Navy Approved PRK Doctors

[akdorsey]

Is there a list of doctors that the Navy approves of that does PRK surgery? I live in Georgia so I would think there are a few somewhere in Atlanta.

 

[NozeMan]

It's not a matter of whether or not the Navy approves the doctor/surgeon. Since you're not already in the Navy, it doesn't apply to you. What DOES matter is getting the procedure done correctly so that it can be waivered when getting medically cleared for commissioning/aviation. If you're in NROTC, you need the permission of the Commanding Officer to have the operation performed. Not sure what the deal is for people w/o NROTC affiliation who are applying for OCS etc.

EDIT: I had my surgery done by TLC. To my knowledge, they had no real affilitation with the military. However, they did have lots of clients who go their eyes fixed through them because they wanted to be pilots. They fixed Tiger Woods's eyes....and mine.

 

[akdorsey]

Should you get the surgery done before you enter NROTC and if you do, do you get the waiver before NROTC for SNA?

 

[MettGT]

Should you get the surgery done before you enter NROTC and if you do, do you get the waiver before NROTC for SNA?

While I'm not in NROTC, my understanding is that you're allowed to have PRK while in NROTC as long as it is approved by your commanding officer. Whether or not you should do it before or during, I'll let the NROTC guys handle that.

If you're looking for a doc in the Atlanta area, I had my eyes done at Woolfson Eye Institute - top notch people there. PM me if you want more info.

 

[heavylifter]

akdorsey:

Before you have a surgeon perform PRK, consider your options. You might not need to have your prescription permenantly etched onto your eyeball. There is a relatively new soft contact lens waiver available, and from what I understand, you don't have to already be a rated aviator. There was quite a bit of hubub over this in some threads, but it looks like it's finally been put to rest .. both NCRC and MCRD (hope I got those acronyms right) now accept SCL waivers .. although apparently no OCS applicant has tested this yet.

One thing people don't mention is that the published success rate of PRK/LASIK is based solely on visual acuity (20/10, 20/20, 20/30, etc). It's not uncommon for people who have these procedures to incur degraded night vision due to light scattering around the edges of the treated area of the eye. This phenomenon is less noticable in the daytime when the pupil is constricted. I did a hell of a lot of research into this, and decided that personally, it was not worth the risk. There are several new European studies which show serious persistent night vision complications are prevalent in LASIK patients (and my hunch is it wouldn't have been any better with PRK, had that been the procedure of choice). Something like 70% of Germans who have had LASIK done had night vision so poor that they shouldn't be driving. I personally know two people who can barely drive at night, years post-op. On the other hand, I know another guy who had absolutely no complications whatsoever.

I'm not trying to scare you, or stir the pot. All I'm saying is, this operation is very, very far from being a sure thing. Keep in mind that someone who lost their night vision to PRK probably isn't going to be posting here .. they know their chances are shot. PRK is a gamble, and should only be undertaken after evaluating risks and alternatives. Good luck!

 

[akdorsey]

Thanks for the info and the warning. I have seen people post that some pilots can use glasses if their eyes aren't to bad. Now both of my eyes are -3.00 but I don't know what that means in 20/ rating. I have pretty good night vision without my glasses but I still require them when I drive at night. I tried contacts when I was 15 so two years ago and I couldn't handle them. I got one caught in the corner of my eye and I had a hard time getting them out when they went in straight so my eye doctor told me just to wear my glasses when on the computer, watching tv, of course driving and whenever you reading or need to see something far away. As you can tell i'm nearsighted which is worse than being farsighted in my opinion. I still have about a year to two years before I start any kind of planning for the operation and i've talked to people that have gotten PRK and they love it but I haven't asked about their night vision so thanks for bringing that up. I'm going to look around and talk to doctor and other cilents and see what they say.

 

[Brett327]

Thanks for the info and the warning. I have seen people post that some pilots can use glasses if their eyes aren't to bad. Now both of my eyes are -3.00 but I don't know what that means in 20/ rating. I have pretty good night vision without my glasses but I still require them when I drive at night. I tried contacts when I was 15 so two years ago and I couldn't handle them. I got one caught in the corner of my eye and I had a hard time getting them out when they went in straight so my eye doctor told me just to wear my glasses when on the computer, watching tv, of course driving and whenever you reading or need to see something far away. As you can tell i'm nearsighted which is worse than being farsighted in my opinion. I still have about a year to two years before I start any kind of planning for the operation and i've talked to people that have gotten PRK and they love it but I haven't asked about their night vision so thanks for bringing that up. I'm going to look around and talk to doctor and other cilents and see what they say.

I know that night vision is an issue with some, but I don't think the Navy would be such a proponent of PRK if it crushed everyone's night vision as some posters have suggested. The Navy has been doing PRK for almost 10 years now, so if there were big issues like that, there would have been a policy change. The reality is that they've expanded the program to allow applicants to have had the surgery performed by non-Navy docs. Even if you have to wear cheaters at night behind the boat, it's better than being blind and not flying.

Brett

 

[akdorsey]

Cheaters, you mean glasses? I haven't thought about the Navy allowing you to wear glasses at night if your night vision is off from PRK but who would I ask to get a correct answer?

 

[Brett327]

Cheaters, you mean glasses? I haven't thought about the Navy allowing you to wear glasses at night if your night vision is off from PRK but who would I ask to get a correct answer?

You can wear glasses when flying. Obviously, depending on whether you're a new applicant or designated, the uncorrected vision reqs aren't 20/20, so you use the appropriate means of correction (glasses or contacts).

Brett

 

[Mustang83]

I just got commissioned in the Marine Corps and have an NFO slot. I opted to get PRK after commissioning because it's eaiser to waive (less paper work is always a good thing). To my knowledge, you can wear glasses to correct for things like night vision, but they thing you need to get waived for it a stable diopter (the eye doc will check this after your surgery for several months) If it does not stabalize, you a SOL for a SNA or SNFO slot. If you can get in touch with your local OSO (Navy or Marines) they should be able to get you the paper work, then show it to your potential surgeon (I had mine done through TLC as well), and they should be able to help answere all your questions for free.

 

[Whalebite]

Older lasers have the night vision problem due to ablation diameter. You will have your eyes measured beforehand (if its a dr and not a butcher) and check your pupil diameter against the laser ablation diameter capability. If the laser can handle your pupil size this shouldn’t be a problem. (discuss with more than 1 dr, as a dr will be biased by the laser he owns) In my research do not use NIDEK go for VISX S3/4

 

[C.Redmann]

and don't be affraid to ask for straight answers