About LASIK...

Hi,

I am wondering if I can get my wife LASIK in the Army, I assume there
would be awaiting list, but I have a few questions about it, what are
the minimum and maximum refraction error limits to be a candidate for
LASIK? Age requirements?

Thank You.

--
PV2 Yasar, M
U.S. ARMY
AH-64D "Armt Dawg"
A Co/602d ASB/2ID/EUSA - South Korea

No hard and fast rules, but I'd say the refraction should be between
-3.00 and -8.00. And the age should be between 19 and 35. Astigmatism
can be between -0.25 and -5.00.

w.stacy, o.d.

John Yasar wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I am wondering if I can get my wife LASIK in the Army, I assume there
> would be awaiting list, but I have a few questions about it, what are
> the minimum and maximum refraction error limits to be a candidate for
> LASIK? Age requirements?
>
> Thank You.
>

William Stacy wrote:

> No hard and fast rules, but I'd say the refraction should be between
> -3.00 and -8.00. And the age should be between 19 and 35. Astigmatism
> can be between -0.25 and -5.00.
>
> w.stacy, o.d.

Interesting, when I did a websearch about the Army's program, it also
showed info about applicants hoping to get a medical waiver to go into
flight program, after LASIK done with the Army of course, since the
limits for nearsightedness is -1.50 in the Army and LASIK starts about
-3.00 if what you say apply to the Army also, the applicants in this
refraction error bracket are pretty much out of luck, won't you say?


--
PV2 Yasar, M
U.S. ARMY
AH-64D "Armt Dawg"
A Co/602d ASB/2ID/EUSA - South Korea

OK I was pretty much talking about the general public. If you need to
correct around -1.50, you would easily find lasik surgeons who would do
it. I don't recommend it, but if you have to correct a small refractive
error, go for it. Or consider other alternatives, like ortho k, otis,
and the rest...

w.stacy, o.d.

John Yasar wrote:

> William Stacy wrote:
>
>> No hard and fast rules, but I'd say the refraction should be between
>> -3.00 and -8.00. And the age should be between 19 and 35. Astigmatism
>> can be between -0.25 and -5.00.
>>
>> w.stacy, o.d.
>
>
> Interesting, when I did a websearch about the Army's program, it also
> showed info about applicants hoping to get a medical waiver to go into
> flight program, after LASIK done with the Army of course, since the
> limits for nearsightedness is -1.50 in the Army and LASIK starts about
> -3.00 if what you say apply to the Army also, the applicants in this
> refraction error bracket are pretty much out of luck, won't you say?
>
>

William Stacy wrote:

> OK I was pretty much talking about the general public. If you need to
> correct around -1.50, you would easily find lasik surgeons who would
> do it. I don't recommend it, but if you have to correct a small
> refractive error, go for it. Or consider other alternatives, like
> ortho k, otis, and the rest...
>
> w.stacy, o.d.

I understand, it is not for me though, my refraction error is probably
too small for LASIK at -0.50...

--
PV2 Yasar, M
U.S. ARMY
AH-64D "Armt Dawg"
A Co/602d ASB/2ID/EUSA - South Korea

LASIK is okay for some branches of the military, but not all. As an
example, fighter pilots can have PRK, but not LASIK. There are
restrictions on Rangers last time I heard.

Before having LASIK, consider the career path and verify with the CO
(in writing) that surgery is okay and will not limit future
opportunities.

The military has contracted with some very well respected surgeons to
provide refractive surgery, but I highly recommend using our 50 Tough
Questions For Your Doctor to evaluate any surgeon.

Glenn Hagele
Executive Director
USAEyes.org

"Consider and Choose With Confidence"

Email to glenn dot hagele at usaeyes dot org

http://www.USAEyes.org
http://www.ComplicatedEyes.org

I am not a doctor.

Glenn - USAEyes.org wrote:

> LASIK is okay for some branches of the military, but not all. As an
> example, fighter pilots can have PRK, but not LASIK. There are
> restrictions on Rangers last time I heard.
>
>
Army would pay for my wife's laser surgery but I figure there is a long
waiting list. For soldiers, we can LASIK because we are not exposed to
high G / high performance flying conditions, that is why helicopter
pilots can get LASIK.


--
PV2 Yasar, M
U.S. ARMY
AH-64D "Armt Dawg"
A Co/602d ASB/2ID/EUSA - South Korea

LASIK is probably a good option for infantry, where eyeglasses and
contact lenses might be difficult to wear and maintain, and where night
vision isn't critical. In the U.S., lasers have a specific indicated
range of from about -1.00 up to -10.00 and up to -5.00 astigmatism,
depending on the thickness of the cornea. Of course, the risk of
side-effects goes up dramatically in the higher prescriptions.
Wavefront is only approved for up to -7 sphere and -0.50 astigmatism,
which can be viewed as a fairly conservative range for a good result.
Retreatments are limited to -0.50 diopters or more. Also, LASIK is not
a cure for anything, but a treatment, just like eyeglasses and contact
lenses, which means that it is only as good for as long as your eyes
are stable.

If somebody with a refractive error of -0.50 comes to me and asks for
contact lenses, I will try to talk them out of it, because I know that
prescription is too low. The same goes for LASIK. It's just not
precise enough, and the signal-to-noise ratio may be too low for errors
that small. You can find out the U.S. approved ranges on the FDA
website. Just Google for FDA and LASIK and you will find a table of
approved lasers, with PDF files on all of them.

DrG

Dear DrG,

Since you mentioned about night vision and vision being stable here is a
few questions, my mother-in-law had LASIK years back and today she wears
glasses for night vision, why is this? And some of the websites on LASIK
mentions that patients has to have stable myopia, not progressing, how
do they determine that a person is not progressing?

>
>If somebody with a refractive error of -0.50 comes to me and asks for
>contact lenses, I will try to talk them out of it, because I know that
>prescription is too low.
>
That is me, last detailed exam 2 years ago revealed I was -.25 left and
-.50 right. Now how is this range can be preserved, how can I be sure it
won't progress?

>The same goes for LASIK. It's just not
>precise enough, and the signal-to-noise ratio may be too low for errors
>that small. You can find out the U.S. approved ranges on the FDA
>website. Just Google for FDA and LASIK and you will find a table of
>approved lasers, with PDF files on all of them.
>
>
Thanks for the info...

--
PV2 Yasar, M
U.S. ARMY
AH-64D "Armt Dawg"
A Co/602d ASB/2ID/EUSA - South Korea

John Yasar wrote:
> Dear DrG,
>
> Since you mentioned about night vision and vision being stable here
is a
> few questions, my mother-in-law had LASIK years back and today she
wears
> glasses for night vision, why is this? And some of the websites on
LASIK
> mentions that patients has to have stable myopia, not progressing,
how
> do they determine that a person is not progressing?

The reason she wears glasses for night vision is because she was left
with some amount of residual, or induced refractive error, which tends
to make the vision worse at night than during the day. Night vision
problems resulting from LASIK can be of another kind, which is called
spherical aberration, which is caused by the optical zone being smaller
than the pupil. This type of problem is worse for patients with larger
prescriptions and larger pupils. Eyeglasses will not correct it.

Stability of myopia is a requirement imposed by the U.S. F.D.A., and is
basically no more than 0.50 diopters of change in the last 12 months in
lower prescriptions, and 0.75 diopters for higher prescriptions.
>
> >
> >If somebody with a refractive error of -0.50 comes to me and asks
for
> >contact lenses, I will try to talk them out of it, because I know
that
> >prescription is too low.
> >
> That is me, last detailed exam 2 years ago revealed I was -.25 left
and
> -.50 right. Now how is this range can be preserved, how can I be sure
it
> won't progress?

Staying off the computer would be one way.

DrG