RK Eye Surgery

Editorial Team / Admin · Mar 7, 2006

Hello, Lambert5883,

Check out this on laser surgery. There is a link regarding this issue;

http://www.lasersurgeryforeyes.com/eligibility.html

tntrn, ASN, RN · Mar 8, 2006

RK (radial keratotomy) is somewhat different from lasik and is not used as much any more. my bil, an eye surgeon in the army, did a lot of tests on rk patients at altitudes far higher than where the procedure had been done. the team discovered that if, for example, the procedure was done in san francisco, the correction would not work properly in denver. thus the army scrapped thier plan to do rk on personnel who currently wore glasses.

the "snow blindness" episode on everest several years ago was not so much that as the fellow had rk earlier and his eyes could not respond properly at those extreme altitudes. hence, many airlines are understandably hesitant to hire those who might have had a procedure such as that. my dh is a senior airline captain and i don't think his airline approves this.

Lambert5883 · Mar 8, 2006

Thanks for the information. Greatly appreciated.

sandman1914 · Mar 11, 2006

If you had a PRK procedure, you should be able to still pass the physical. This procedure is performed on the SEALS and other service members at certain military hospitals. If it is safe for them, you should not be disqualified for having the same procedure.

allnurses Guide · Mar 11, 2006

Just found out today, via email from a cyber recruiter at the US Army Recruiting Command, that having had RK eye surgery is a disqualifying factor barring entry into the Army; no waiver whatsoever. Can anyone here corroborate this?

I had PRK done in 2004 by the AirForce. We had Navy, Army, and AirForce all at the center where I was at in San Antonio getting PRK done. Just because something is a disqualifier doesn't mean you can't come into the military. It just means you have to get a waiver. For officers getting waivers for things like PRK, HTN (well controlled) etc is actually fairly common place and easy.

Good Luck!

tntrn, ASN, RN · Mar 11, 2006

it also means that you could be disqualified from some jobs in the military, such as aviation. the tests at altitude my bil did were planned to be extended to be done in barimetric chambers also to simulate what divers might experience. i don't know if those tests were ever done. again this was early, when RK was just catching on as the cash cow of the private practice ophthalmology world, so i don't know how PRK or Lasix is handled. i do know that my bil, although trained to do that procedure, refused to do them later, and that no one in his family decided to have it done, based on his studies.

tntrn, ASN, RN · Mar 11, 2006

here are links to a couple of the studies my bil co-authored:

http://www.wemjournal.org/wmsonline/?request=get-document&issn=1080-6032&volume=013&issue=01&page=0053

http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/03-02-2001/0001439621&EDATE=

my bil is dr. mader and dr. larry white is my own eye doctor. you can find more information with a google search: dr. thomas mader and rk

allnurses Guide · Mar 11, 2006

it also means that you could be disqualified from some jobs in the military, such as aviation. the tests at altitude my bil did were planned to be extended to be done in barimetric chambers also to simulate what divers might experience. i don't know if those tests were ever done. again this was early, when RK was just catching on as the cash cow of the private practice ophthalmology world, so i don't know how PRK or Lasix is handled. i do know that my bil, although trained to do that procedure, refused to do them later, and that no one in his family decided to have it done, based on his studies.

Actually in the AirForce PRK surgery is done for pilots all the time, and last I heard Lasix was being tested for safety with pilots/aircrew.

There are/were three main AirForce centers doing refractive correction surgery fulltime: Wilford Hall Medical Center, Travis AirForce Base, and Keesler AFB (currently on hold d/t restoration problems from the hurricane). The safety and efficency of the surgery is well established in the military.

I hope this helps clear things up a little.

tntrn, ASN, RN · Mar 11, 2006

i believe the studies i cited are from 2000 and 2001. dr. white states in one of them that PRK might cause fewer problems. but it's interesting to know the history, don't you think? and that dr. beck weathers did not suffer from "snow blindness" at all, as was widely reported.

Lambert5883 · Mar 13, 2006

Thanks to all who have replied. Just received an email this mornning from the Optometry Consultant to the Office of The Surgeon General, Chief of Army Optometry, and Assistant Corps Chief for Optometry, Medical Service Corps:

It is their postion that NO waivers be recommended to persons having a history of RK (Radial Keratotomy) surgery -- a different procedure than PRK (Photorefractive Keratectomy) and LASIK (laser-in-situ keratomeileusis), which are now both waiverable.