Lasek Eye Surgery
 

Has anyone out there had laser eye surgery done, how have you managed with your Class 1 medical and keepeing the CAA happy.
I'm considering having it done to correct my short sighteness any thoughts would be appriciated

Good results for the most BUT there has been isolated cases of where some folks after surgery couldn't see at night. Unless your glasses aren't good enough or you got another set of eyes :E I would not consider lasik myself even if 99% of its outcome are positive results. Now...you don't want to fall into that 1% for negative results, would you?:E

Wouldn't touch LASIK, LASEK, PRK (or any specific type of eye surgery) without consulting with a senior AME well versed in the specific aviation regulations pertinent to one's particular licensing authority prior to having it done to get the best available information on what is considered current and with the lowest risk. Even then, I'd consider good and hard before I had it done.

Life in the civ world is different than it was in the military world, but one must be careful to not DISqualify oneself from flying with the best of intentions. There are many types of eye surgery out there... radial keratotomy (ancient and obsolete), photorefractive keratectomy, LASIK, LASEK and other forms of corneal ablation, and who knows what else. Some have had good results for pilots, and some most assuredly have not. Be sure to do lots and lots of homework before letting anyone play around with your eyes. Also, there are enough (just a few, but in this case, just a few is too many) people on this board who are more concerned with giving what they think is a clever rather than a sensible response that I would give information from any anonymous source (to include myself) a real wide berth and consult an honest-to-goodness medical professional face-to-face. Here's a brief primer on what's out there. What is suitable for your situation will need to be determined by you in consultation with a good doctor.
http://www.allaboutvision.com/visionsurgery/other.htm
This is one case where it is far better to ask permission than to beg forgiveness.

I know of a guy who had it done before he started flying and never told the CAA. They never figured it out!! He is flying now on a Class One Medical. SHHHHH!!

Lasik Eye Surgery - Australia
 

As an ATPL(H) pilot in Australia, I had LASIK eye surgery done in November 2005. My eyesight at the time was approx -1.5 diopters in both eyes (short sighted) and relyed on glasses most of the time.

I initially consulted by DAME (Designated Aviation Medical Examiner) then in turn I wrote a letter to the CASA medical branch in Canberra.

What resulted was that I completed LASIK on both eyes at the same time, (the surgeon over corrected for about -2.0 Diopters as when you get over 40 yrs old you become long sighted, so he did that in attempt to avoid long sightedness in later years.)

I removed the eye patches the next morning about 14 hours after surgery, and I could instantly see 20/20 or 6/6 vision. Actually I had slightly better 6/4.5 - 5 vision. I would have been confident to drive a car within 24 hours.

The surgery DID NOT affect my pilot medical as I did not have a medical condition that lasted longer than 7 days, I had the surgeon provide a letter regarding my eye sight to satisfy that I met the aviation medical standards of 6/6 vision without glasses.

I attended post surgery examinations 1 day, 1 week, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months and 12 months after the surgery, my eyesight was still 6/5 a year later and still is.

After the 3 month period, my eye surgeon wrote a letter to the CASA medical branch explaining what procedure had been completed, the size of the applation zone, correction completed and my eye test results. CASA then reissued my pilot medical with NO conditions.

I cannot speak highly enough of the procedure. Before surgery I couldn't read the bed side clock and at night (even with glasses) I had hallow & star effects around lights. Now I can see great, my night time vision is fantastic with NO star or hallow effects and I have big pupils in dark conditions, so the surgeon had to correct that.

I did have some grittiness (like sand) feeling in my left eye for the first 3 months, then after that it went away.

The only problem is that you have to spend more money on new sunglasses!

The biggest piece of advise I can give is, choose your eye surgeon carefully. I located the best eye surgeon I could find and after all the research I did prior to undertaking this somewhat scarry (could loose your medical) surgery, choosing an experienced surgeon is the key to reducing the risks and obtaining the best results.

Best of luck with the decision.

Nigel :)

Lasek Eye Surgery
 

What is making me think twice about having this done is that the Surgeon says I will deffinately have to have reading glass's to read where I don't have to now, I fly now with very narrow glass's where i'm able to peer down and read charts etc, Ive been using my contact lenses all week and a seperate pair of reading glass's I don't know what is the better option its a difficult choice.

LASIK
 

There's a book by (eye surgeon) Andrew Caster describing the LASIK procedure.

It describes the previous tecnologies too, PRK etc

I would recommend reading it before committing to anything. These are your eyes for gods sake!

I havent had the procedure although I have actively followed the techniques over the last 15 years and maybe one day I will. The specialist eye doctor who performed a recent eye medical for my class 1 recently recommended waiting for the next technology as its going to be far superior to LASIK. I am not sure but I think it might involve a smaller cut in the cornea and insertion of a tiny lens inside the cornea.

With regard to LASIK and from a laymans perspective I dont like the fact that doctors tell me the flap cut in the cornea which is peeled back before the ablation process cannot strictly grow back because there is no blood supply to the cornea.

Andrew Casters books reveals a situation where he (or maybe it was another eye surgeon) who hadnt done quite a strong enough LASIK job gave the patient another blast after carefully peeling back the flap after 2 or 3 months from the initial blast.

Sh1t I say!!!! I dont want a loose flap laying on my eye ready to be rubbed off by me lazily rubbing my eyes one day. No siree bob!

If a technique arrived that could solve that issue [in my eyes ! ] I would be first in the queue for the procedure. But even then I would have one done at a time to reduce risks. I can wear one contact lens at a time and I can guarantee the brain adjusts.

OOW
(about -1.75 dia shortsighted)

Eyesight deteriorates with age and deterioration takes many forms, some naturally determined by genetics and some by other influences. These afflictions can be corrected using various medical techniques ensuring you have some eyesight to see you to the grave, hopefully. Laser correction is a one way ticket which changes the basic template for good. I am not sure how or if eyesight correction in the future can be applied 'on top' of this procedure. Perhaps there is someone out there who can answer that question in detail.

For me, the good old specs. :)