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Lasik or Lasek
- Thread starter los5041
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My OSO told me the same thing
LASEK is an improvement on PRK. The main difference is you get to keep that small outer layer of eye material they remove before lasing your eye. With PRK, they remove that layer completely and let your eye grow back a new one. Apparently there is more post-op pain involved with this. With LASEK they only peel the layer back, do the lasing, then lay it back over.
LASIK is an entirely different procedure which still remains disqualifying more aviation service, if not military service. I believe LASIK can be authorized for members in other communities. Don't feel like researching that so take it for what it's worth.
LASIK is an entirely different procedure which still remains disqualifying more aviation service, if not military service. I believe LASIK can be authorized for members in other communities. Don't feel like researching that so take it for what it's worth.
Go ahead and get LASEK. Despite what the name implies, it's nothing like LASIK. It's basically an improved version of PRK. The difference between PRK and LASIK is as follows: in PRK they reshape the entire surface of your cornea, while with LASIK they just use the laser to drill some holes in your cornea in a radial pattern that will change the refractive characteristics of your eye the same way PRK will.
Here is why the military doesn't like LASIK: theoretically, those holes that they drill with the laser heal up fine and everything is peachy from then on. Realistically, one or two of the holes are going to heal up with slight cleavages, which can fill up with condensation if your body is subjected to high or low pressure: ie, scuba diving or in a cockpit. When that happens your vision gets very hazy and blurry.
LASEK arguably gives you better vision than LASIK. I had LASEK two years ago, and went from 20/50 in my left eye and 20/70 in my right eye with astigmatism in both to 20/15 in both eyes with no astigmatism. However, just so you know, the recovery process from LASEK is not fun. Imagine someone mixing sand and lemon juice and dumping it in your eyes, that's about what it feels like for the first 3-4 days post op. The tough recovery is why many people opt for LASIK instead, since LASIK involves burning off a fraction of the tissue that LASEK does, and thus inflammation and pain that results from the surgery are not nearly as bad.
If you want to get surgery, I would definitely recommend LASEK. I don't know this as a fact, but according to my old OSO the BUMED people would disqualify you for life from scuba/flight training if you had LASIK. They waivered me good to go for everything after my LASEK surgery.
Hope this helps.
Here is why the military doesn't like LASIK: theoretically, those holes that they drill with the laser heal up fine and everything is peachy from then on. Realistically, one or two of the holes are going to heal up with slight cleavages, which can fill up with condensation if your body is subjected to high or low pressure: ie, scuba diving or in a cockpit. When that happens your vision gets very hazy and blurry.
LASEK arguably gives you better vision than LASIK. I had LASEK two years ago, and went from 20/50 in my left eye and 20/70 in my right eye with astigmatism in both to 20/15 in both eyes with no astigmatism. However, just so you know, the recovery process from LASEK is not fun. Imagine someone mixing sand and lemon juice and dumping it in your eyes, that's about what it feels like for the first 3-4 days post op. The tough recovery is why many people opt for LASIK instead, since LASIK involves burning off a fraction of the tissue that LASEK does, and thus inflammation and pain that results from the surgery are not nearly as bad.
If you want to get surgery, I would definitely recommend LASEK. I don't know this as a fact, but according to my old OSO the BUMED people would disqualify you for life from scuba/flight training if you had LASIK. They waivered me good to go for everything after my LASEK surgery.
Hope this helps.
LASEK is good to go, and although no one here needs to know because we should be getting custom PRK/LASEK:
The former is wrong on LASIK, there are no holes drilled and it does not remove any more tissue than PRK. LASIK cuts 1/3 of the cornea and esentially does PRK under this flap. The flap then never heals but the epithilieum (sp?) heals over it. The epitheilum is that layer that they scape off during PRK and 'move to the side' during LASEK. Motiv8tor is mistaking CK with LASIK which is done by hand with a scalpel, or possibly with laser that cuts incesions around the eye to flatten certan areas with the hope of better vision.
The thing with LASEK is more often than not that layer doesn't come off smothly and a LASEK surgery turns into an inpropmto prk surgery because that layer almost never comes off right. Furthermore after PRK a 'bandgae contact' is placed over the eye anyway to reduce pain. Either way that epithelial layer is dead and must regenerate so LASEK is essentually usless, but thats up to you and your doctor. Until that layer initially regenerates you will be in pain/discomfort. The layer doesn't grow over perfectally, this is one of the reasons your vision fluctuates while your eye heals(successive layers get better until it goes back to normal) . The epithilial layer is like stomach lining like many other bodily tissues, it constantly regenerates. This is the problem with LASIK, that 1/3 cut layer of cornea never does heal together.
I'm sure this is much more than you wanted to know but never hurts to know more.
I did not get LASEK for 2 reasons, 1 is mostly pointless, 2 is i didn't want anyone mistaking LASEK for LASIK and my asperations of flying ending forever. Everyone in the DR's office constantly refered to my surgery as LASIK which anoyed the piss out of me because 95% of patients go with LASIK (no thank you), even the DR slipped up once or twice.
in the end the best advise: Get PRK/LASEK with CUSTOM!!!!! and use the s-3 or 4 laser by visx. DO NOT USE THE NIDEK LASER
The former is wrong on LASIK, there are no holes drilled and it does not remove any more tissue than PRK. LASIK cuts 1/3 of the cornea and esentially does PRK under this flap. The flap then never heals but the epithilieum (sp?) heals over it. The epitheilum is that layer that they scape off during PRK and 'move to the side' during LASEK. Motiv8tor is mistaking CK with LASIK which is done by hand with a scalpel, or possibly with laser that cuts incesions around the eye to flatten certan areas with the hope of better vision.
The thing with LASEK is more often than not that layer doesn't come off smothly and a LASEK surgery turns into an inpropmto prk surgery because that layer almost never comes off right. Furthermore after PRK a 'bandgae contact' is placed over the eye anyway to reduce pain. Either way that epithelial layer is dead and must regenerate so LASEK is essentually usless, but thats up to you and your doctor. Until that layer initially regenerates you will be in pain/discomfort. The layer doesn't grow over perfectally, this is one of the reasons your vision fluctuates while your eye heals(successive layers get better until it goes back to normal) . The epithilial layer is like stomach lining like many other bodily tissues, it constantly regenerates. This is the problem with LASIK, that 1/3 cut layer of cornea never does heal together.
I'm sure this is much more than you wanted to know but never hurts to know more.
I did not get LASEK for 2 reasons, 1 is mostly pointless, 2 is i didn't want anyone mistaking LASEK for LASIK and my asperations of flying ending forever. Everyone in the DR's office constantly refered to my surgery as LASIK which anoyed the piss out of me because 95% of patients go with LASIK (no thank you), even the DR slipped up once or twice.
in the end the best advise: Get PRK/LASEK with CUSTOM!!!!! and use the s-3 or 4 laser by visx. DO NOT USE THE NIDEK LASER
I used the b&L laser went from >20/400 in both eyes to 20/15 and 20/20.
Good Luck
Good Luck
illinijoe05 said:
WOW. Didn't know LASEK who do all that.
Whalebite's correction to motiv8r was, well, correct, except I think he described RK not CK. The comments about the epithelium being dead after LASEK, however, was not necessarily correct. That may happen occasionally, but not, "more often than not".
The most important thing to take away is that LASEK is approved, but as Whalebite said, make sure everyone is on the same page (I confirmed LASEK vs. LASIK several times, including while on the table).
The most important thing to take away is that LASEK is approved, but as Whalebite said, make sure everyone is on the same page (I confirmed LASEK vs. LASIK several times, including while on the table).
confused_pilot
Registered User
i dont mean to burst your bubbles.. but i was made with 20/10 in both eyes
Whalebite--
You may be right. What I put down was what I understood from what my doctor told me. As far as LASEK being "pointless", dude, I'm a walking example that it's not. Furthermore, as far as people confusing LASIK with LASEK, that's completely unrealistic. They are totally different procedures and the odds of your doctor doing the wrong surgery on you are minimal to say the least. Furthermore, the BUMED people are not going to confuse LASEK with LASIK. When you submit your waiver packet there's like 30 pages of medical info in it. The BUMED people look at that sh*t for a living, they know the difference between LASEK and LASIK. As far as the laser type goes, it may be important, but the more important thing is to get a good doctor who does a lot of these procedures. And it also helps to have a significant other to bring you fresh ice packs while you lie groaning in pain in your blacked-out bedroom for the first few days after the surgery...
You may be right. What I put down was what I understood from what my doctor told me. As far as LASEK being "pointless", dude, I'm a walking example that it's not. Furthermore, as far as people confusing LASIK with LASEK, that's completely unrealistic. They are totally different procedures and the odds of your doctor doing the wrong surgery on you are minimal to say the least. Furthermore, the BUMED people are not going to confuse LASEK with LASIK. When you submit your waiver packet there's like 30 pages of medical info in it. The BUMED people look at that sh*t for a living, they know the difference between LASEK and LASIK. As far as the laser type goes, it may be important, but the more important thing is to get a good doctor who does a lot of these procedures. And it also helps to have a significant other to bring you fresh ice packs while you lie groaning in pain in your blacked-out bedroom for the first few days after the surgery...
I'm glad your procedure worked well. Obviously BUMED will not confuse it, and a doctor will not confuse the procedures, but a doctor sees 100+ patients a month and almost all are having LASIK. If his nurse or tech says or writes LASIK what do you think he'll do? I'm not trying to scare anyone, but call 10 offices to ask about LASEK and see how many confuse it with LASIK. All I'm saying is that it doesn't hurt to clarify things a few times.motiv8r said:
Yes, the procedures do sound the same. However, before you get it, you will (or should) have a conversation with the doctor that includes him going over the Navy med guidelines for eye surgery waiver and all your concerns vis-a-vis the operation. Now I'm not saying that doctors don't f*** operations up every once in a while or do the wrong one or whatever. We've all heard the horror stories. However, just because the airhead secretary who answers the phone doesn't have a clue, that doesn't mean the doctor doesn't know what he's doing. If you go over the procedure with the doctor beforehand, citing all your various concerns, he will write that down in his preop notes. If you're still unsure, right before they cut your eye open, just ask him, "hey, I'm getting lasEk, right? With an E, right? "
Seriously, y'all don't need to sweat it that much. It's a very standard procedure that would be pretty hard for a doctor to jack up that bad. It basically entails them mapping your eye, programming a shot plan into the laser and then telling you to keep REAL STILL. Provided you do that, and the laser has been set right, you will be good to go. Like I said before though, stand the hell by for the 3-4 days after the surgery. That s*** SUCKS.
"Seriously, y'all don't need to sweat it that much. It's a very standard procedure that would be pretty hard for a doctor to jack up that bad. It basically entails them mapping your eye, programming a shot plan into the laser and then telling you to keep REAL STILL. Provided you do that, and the laser has been set right, you will be good to go. Like I said before though, stand the hell by for the 3-4 days after the surgery. That s*** SUCKS.
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