Eye laser surgery for cabin crew

[sukigirl]

My friend is booked in to have laser surgery to have her eyesight corrected next week. She has spoken to oc health at her airline who have said that they dont reccomend crew to have it done, but its down to what the surgeon/consultant says.
consultant doesnt seem to think its a problem and I know of many crew who have had it done.
Does anyone else out there know anything about this, or have had this done while they were crew?

[lowerlobe]

Don't think about it although I know some who have had a good result a mate of mine now has trouble driving at night.He is having trouble with the on coming lights from other cars.

Basically they are burning your eyes with a laser and if they stuff up they cannot undo the damage.You have only two eyes and you need both .

[flyblue]

Two of my CC friends have done it, with excellent results and no side effects. One of them, who works in France where there is a CC medical to be passed every 2 years to validate the CC licence, had to request a medical derogation to go back to flying. Basically he had to undergo a medical check to prove he still met the requirements, which he did meet.
The other one, who works in another country, had to stop flying for a few months in order to recover completely and then, after a company medical check, went back to flying.

[RedTBar]

Considering the permancy of the procedure what is the matter with glasses?

I don't use glasses but they are quite trendy and I know of some crew who don't even need them but wear them with a plain lens for the effect.I don't know how much the laser op is where you live but I would think twice before any op which is elective.

As flyblue has said there are a number of people who had had successful results but if you have my luck it only takes one mistake with any operation.

[h73kr]

Not CC, but I had both eyes done around ten years ago (and it has improved procedurally since then) and I have found it excellent, used to be blind as a bat (-6 which is veeeery short sighted), now spot on!

[Sailorgal]

I had mine done about 2 months ago and dont regret it for a second, it's changed things for the better in so many ways. The problem is that people who don't have to wear glasses 24/7 don't really understand how frustrating it can be. You have to be aware that there are risks associated with the surgery, however the chances of having irreversable damage are less than 1 percent. If you're willing to pay for the procedure (it's NOT cheap) and you're willing to accept that it does carry a risk, then go for it. If you can't make up your mind, have another consultation - at least you can claim the consult on medicare, the rest is mostly out of pocket until tax time.

[Desert_Rose]

I had a laser operation on my eyes nearly 4 months ago and the reason was that i got accepted for a CC position and as I was wearing glasses 24/7 and couldnt do without them at all ( and didn't want to bother with contact lenses) this was the solution for me. The result is excellent, no side effects, no pain, no trouble night vision...and it cost me only 600 $ as they had a special summer offer at that time.
Defenately the best decision of my life :ok:

[sukigirl]

Thanks Desert and sailor,
Were either of you crew at the time? if so how long was it untill you returned to work? My friends consultant says that most people return to work next day but because of her occupatiion she has advised her to take a week of. So was surprised Fly blue when you said that your friend had to be of for a few months, was it because there were complications or was it the airlines requirements?

[flyblue]

It was not airline but just a requirement (to be on the safe side) made by the Medical Department of my friends' countries CAA that delivers pilots and CC the "fit to fly" certificate (both pilots and CC need it in some countries). In the first case I mentioned there only was the need of a medical check in order to obtain a derogation; while in the second she was requested to not to fly for a number of months (my friend then was temporarily assigned to the Crewing Dept) before going back to flying. At the time I asked one of my friends, who worked as an ophtalmologist for an airline, why there was the need to spend a few months on the ground. She replied that there was no real concern, but since it was quite a new procedure (talking about 10 years ago) that had not been tested on the long run, the authorities delivering the "fit to fly" certificate preferred to be on the safe side, and allow it a few months to heal just in case.

[Sailorgal]

Sukigirl,

I am ground staff and i had the surgery thursday afternoon and was back at work for a 4.30am shift on the saturday. I doubt that there would be any requirement for staff - cabin or ground - to be away from normal duties for anything longer than a week or so by now, unless there were some kind of complications. There have been a lot of improvements & advances in this area in the last decade, so i think taking a month off flying duties may have been valid 10 years ago but surely not anymore.

[moo moo]

Hi Sukigirl, I had my eyes done 3 years ago. And back flying after 2 days. My eyes felt a little dry (just like when you have had your lenses in too long), but that soon passes, and I now have perfect vision. By the way I was
-4.25 R –4.00 L.
Hope this helps :ok:

[dikkes]

I also had mine done about 7 years ago. I had no problem with medicals since then, have only now reverted to glasses, for reading. You tend to have "drier" eyes and a drops do help. Go for it!

[sukigirl]

Thanks everyone for all your positive comments, I thought that oc health were being a bit akward about the whole thing.

[Di_Vosh]

Sounds more like the "oc health" didn't really know, so just recommended "not" to be on the safe side; rather than do some work and get a definitive answer for your friend.

Plenty of pilots and CC get their eyes lasered. I got my eyes done in 1997 and have never regretted it.

It's hard to describe to someone who's never relied on glasses for normal vision what it is like to wake up, open your eyes, and SEE, without having to fumble for glasses, contacts, etc!

The recovery times for people generally vary depending on the laser procedure. LASIK has a very short recovery time (around 24 hours), where other procedures may have a recovery time of a week or two.

There is plenty of info on the net about laser eye surgery.

Cheers

DIVOSH!

[exmax]

I'm considering laser eye surgery too, I've been thinking about it for as long as I can remember, there's a special where both eyes can be done for about $2500.

I've been wearing glasses since I was 5 and my prescription is -6.00 also, so I'm about ready now to experience the feeling of being able to see when I wake up. Anyway, thanks for the posts, it's helping me choose a great deal. I always flew either with contacts or glasses depending on my mood. Whilst I'm not flying at the moment, I do hope to return to it very soon and I was a bit unsure as to what the rules where here (Aus).

Thanks!:ok:

[sweety]

What about if you have a stigmatism (I hope that's the right spelling?) in your eyes - can you still have laser surgery? I'm considering it done also. :confused:

[sukigirl]

Sweety you can still have the treatment if you have astigmatism, there are varying treatments you can have regarding on the severirty of astigmatism and short sight. have a browse on the interenet, their is loads of info about. My friend had it done on wednesday and although it was 2 days of pain and major discomfort she is starting to see the major benefit of having it done.

[Sailorgal]

WOW exmax if you can get access to the surgery with BOTH eyes for $2500AUD then go for it!!! Mine cost $6500 and none of it is redeemable on health benefits - i should be able to get about 20% back on tax but that's it. Like i said, it isn't cheap.

[RED WINGS]

Hi

Im not sure of the regulations with cabin crew medicals, however I know for pilots a 6 month healing period is required with a full eye test before a return of medical is issued. Try calling the CAA medical dept sorry havent got the med centre number but caa main line is 01293573700, bear in mind this is uk caa but im sure they will be able to advise you of any regulations.
I suspect the cabin crew requirements if any would be less restrictive, but take advice from as many people as you can before you do it.
I decided not to as I felt for me the risk was to great, but that was more to do with my personal medical condition rather than anything else. So take in the options and good luck with what you decide

[ferd]

Not sure how true this is, or even where I heard it……………..there was concern, when this was a relatively new procedure, that in the event of a decompression the vitreous humour could leak (or explode) out of the cornea. Something to do with peeling back, and therefore structurally weakening the cornea. I’m assuming this has been either resolved or disproved as I know plenty of crew who swear by this operation.

[bboo]

I've decided to post my note concerning refractive surgery here as well, concerning Emirates CC wearing contact lenses:

Emirates does allow Cabin Crews to wear contact lenses to perform their duties, they can even allow you to wear your spectacles in case of strong intolerance to contact lenses into dry environment.
Now concerning the eye surgery itself, i said and say again that it takes many months to fully recover and then be sure about the diagnosis, even if a LASIK procedure will let you recover full vision within 24 hours. I know that MANY private clinics sell this surgery like your baker would try to sell bio bread, but according to the top olphtalmologists i've met on this subject ( Germany, France, UAE ), the answer was always the same: " have you ever seen one of us without glasses ? "... " Why would you want to deform a sane tissue ( cornea ) that doesn't really need it ? ". That was in case of light myopia ( up to minus 3 diopt. )
CAA medical centers ( concerning class 1 accredition for ATPLicensed people ) would consider a probation of at least 6 months before giving a final GO, at least in serious countries... And from my experience i've learnt that it's always safer to check upper medical advice before jumping into action!
I'm just trying to insist on the fact that very long term effects are not well known, even if med/long term effects give a pretty good rate of success.
So, if you correctly support contact lenses in dry environment, and unless wearing lenses or glasses has such a psychological impact on your life, why would you give it a try?
I don't think that considerating an eye surgery to go beyond medical requirements for the job is necessary, that's my point of view...
Now if you really want to go for refractive surgery, ask about INTRALAZER. It's a 100% lazer technic based on LAZIK improvements that gives better results and faster recovery... :E

[discodiva]

Hi

Ok, Im not CC, but work in Ground Handling. I had LASIK abot 8 1/2 years ago and it dramatically changed my life. I was -14.75 and -14.50. Horrendously Blind!!!

I was the most short sighted person the clinic had ever done!

Personally i am looking into having it done again as it has now slipped a little. The only disadvantage I have to say I have is that I can no longer do the top diving board as I can now see the distance to the water, where as I could do it quite easily when I was 7!!

Would reccomend to anyone!

:ok: