Lasik procedures

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SmashTime

Pre-takeoff checklist
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SmashTime
I wear contacts and am considering getting lasiks or corrective surgery.


What do I need to do in order to continue flying?
 
I've had LASIK and didn't have to do anything but let my eyes heal. Your doctor should be able to tell you when it's safe to resume normal activity and you will be able to tell when you are ready specifically for night ops. Make sure you are not experiencing any halo issues in low light/dark when subjected to light. I would be prepared to need readers after the LASIK if you don't already have and use them unless you are also doing some newer add on procedure to address that or doing just one eye. I purchased a cheap pair of bifocals from readers.com and haven't looked back. Best thing I've done for my long distance vision ever.
 
See the FAA guidance on this here. Basically, you'll be grounded for a while things stabilize, then you'll have to get your eyes evaluated with the evaluation documented on an FAA Form 8500-7, and then they'll clear you to fly again.
 
SmashTime said:
I wear contacts and am considering getting lasiks or corrective surgery.





What do I need to do in order to continue flying?
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If your medical certificate says that corrected vision is necessary, I wonder if you'll need a new medical to get that removed.

You might ask your MD about flying unpressurized at high altitudes.

As mentioned, don't plan to fly at night until starbursts, halos, snd multiple images have faded -- you will notice these when driving at night and looking at stoplights etc. Eventually they fade away.

Otherwise, enjoy! I had Lasik about 9 years ago, and I'm still better than 20-20. It can be a terrific improvement in your life.
 
NoHeat said:
If your medical certificate says that corrected vision is necessary, I wonder if you'll need a new medical to get that removed.
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You'll get a new medical after you report the surgery and provide the 8500-7 showing you meet FAA eyesight standards without corrective lenses.
 
Ron Levy said:
See the FAA guidance on this here. Basically, you'll be grounded for a while things stabilize, then you'll have to get your eyes evaluated with the evaluation documented on an FAA Form 8500-7, and then they'll clear you to fly again.
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IIRC the 8500-7 evaluation can be performed by your eye doc and this doesn't require a visit to an AME, right?
 
Best thing I ever did. Went from 20/700 (or worse) to 20/20 in my right eye and 20/40 in my left.

I still wear glasses (mostly for the readers) but can easily function without them...no way I would have before.

My eye doc forgot to send the 8500-7 in to OKC even though he said he did...but we won't go into that part of it here. Suffice it to say that that wound up being a cluster f***.
 
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Ron Levy said:
See the FAA guidance on this here. Basically, you'll be grounded for a while things stabilize, then you'll have to get your eyes evaluated with the evaluation documented on an FAA Form 8500-7, and then they'll clear you to fly again.
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I would respectfully submit to be very careful about what you have done to your eyes. I have the eyes of an eagle, expect for reading. There was an experimental procedure to do away with reading glasses, so I signed up. I did some interviews and found out if I had the procedure done I would have been grounded forever.

I will never volunteer to do any medical testing or experiential procedures until I lose my medical.
 
Geico, are you referring to monovision, wherein one eye is focused for distance while the other is focused for reading?.
 
Geico266 said:
I would respectfully submit to be very careful about what you have done to your eyes. I have the eyes of an eagle, expect for reading. There was an experimental procedure to do away with reading glasses, so I signed up. I did some interviews and found out if I had the procedure done I would have been grounded forever.

I will never volunteer to do any medical testing or experiential procedures until I lose my medical.
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NoHeat said:
Geico, are you referring to monovision, wherein one eye is focused for distance while the other is focused for reading?.
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Yeah you would have to be very careful of that. Correcting one eye for close up vision seems senseless and stupid to me. I had mine done about fifteen years ago. Best thing I ever did. I went from 20/.400 to 20/15 and they are both still about that good.
 
Well I'm 20/200 uncorrected iirc. I'm very excited about not needing contacts.

How long does it generally take to heal?
 
NoHeat said:
If your medical certificate says that corrected vision is necessary, I wonder if you'll need a new medical to get that removed.

You might ask your MD about flying unpressurized at high altitudes.

As mentioned, don't plan to fly at night until starbursts, halos, snd multiple images have faded -- you will notice these when driving at night and looking at stoplights etc. Eventually they fade away.

Otherwise, enjoy! I had Lasik about 9 years ago, and I'm still better than 20-20. It can be a terrific improvement in your life.
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If you already have halos, starbursts, multiple images, does lasik correct that? (eventually?)
 
Sac Arrow said:
Yeah you would have to be very careful of that. Correcting one eye for close up vision seems senseless and stupid to me. I had mine done about fifteen years ago. Best thing I ever did. I went from 20/.400 to 20/15 and they are both still about that good.
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The FAA will approve monovision lasered eyes, but not monovision contacts. If you want to know why, ask Bruce Chien.

And I agree with Geico -- with any measurable chance of failure (and there is that with LASIK et alia), I would not have anything done to my eyes that didn't have to be done. I suppose that if I could go back 40 years and get my eyes 20/20'd so I could get military pilot training instead of being an NFO/WSO, I would -- that gain would be worth the risk. But at this point, just to get rid of corrective lenses? Not a chance in the world without certainty that I'd be no worse off after the procedure. And at my current age of 63, it still wouldn't eliminate the need for reading glasses.
 
Ron Levy said:
And I agree with Geico -- with any measurable chance of failure (and there is that with LASIK et alia), I would not have anything done to my eyes that didn't have to be done. <snip> But at this point, just to get rid of corrective lenses? Not a chance in the world without certainty that I'd be no worse off after the procedure. And at my current age of 63, it still wouldn't eliminate the need for reading glasses.
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If you were 20/700+, legally blind without corrective lenses, and completely unable to function without them you might feel differently.

Like with most everything else in life, there is no cut and dry answer..."it just depends."
 
Had it done 4 or 5 years ago. Overall I am pleased but tell people I don't recommend it as it is a very personal decision and it can turn out bad. If you are an absolute perfectionist don't do it because the outcome may not be perfect. This last year or so (closing in on 50) my near vision has rapidly gone down hill and I have readers laying everywhere.

For me I had a medium power prescription but had an astigmatism. I HATE wearing glasses and wore contacts all the time. I wore toric lenses to correct for the astigmatism but by 3 or 4 in the afternoon I was pouring drops in my eyes. So I decided to bite the bullet and have it done.

For me it has been OK. I wouldn't like some say life changing but if I can get 10 or hopefully many more years out of it then I will consider it a success. I do still see 20/20 or better on occasion.
 
AuntPeggy said:
If you already have halos, starbursts, multiple images, does lasik correct that? (eventually?)
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I don't think so. I can't imagine how Lasik could improve any condition other than mis-focusing of the eye.

Lasik is this: lifting a flap on the cornea, slightly reshaping the exposed cornea surface below that, and then putting the flap back down. This has the unwanted temporary effect of halos, multiple images, starbursts, etc. because of light bending at the rough unhealed edges of the flap -- that's until it heals and then these artifacts gradually go away.
 
NoHeat said:
I don't think so. I can't imagine how Lasik could improve any condition other than mis-focusing of the eye.
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Some of those are misfocusing of the eye (typically astigmatism). Alas, the Lasik tends to induce such artifacts especially at night when the pupils are open past the surgical area.
 
Ron Levy said:
Right. But someone has to send it to the right office in OKC.
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Had Lasik, waited for Dr. clearance and subsequent eye exam, went flying then reported at next medical with appropriate documentation. The time lapse between going back to flying and Lasik was over a year. Whether or not the AME submitted the paperwork to OKC is unknown nor do I concern myself with that. It did result in removal of the corrective eye wear restriction, however.
 
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Ron Levy said:
The FAA will approve monovision lasered eyes, but not monovision contacts. If you want to know why, ask Bruce Chien.

And I agree with Geico -- with any measurable chance of failure (and there is that with LASIK et alia), I would not have anything done to my eyes that didn't have to be done. I suppose that if I could go back 40 years and get my eyes 20/20'd so I could get military pilot training instead of being an NFO/WSO, I would -- that gain would be worth the risk. But at this point, just to get rid of corrective lenses? Not a chance in the world without certainty that I'd be no worse off after the procedure. And at my current age of 63, it still wouldn't eliminate the need for reading glasses.
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I'll let my buddy in Atlanta know his medical hasn't been valid for 20+ years even though his AME signs off annually while wearing monovision contact lenses.
 
pilot_dude said:
I'll let my buddy in Atlanta know his medical hasn't been valid for 20+ years even though his AME signs off annually while wearing monovision contact lenses.
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Please do, because if anything goes wrong and they find out he was wearing monovision contacts, your buddy will be in a lot of trouble with both the FAA and the insurance company. And so will the AME if they find out he knew about it. This is clearly stated in the AME Guide.
 
SmashTime said:
I wear contacts and am considering getting lasiks or corrective surgery.


What do I need to do in order to continue flying?
Click to expand...

Have you looked into ICLs? Much safer procedure than Lasik.
 
Ron Levy said:
Please do, because if anything goes wrong and they find out he was wearing monovision contacts, your buddy will be in a lot of trouble with both the FAA and the insurance company. And so will the AME if they find out he knew about it. This is clearly stated in the AME Guide.
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The AME has been supposed to inquire for nearly 5 years and for the last few years the question is right there explicitly on the MEDEXPRESS.
 
Clark1961 said:
Have you looked into ICLs? Much safer procedure than Lasik.
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When I go in for my consultation I'll discuss the options with the dr.

I fight professionally so I need to pick the one best for that also.
 
flyingron said:
You mean like ghosts?
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LOL, family friend is an ophthalmologist... Abberitions are like little peaks and valleys in your cornea I do believe. He said they have known about them since the 30s, but they haven't been able to correct for them until about 3 years ago. I picked up the new glasses that correct for it and I have no glare at all during the night now. Everyone will have varying benifiets but I would definantly recommend it for anyone who gets annoyed by them.

I also have little black floaters. They are proteins that clump together, and they can fix that by pulling out the viscous fluid and replacing it with saline. I haven't found it to bug me enough just yet lol.
 
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