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Old 6th Nov 2005, 04:43
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Loose rivets
Psychophysiological entity
 
Join Date: Jun 2001
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I was so sorry to hear of this incident. The almost unbelievable callousness of some people beggars belief.

I see you mentioned a temporary lens. This implies that there may be a possible second stage, or long term plan that they have in mind. But if not, it would be my unqualified advice to assess the time-scales involved carefully. Get a precise guide on the time you have available to make such an important decision on the type of surgery that would be best in your case.

My guess is that if the correction was +10, the J/CAA would assess you as a one eyed pilot anyway; it's the equivalent of a ‘bottle' lens in specs. This may take away the pressure to have an operation just to get back to work. ( There are a few one eyed pilots about.)

To go the rest of your life with no lens would be tedious in the extreme, and the early removal might–I don't know of course–might just allow the encapsulation to collapse and heal in such a way that a/ it affected your vision somewhat. b/ it precluded the fitting of another lens in the future when techniques have evolved yet further.

There has to be a reason that the surgeons do not want to put a silicon or acrylic lens in the place of the damaged one. They may feel that it would affect the rear surface while it is vulnerable, or feel that there is not sufficient strength to hold the new lens in place. But, if retaining the damaged lens was possible--without the similar dangers mentioned re the removal, I would be inclined to search all possible avenues before committing myself.

So the main thing is to buy time to make decisions, and hopefully fly in the meantime if the powers that be feel you have enough experience to carry on with one eye. If this is the case, you will have rather better vision that a truly one eyed person and your brain will eventually learn to cope with it. It is really just a matter of getting over this very difficult period.
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