Lasik / flying?

gatt wrote:
Anybody had lasik surgery?

My vision is stable, correctable to 20/20, but things like pollen or the
neighbor mowing his yard can bother my contact lenses. Glasses suck and
contacts aren't good for your eyes over time, so my wife is encouraging
lasik. The #1 facility in the region is half a block away from my workplace
and they have a deal with our company which is why I know so many people
who've had it, but I'm still undecided.

Everybody I've known personally who has had it done raves about it, no bad
experiences at all...but none of them fly.

Thoughts?
-c

I had PRK (the pre-cursor to LASIK) 10 years ago, and I still have
20/15 vision and almost no astygmatism. It was well worth the money.
I have been flying since 1991.

Dean

wrote:
?
-c

I had PRK (the pre-cursor to LASIK) 10 years ago, and I still have
20/15 vision and almost no astygmatism. It was well worth the money.
I have been flying since 1991.

I also had PRK. The recovery time is longer, but the complication rate
is virtually zero. The complication rate on LASIK is low, but PRK is
lower.

Very happy I had it.

I had Lasik last September.

It took ten minutes.

There was no recovery time after the anesthetic wore off in about two hours.
There was no pain ever and there were no complications. I LOVE seeing 20/20.
I do have to wear close up readers, but I had to do that anyway.

Karl
"curator"



"Richard Riley" wrote in message
oups.com...

wrote:
?
-c

I had PRK (the pre-cursor to LASIK) 10 years ago, and I still have
20/15 vision and almost no astygmatism. It was well worth the money.
I have been flying since 1991.

I also had PRK. The recovery time is longer, but the complication rate
is virtually zero. The complication rate on LASIK is low, but PRK is
lower.

Very happy I had it.

"Richard Riley" wrote in message
oups.com...

wrote:
?
-c

I had PRK (the pre-cursor to LASIK) 10 years ago, and I still have
20/15 vision and almost no astygmatism. It was well worth the money.
I have been flying since 1991.

I also had PRK. The recovery time is longer, but the complication rate
is virtually zero. The complication rate on LASIK is low, but PRK is
lower.


Do you have a cite for that?

Matt Barrow wrote:


Do you have a cite for that?

Was told to me by Dr. James Freeman, an opthamologist and pilot
(Cirrus, RV-8 and Air-Cam) from Memphis. He was one of the first to do
LASIK and does a lot of them, but my correction was fairly small so he
recommended PRK. He posts to the rec.av groups on occasion.

Basically, with PRK you're waiting for the epithilium to re-grow, and
that takes a while. With LASIK you aren't waiting for it, but there's
a possibility of the flap getting a wrinkle when it's replaced, being
mis-positioned, that kind of thing.

"Richard Riley" wrote in message
oups.com...

Matt Barrow wrote:


Do you have a cite for that?

Was told to me by Dr. James Freeman, an opthamologist and pilot
(Cirrus, RV-8 and Air-Cam) from Memphis. He was one of the first to do
LASIK and does a lot of them, but my correction was fairly small so he
recommended PRK. He posts to the rec.av groups on occasion.

Okay.


Basically, with PRK you're waiting for the epithilium to re-grow, and
that takes a while. With LASIK you aren't waiting for it, but there's
a possibility of the flap getting a wrinkle when it's replaced, being
mis-positioned, that kind of thing.

IIRC, the slip-ups with PRK could be even more devastating.

Matt Barrow wrote:


Do you have a cite for that?

Was told to me by Dr. James Freeman, an opthamologist and pilot
(Cirrus, RV-8 and Air-Cam) from Memphis. He was one of the first to do
LASIK and does a lot of them, but my correction was fairly small so he
recommended PRK. He posts to the rec.av groups on occasion.

Basically, with PRK you're waiting for the epithilium to re-grow, and
that takes a while. With LASIK you aren't waiting for it, but there's
a possibility of the flap getting a wrinkle when it's replaced, being
mis-positioned, that kind of thing.

wrote on 06/02/06 13:13:

gatt wrote:
Anybody had lasik surgery?

My vision is stable, correctable to 20/20, but things like pollen or the
neighbor mowing his yard can bother my contact lenses. Glasses suck and
contacts aren't good for your eyes over time, so my wife is encouraging
lasik. The #1 facility in the region is half a block away from my workplace
and they have a deal with our company which is why I know so many people
who've had it, but I'm still undecided.

Everybody I've known personally who has had it done raves about it, no bad
experiences at all...but none of them fly.

Thoughts?
-c

I had PRK (the pre-cursor to LASIK) 10 years ago, and I still have
20/15 vision and almost no astygmatism. It was well worth the money.
I have been flying since 1991.


Similar here. I had PRK 15 years ago, still have 20/20, the docs can't see any
evidence of the surgery in my eyes. Flying since 1995, without problems. The FAA
of course knows about the surgery, no problem from their side. They gave me a
letter to inform them of changes.

-Joe