Anyone had vision correction surgery lately?

[justasking]

I am looking for some info from people who have had it done recently. I am interested in having laser eye surgery but the info I find is that you will need 3 months to get it done. One day to do the surgery and 3 months of Transport trying to decide if you can have your medical back. I would need the Cat 1 medical but I am employed and cant take 3 months off work to get this done. I have seen a few posts of people who 'know of a guy' who had it done and was back at work in 2 weeks.
Anyone had the surgery done recently or got first hand knowledge on the subject care to shed some light on this?

Thanks

[rightseatwonder]

The way most doctors I talked to put it is this:

Depending on your prescription, are you willing to ante up your ability to earn money as a pilot for what in most cases amounts to a cosmetic procedure with risks?

I was seriously considering the procedure until they put it that way.

[mathewc]

It still has risks for sure and there is no guarantee that you won't still need corrective lenses after the procedure.

[The Old Fogducker]

One of those risks, which might cause you to be restricted to Day only, is halos around lights, or unequal positioning of lights in your vertical field of view ... left eye sees approach lights hiher than right eye for example.

I considered it, but rejected it until I well and truly through flying.

OFD

[mattedfred]

i don't know if this link will work but search the TC website for refractive eye surgery

http://74.125.93.132/search?q=cache:QOi ... =firefox-a

[justasking]

Thanks for the opinions guys but I am not looking for peoples input on whether I should or should not do the surgery. What I am looking for is people who have had it done and what time frame it took them to get back to flying. TC website says 3-6 months but it was last updated in '05 and things have changed imensely since then.
I do appreciate the opinions but really need to hear from guys who have actual experience with this within the last year or two.

[mattedfred]

call your RAMO and ask

jim pfaff in central region is a great guy

[ywgflyboy]

Depends what you have done. There is PRK and LASIK. I had the PRK done two years ago, but decided to get it done before starting my CPL. It was a personal choice after lots of thought and input and am happy I did make it. PRK generally takes longer to get back to flying because of the steroid drops you are on for up to 6 months (or even a year). I got lucky because my surgeon did not fully read the papers I gave him and he signed off on them saying I was off the drops when I actually was not.

Ask your aviation doc, they know best. The surgeons know squat, and why should they. They are just there to make there five grand in 10 minutes.

I do pose the question of how much do you NEED it done? If I had gone on to do my CPL, I would never dream of getting laser done after. There is way way way too much on the line. You are gambling a risk of loosing your medical, and perhaps still needing glasses anyways. I got it done prior because I enjoy sports, swimming, water skiing, etc and was at a point in my life where aviation was not the only route I was considering going into.

[Invertago]

I did the PRK back in 2004 I believe. At the time I had given up on trying to break into aviaiton and didn't worry about as I was looking at another career path. In hind sight, no regrets, only side effect I've ever had is dry eyes in the morning.

[Panama Jack]

Another factor to consider is if you might ever plan to fly professionally outside of Canada. Some countries, such as Japan, will presently not consider giving a medical to an applicant who has had vision correction surgery.

[Jastapilot]

Bottom line: It ain't worth the risk. If I ever remuster into a job that isn't vision restrictive, I'll be first in line.

[ywgflyboy]

Another factor to consider is if you might ever plan to fly professionally outside of Canada. Some countries, such as Japan, will presently not consider giving a medical to an applicant who has had vision correction surgery.

That's another reason for PRK vs Lasik. No flap=no scar. Not saying I would do such a thing, but I could walk into a office and say I was born with 20/20 no questions asked as I have been told my multiple doctors my eyes show no sign of surgery. Paper is the only trail

[mark_]

How long is the recovery realistically with PRK? I've heard up to 5 days staying in a dark room, no driving, no TV and a lot of pain. Is that true?

Mark

[Invertago]

How long is the recovery realistically with PRK? I've heard up to 5 days staying in a dark room, no driving, no TV and a lot of pain. Is that true?

Mark

It was for me... felt like sand in my eyes till about day 3. The good news is the surgery only takes 2 minutes (one per eye) and doesn't hurt, just creepy and smells like burning skin. The pain only starts about half an hour after the surgery when the pain killers wears off.

[ywgflyboy]

Here is how it went for me...

Day of surgery: Went home, felt great, no pain, on top of the world. Was tired from not sleeping night before so took a nap. Woke up with the feeling of having acupuncture in my eyes.

Day 2-5: No pain, just visual issues such as major halos, blurred vision, and unable to look at any light. Blinds were down all week and listened to the radio and spent lots of time on the phone.

Day 6: Got to take the protective contact lenses off. This ended most of the discomfort. Towards the later days, felt like I had a dried up contact lenses that had gone hard.

After that, continued having bright light issues for a few weeks but all faded with time. Now have 20/15 vision, so a tad better than 20/20.

[JAHinYYC]

I have my initial surgery ten years ago while I was inactive as a pilot and so can't comment on the recovery or reinstatement of medical following initial surgery, however - I had a revision to my LASIK surgery done in July. I was grounded for three days while I waited for a post surgical appointment with my eye doctor.

After that, he completed the examination form, sent it to transport and I got the all clear from their Aviation Doc the same day.

Easy.

[robshelle]

I don't know if this makes a difference, but here at YEG tower we've had 2 controllers have laser eye surgery in the last couple of months, only had to take 1 week off each, and then back to work. Don't know if it is different for a Class 1 medical though.

Robbie Benusic
CYEG Tower

[Flybabe]

Topic beaten to death but here goes -

Lasik in '97, knew I would likely need a touchup due to astigmatism. Did the touchup (LasEK) in 2005, vision is GREAT. 3 months off.

Very personal decision. I had dry eyes before I had this done, they're worse now. But, the benefit far outweighs the cost (to me).

[justasking]

To those of you who are actually answering to my post thank you. Good useful information. Hopefully someone with recent experience with this will have some updated answers for me. Medical due in March, will bug my CAME then about pushing harder for quicker recovery times. I know many people who have it done, all are in and out in a day and have no after effects other than some halos at night for about a week. Most of these guys are fireman, policemen, AME's but all are success stories who swear by it.

[av8tor_assrope]

here ya go....straight from the horses mouth.....

My original email:

I'm a pilot in 704 operation who's considering having the LASIK procedure done. I noticed on TC's website that it states, if you have the PRK/LASIK (up to 6.00 Dioptres spherical equivalent) done, you have to wait a minimum of 3 months until medical re certification.

However, the document is dated form 1999. I was wondering if there has been any changes to this rule since the procedure has advanced over the past 10 years.

Thanks for your time.

The Response:

Yes we have recently revised the information which will soon be posted to the website.
We will consider a return to flying as soon as vision is stable (if no medications are prescribed) on receipt of the surgeon’s post- operative report (you may use the same form).

Note that we still cannot direct prospective candidates to a specific service provider. There are many providers available, using a variety of techniques and having a wide range of experience and success. The watch word --- "Caveat emptor" BUYER BEWARE.

--

Senior Consultant / Expert-conseil principal
Transport Canada, Civil Aviation Medicine (AARG) Ottawa ON K1A 0N8
Transports Canada, Médecine aéronautique civile (AARG) Ottawa (ON) K1A 0N8
Government of Canada | Gouvernement du Canada www.tc.gc.ca/CivilAviation/Cam

[justasking]

Thank you!! Finally an answer to my question. Will definetly look into this further.

[RaoulDuke]

I was also thinking about having the surgery and have done tons of research on the process. I was wondering if anyone has had the surgery and had a problem with it or has not been able to get there medical back? From what I can gather if you go to one of those $500 an eye places you have a higher risk of night halos and other complications due to the older technology used. The newest technology uses more points of reference and limits these risks much further. I am not sure if this is correct and if anyone could add to what I have said or correct me I would appreciate it.

[ywgflyboy]

Check out the companies in as much detail as possible. Yes you can get it done for $499/eye but I am a firm believer in you get what you pay for. I went for a consult with every clinic in Winnipeg and asked for details on their equipment. One doctor actually had proof that he sold his OLD laser to the company that was doing it for 499/eye. That sold me instantly.

The points of reference is one thing to consider, but further is the size of the laser. Every laser has a different diameter (treatment area). The smaller the laser can be, the more precise the results will be.

[av8tor_assrope]

Anyone have any recommendations across the country? I've heard great things about Gimble in YYC and TLC and Herzig in YYZ.

Cheers

[skybaron]

yeah - i'll second that request...

Anyone have a good recommend for a laser doc in the YVR area?