Vision

[jumppilot]

That will go away with time, just like wearing glasses did.

 

[ERJpusher]

Maybe yes, maybe no. That info was still accurate with the 2001 newhires (last group to be hired).

 

[Mercy98]

Had Lasik surgery just over two years ago on both eyes. Went in for enhancements on each eye 6 mos. and one year later. Just completed my first class medical last month, with 20/15 vision in each eye uncorrected.
Have never had any problems post op. with the surgery. Never had halos, dry eyes, fluctuating vision, you name it, I didn't get it.
My vision was poor before the surgery...6 diopters was the worst I had, and Lasik can work for up to 12 diopters, I'm told. Can't fathom how bad 12 diopters would be, if mine was somewhere about 20/200 on a (really) good day.
If you are intersted in this procedure, don't go on the cheap. Many doctors can do this, few correctly, as you would want them to as a pilot sitting under their laser. My doctor had well over 10,000 surgeries under his belt before he saw me, some of them very famous. Do not cut corners with your career! One captain I flew with a number of years ago did, and they gave him astigmatism. I had astigmatism, and now its gone completely.

 

[fly2002]

hey

hey so you had astigmatism? I'm about 20/180, 20/200 respectively. I've often thought about getting lasik but i've decided that I won't get lasik UNTIL I HAVE TO. But as time has gone by i've found it harder and harder to pass these eye exams (first class)...ie the doc can help.

I'm concerned that as time goes by I will be unable to be corrected to 20/20 near/norm/distant. Did this same sort of scenerio happen to you or did you just choose the surgery for cosmetic reasons? Thanx.

 

[Mercy98]

My vision was previously corrected with Ortho-k, a procedure that corrects with progressively flatter lenses, if not familiar. It is not a permanent procedure. After having done that for many years (wearing the "cap" lens to keep my vision stable) I found that sometimes I had trouble with direct sunlight at times. It was time for a change.
I had been researching Lasik for sometime. My sister had it done in So. CA two years before me with good results. An Opthamologist came highly recommended; he is associated with TLC Laser Eye Centers.
The picture they took of my cornea before and after my Lasik showed the correction of my astigmatism. If you will, it was like the difference between the Rockie mountains and the Plains of Georgia. Quite a difference, although not quite the analogy expressed here.
Would I do Lasik again? Absolutely.

 

[ATR-DRIVR]

mercy,
no night problems? blur, spots etc?
thanks

 

[Mercy98]

I would say that for about 4-6 weeks max. I would occasionally have very slight fluctuations in my vision. Was it always because of the surgery? I honestly couldn't say, but I'm sure it was a factor. At about that time or shortly before, it was apparent that one of my eyes was not as close to 20/20 as I would like, so when I flew, I would wear a contact lens on it.
After the surgery there is some cloudy vision, but that cleared up within about 24-36 hours. When flying at night I have no problem with either interior or exterior lighting. When I used to wear contacts, I could "see" the edges of my contacts, as it would tend to flare some lighting. That is not the case now. The clarity now is like the difference between wearing glasses to contacts. They don't compare.

 

[ATR-DRIVR]

mercy,
I have seen some ads from Emory here in ATL and they have a machine that takes a picture of your eye, puts it on a computer and shows you what it looks like now and then what it will look like after. Is that the same as what you were shown? It was quoted as $2500 a side!
thanks

 

[Mercy98]

It is a machine that takes a topographical picture of your eye. Just like a sectional chart shows varying terrain. In this case, reds are peaks and greens are valleys. Not sure of the official name. They never showed me what my eyes "could" look like, only what they actually looked like. I know the price is coming down, and what you quoted would be about right, or maybe a little on the high side. Should be lower now though.