted a “holy shit” from me…the doc laughed. A cleaning agent was applied for 20 or so seconds, and a protecting contact lense was applied. The process took roughly 5 minutes. The eye was covered, the other eye was done, and I was out the door with a pair of sunglasses.

After the Surgery:

I was given four sets of drops. Econopred (a steroid), Xibrom (pain), Vigomox (antibiotic), and lastly a lubricant (basically saline). In addition, I was given a prescription for pain (which could vary between practices, but mine was Lyrica), and one sleeping pill for that night as you are expected to sleep all day post-surgery. Post-procedure, my eyes felt just as others on the forum said they would. Sunblock in the eyes, with an extreme sensitivity to light. I got home an hour later, laid down, threw a towel over my face and passed out for 2 hours. Upon waking, I had slight discomfort. At this point, I am 9 hours post surgery typing on my computer with no discomfort in my left eye and the feeling of an eyelash in my right. Should this feeling change, I will amend this document. I have a 24 hour follow-up, followed by a 72 hour follow-up, and then my 30-day post-op. Other than that, there’s not much to it. I noticed in some discussions on this board, people said it was pain ranging from mild discomfort to the feeling of “a lighter flame held to the eye for 60 hours”. Guess I got lucky. If anyone would like a recommendation for the NY/NJ/PA area, PM me.

Day after Surgury::

Here's where the pain started for me. Today, my left eye feels like I have an eyelash in it, my right feels like I have sand under an eyelid. It's not pleasant so I'm basically sleeping all day. Cool compresses like a wet towel wrapped in ice help ALOT. Just lay there and let the coldpack do its work. My pain drops don't do much for me but you might have better results. I'm typing through one squinted tearing eye so bear with me on spelling and punctuation. According to my doc today at my 24 hour checkup, your corneas swell at night when you sleep. Thus, when you wake up on the second day, your eyes hurt. Mine are also slightly inflamed from the surgery, my right moreso than my left. I can't type anymore...this rooms too bright..this shit hurts.

I hope this document helps those of you needed information on the process. I will update it as I find more of the technicalities in my process.

-Matt
 

MotoZuki

New Member
Great info here. I had PRK on 23MAR07 and will soon be submitting my request for a waiver. The information you present represents what I found through my own dealings. However, your comment about having post-op check-ups with your surgeon's practice may or may not be valid. I'm curious to find out as I had my 30 day with the surgeon's practice, 60 day out of town when visiting family, and probably will have the 90 day with the same out-of-town doc (just has to do with where I am geographically and scheduling). Good luck healing up.

Moto
 

whitesoxnation

Well-Known Member
pilot
Contributor
What kind of pain killers post op do they give you? How long after the surg till you can drive?

Thank you very, very much for posting this... put to rest alot of fears I had.
 

badger16

Well-Known Member
None
Worst day for me was the third. I had two black sheets over each window and two pairs of sunglasses on and the room was still too Fvucking bright and my eyes felt like they had sunscreen in them...It sucked but now the eyes are getting close to 20/20...I do it all over again in a second.
 

FastMover

NFO
None
What kind of pain killers post op do they give you? How long after the surg till you can drive?

Thank you very, very much for posting this... put to rest alot of fears I had.

My doctor didn't prescribe any pain killers for me, and I honestly didn't feel that I needed them.

As far as driving, it probably varies from person to person but I would give it at least three or four days.
 

mxracer19

Hanging out in K-Vegas.
does anyone know if theres a limit as to how many times a post can be edited? I tried to update the post for today but theres no edit button? if there is a limit and any of you mods are reading this, is there a way to lift the limit so that i can continue updating my post as the healing process goes?

2nd day after surgury isnt too fun but im getting better
 

MotoZuki

New Member
Hang in there and don't get disappointed if/when your vision deteriorates/gets better (fluctuation). Things will work out great in the end. I'm nearly 3 months out and things are sharper than ever.

Moto
 

scarfacekracker

Registered User
cost

Mxracer how much did the process cost if you do not mind my asking. I heard prices from $2,000 to $4,000.

Also is there anyone out there that can make a recommendations for Dr's in the San Diego area?
 

Viper 01

Member
Mxracer how much did the process cost if you do not mind my asking. I heard prices from $2,000 to $4,000.

Also is there anyone out there that can make a recommendations for Dr's in the San Diego area?


I had blended vision Lasik on 23/02/07 and it cost £4,375 (I do not know what that is in U.S.$)!
Fortunatly, I am part of a pilot sceme at work and my company paid, Hence the Lasik instead of Lasek which I would have prefered.
Steve :)
 

schwarti

Active Member
Contributor
That's about $8,000. I didn't think it was that expensive... I thought it was closer to $5k. (Not that I don't believe you, but day-um, that's expensive.)
 

mxracer19

Hanging out in K-Vegas.
Hey guys. I went throgh EyeCare 20/20 in East Hanover NJ. The normal cost is $3,000 per eye, or $6,000 total. They give a 20% military discount so my total cost was $4,800. If you're doing this because you would like to join the Marines or another branch and your vision doesn't meet the requirements to fly, it is possible that you can write the amount spent on your taxes as a deduction because it is a necessary expense for your intended career field. If you are a dependant and someone si claiming you, it might also be possible for them to write you off instead. In that case, you would want the writeoff on the higher-income person. Ask an accountant...I'm not sure of the details. Another point to consider is wether or not the office will back their work. I paid a slightly higher price, but I am assured that if my vision decreases or a touch-up is necessary, they will do it free of charge. They also provided me with all medications needed, except Lyrica for pain. They provided a prescription for that.

Day 2 after Surgury:

My eyes are doing quite well. Outdoors with light sunglasses for me, or indoors with none. I tuned the contrast and brightness on my monitor screen down to zero and that helps greatly. Stay away from single bright sources of light. Cold compresses and lots of sleep help greatly. At this point in time, the contacts they put in my eyes are causing me the most annoyance. I can't wait to get them out tomorrow! Best of luck to those of you who are planning on getting PRK/LASEK. I will keep updating this for several more days until the pain is mostly gone. After that, I will update it roughly once a week as my vision improves or when serious changes occur. Hope all of this helped.

-Matt
 

Trey3UofM

Registered User
Epi-LSAEK or Epi-LASIK

I have just one question and maybe I'm just splitting hairs, but in the original post it said that "Epi-LASEK" was approved but looking at the link that was provided, NOMI says that "Epi-LASIK" was one of the PRK variants that is allowed. I did some research on my own but could not find anything that differentiated between the two. My question is, is there a difference? I ask this to mxracer19 or anyone with more of a knowledge on this subject than me. This is of interest to me because I had Epi-LASIK done and was interested in obtaining a flight contract. Thanks.
 
Top