Q. I know that LASIK is approved before going into BUD/S but is wavefront lasik surgery approved? Also can you just have the surgery by yourself and wait 6 months until you enlist and apply for BUD/S or do you have to get a waiver from WEPS before doing the surgery? Please help. Thanks!
A. BUD/S is a 6-month US Navy special operations SEAL training course held at the Naval Special Warfare Training Center in Coronado, CA.
Wavefront is a method of mapping higher order aberrations to help guide the excimer laser during Lasik. Conventional laser guidance uses a patient's eyeglass prescription. A wavefront analysis looks at nuances of the patient's vision. Think of the image of a square grid entering the eye. The eye's natural aberrations cause the grid to end up wavy by the time it is focused on the retina and "seen". Wavefront guided Lasik attempts to make corrections so a square grid enters the eye and a square grid is seen at the retina.
http://www.usaeyes.org/lasik/faq/lasik-wavefront-custom.htm
A waiver is necessary for vision correction surgery. No special waiver is required for wavefront-optimized vision correction surgery as opposed to conventional vision correction surgery.
You are more likely to gain a waiver for PRK than for Lasik, although the Navy has approved Bladeless Lasik for Top Gun pilots and you might get a Lasik waiver. Vision recovery is slower with PRK, but there is a lower probability of complications, especially long term.
As of 19 February 2009, BUD/S candidates' worst eye can be no worse than 20/70, best eye no worse than 20/40 and both eyes correctable to 20/25 or better. Whether or not you need to have vision correction surgery to be able to enter BUD/S depends upon your current refractive error.
It would probably be advantageous to have the military provide laser vision correction rather than going to an independent Lasik surgeon. That way the military is responsible for the outcome and its effect upon your ability to serve.
Good luck with BUD/S. The washout rate is about 80%.It is a grueling program.
Read:
http://www.med.navy.mil/sites/nmcsd/patients/pages/refractivesurgerycenter.aspx
Reference:
CNO Washington DC 212221Z Dec 99 (NAVADMIN 341/99) Photorefractive Keratectomy Surgery Program for Active Duty Service Members;
NAVMED P-117, Manual of Medical Department;
BUMED Washington DC 0613444Z Apr 00 Corneal Refractive Surgery Physical Standards and Waiver;
NAVMED Policy 07-001 Policy Guidance on LASIK (Laser in-situ Keratomileusis) of Oct 06;
NAMI Aeromedical Reference and Waiver Guide, Current Edition;
for anyone who has lasik eye surgery?
Q. i was just wondering what was the outcome of your eyes..was it what you hoped for or was there anything bad?
was it resonable priced or did they hit you with all kinds of hidden costs?
A. My Story
My name is Patrick Sheahan. I had lasik eye surgery at the age of 23. When I went in for a consultation at Lasik Plus they said I was a perfect candidate. I was only -1.25 in each eye and could almost make due without glasses. After the lasik surgery my left eye slowly started to deteriorate. I was getting dizzy spells and migraine headaches daily. I started taking pain killers. I went to my optometrist to see if I could get a pair of glasses because all I could see out of my left eye was light. She told me that my left cornea was severely damaged and it was shaped like a football. I immediately made an appointment to see Dr Gerald Horn of Lasik Plus, the man who performed my lasik surgery. He made me and my grandfather wait for 5 hours in the waiting room. When I finally got in to see him he admitted there was a major complication and blamed the laser not himself. Dr Horn said that there may have been a malfunction in the laser and there was nothing he could do for me. Dr Horn was very rude to me and my grandfather. He rushed us out of his office before answering all of our questions. He told us he had a meeting to go and if we had any other questions we had to make another appointment. In the following weeks I consulted many corneal experts who came up with the same conclusion that I needed a corneal transplant. After a proper donor was found I had had my transplant done on July 10, 2003. A corneal transplant is not a pleasant procedure. They cut the cornea out of your eye, replace it with a donor’s cornea and in my case it took over 30 stitches in my eye. The removal of the stitches is done a few at a time, only when the stitch loosens with a needle like instrument while you are conscious, which resulted in numerous doctor visits. I had to pay 18,000 dollars for that surgery. I also paid 4,000 for a lens implant procedure done on October 14, 2005. My doctor has told me to prepare for many other future procedures and that my cornea can reject at any time
If you decide to have lasik. Stay away from these lasik doctors.
Dr. Manuel J. Chaknis - LasikPlus of Birmingham, AL
Dr. Gabriel J. Perry- Phoenix, Arizona
Dr. David Murphy- Little Rock, Arkansas
Dr. Randa Garrana-Fresno California
Dr. George Simon, Melissa Smith, and James Abrams -Northern california
Dr. Anthony Salierno-Hartford Conneticut
Dr. Karen Heuer-Colorado Springs
Dr. Neil Wills, James lustbader -Washington DC
Dr. Kenneth Karp- Fort Lauterdale,FL
Dr Joseph Faust -Jacksonville, FL
Dr. Jeffery Robin - Orlando, FL
Dr. Lewis Groden -Tampa, FL
Dr. Eugene Smith- Atlanta Georgia
Dr. Thomas Campen - Savannah Georgia
Dr King Aymond, Gerald Horn - Chicago
Dr Jason Greenberg- Indianapolis, Indiana
Dr. Therese Alban
Dr. Dean Ellis
Dr Jason Greenberg
Dr Sonny Goel
Dr. Neil Wills
Dr. Jay Lustbader
Dr. Jessica Fleishman
Dr. Damon Pettinelli
Dr. Vince Marino
Dr. Thomas Campen
Dr. Joseph Faust
how do you apply for the study program about laser eye surgery for naval aviators?
Q.
A. The study of laser eye surgery for Naval pilots was completed long ago. A military medical waiver is necessary for vision correction surgery. You are more likely to gain a waiver for PRK than for Lasik, although the Navy has approved Bladeless Lasik for Top Gun pilots and you might get a Lasik waiver. Vision recovery is slower with PRK, but there is a lower probability of complications, especially long-term complications.
Read:
http://www.med.navy.mil/sites/nmcsd/patients/pages/refractivesurgerycenter.aspx
Reference:
CNO Washington DC 212221Z Dec 99 (NAVADMIN 341/99) Photorefractive Keratectomy Surgery Program for Active Duty Service Members;
NAVMED P-117, Manual of Medical Department;
BUMED Washington DC 0613444Z Apr 00 Corneal Refractive Surgery Physical Standards and Waiver;
NAVMED Policy 07-001 Policy Guidance on LASIK (Laser in-situ Keratomileusis) of Oct 06;
NAMI Aeromedical Reference and Waiver Guide, Current Edition;
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