All things LASIK surgery (aircrew/other -- merged)

[Nauticus]

Just an update guys.

I spoke to another recruiter today and he informed me that there is a six month wait after doing laser eye surgery before you can reapply. If you're already enrolled in the armed forces, there is a six month period that you are placed in the Temporary Medical category, after which you return to your normal category.

 

[Wookilar]

Your recruiter is right...if they are a little busy and you are a little lazy that is what will happen. You will be on a 6-month Temporary Category (T-Cat) OR until your vision stabilizes (which is decided by the surgeon that does it and the Medical Officer/Doctor that does your medical update).

They CAN (if they want) make you wait the 6-month period, but if your eyes stabilize in 1 month (mine took almost 2 months from LASIK) and are cleared as stabilized by the MO, there is no reason for the CFRC to hold your file....

But is is a risk. If the difference in vision category will affect your trade choices, my advice is to get it done, wait until they clear you (but don't sit on your bum, get the letters from the surgeon and the MO) and then continue in the process. If your vision category doesn't affect your trade choices and you want to get in as soon as possible, wait.

 

[Nauticus]

Thanks for the advice. I've already been waiting quite a while to get into the military, and so I think I'm just going to hold off until I get in. From there, it'll be on the backburner until the opportunity arises.

 

[PuckChaser]

If you already qualified medically for the trade you want, time between your BMQ and your next course might be the perfect opportunity to get it done. Depending on your trade choice, you could end up with a 6 month block of time where you are awaiting training, and as long as you have the money saved for it, go for it! I'd get my eyes done again in a heartbeat, my reasoning behind getting the surgery done was the same as yours.

 

[Nauticus]

If you already qualified medically for the trade you want, time between your BMQ and your next course might be the perfect opportunity to get it done. Depending on your trade choice, you could end up with a 6 month block of time where you are awaiting training, and as long as you have the money saved for it, go for it! I'd get my eyes done again in a heartbeat, my reasoning behind getting the surgery done was the same as yours.

That is an excellent idea! I applied as an armoured crewman, so I imagine I'd have to wait for Battle School anyway. And yeah, I'm done all of my processing, including my medical, and I passed them all.

I guess I'm just waiting for them to give me a call!

 

[Nauticus]

I'm discovering how difficult it is to get hold of anybody at the recruiting offices in Vancouver. All week, I've been trying to 'touch bases' with them, and not one person has answered their telephone, or responded to a message. I imagine they're extremely busy.

 

[Jarnhamar]

Man I'm really racking up the questions eh?

Which laser eye surgery does the army accept? (and which do they not allow?)
Lasik, Lasik MD, PRK?
I can't remember which is which.
Thank you.

 

[Blindspot]

Man I'm really racking up the questions eh?

Which laser eye surgery does the army accept? (and which do they not allow?)
Lasik, Lasik MD, PRK?
I can't remember which is which.
Thank you.

I had my eyes zapped a little over a year ago to meet combat trade vision requirements. The procedure I had was the lasik method. The lasik method has the advantage of faster and easier heal time. The disadvantage is the creation of a cornea flap and the fact that it's newer (and thus less tried) technology. My surgery was performed by the Bochner Eye Institute of Toronto and they made the process as comfortable as could possibly be. Before the surgery, I checked out the local Lasik MD and decided the high-volume, cookie-cutter treatment wasn't for me.

 

[Jarnhamar]

Ahh. I thought the LASIK was not allowed-something about if you get hit hard enough that little flap on your eye may detach?

WHat do you mean high-volume cookie cutter treatment?
How is the Lasik MD different from regular Lasik?

Also thanks for answering

 

[Haggis]

Ahh. I thought the LASIK was not allowed-something about if you get hit hard enough that little flap on your eye may detach?

Eight years later and never had a problem... and you know I don't back down from a scrap!

 

[xmarcx]

Ahh. I thought the LASIK was not allowed-something about if you get hit hard enough that little flap on your eye may detach?

WHat do you mean high-volume cookie cutter treatment?
How is the Lasik MD different from regular Lasik?

Also thanks for answering

Lasik MD is a chain of medical providers that offer Lasik surgery. Their concept of ops is high volume, low priced lasery surgery - they're the company that is always advertising specials, $999 an eye, etc. They claim they can afford to bring the prices down through volume and efficient operation, also by owning their own equipment, rather than leasing specialized and higher end equipment that comes with high royalties and fees.

As a result, they are a lot cheaper, but don't offer the newest techniques, like custom / wavefront lasik, which generally speaking produces better outcomes, specifically in regards to night vision. The difference is basically generating a 3D model of your exact eyes and a correction tailored to that, rather than applying a generic correction formula.

Of course, it costs about $6000 all in for the fancy stuff. I had it done in 2004 to get into the infantry, and despite being generally terrified that my eyeballs would pop open somehow, I've had no complications.

 

[LuvsMud]

Blindspot... ummm I take it the surgery was a success?  >

 

[medicineman]

You are allowed to have PRK or LASIK only - and there is a restiction on the type of LASIK procedure that's acceptable.  Unfortunately, I don't have the guidelines in front of me or a DND computer at the moment otherwise I'd fill in that blank.  Suffice to say, if you're joining and getting it done or are already in and getting it done, talk to your medical section to make sure you don't get suckered into something that will get you kicked to the curb.

MM

 

[Bass ackwards]

Question from a shooter on the topic of laser surgery:

For about the last ten years, any rifle with open sights (like my beloved old Winchester 94) has become useless to me. Glasses don't help at all. I can still shoot reasonably well with an aperture sight and have no problems at all with a scope, so what I'm asking is if anyone else has been in the same boat who has had the surgery -and did it make any difference with open-sight rifles ?

I really love the old 19th century rifles: Winchesters, Martini-Henrys, Spencers, etc -so I'd consider shelling out the bucks for the surgery if it meant I could go back to shooting them (beyond 25 yards).  

Apologies to Flawed Design if this is a hijack of the thread.  

 

[KingKikapu]

Had PRK 1.5 years ago.  I now have better than 20/20, so I can't really complain.  Be prepared for a slow heal if you go PRK though.  It took me 3-4 months before vision was 100% sharp.  Was at 60% effectiveness by 1 week.

 

[PuckChaser]

http://forums.army.ca/forums/threads/72796.0.html Has the CANFORGEN posted about CF aircrew regulations.

I had Wavefront PRK, and experienced little to no loss of night vision. PRK is normally better I was told, because it doesn't leave a flap of the outer layer of the eye, which is the cause of "halos". Like KingKilapu said, it takes a little while to heal with PRK, but I'd do it again in a heartbeat. The MO certified me to drive SMP vehicles after 1 month post-op, and I had my med cat changed to V1 within 3 months when I was stable at better than 20/20 (20/15 right and 20/10 left).

 

[Jarnhamar]

Hummmm

So the CF allows Lasik AND PRK.

Lasik heals faster but there is that whole flap detaching scare.
PRK heals a lot slower and is more painful BUT you retain better night vision?

 

[PuckChaser]

I can't speak on the night vision aspect of LASIK, however I did not notice a difference in my night vision after the PRK was done. PRK is also more expensive, but it was recommended to me by my eye surgeon as I am in a high impact profession and play contact sports.

 

[medicineman]

How odd - my other half is getting the PRK done instead of LASIK because it is the cheaper of the two where she went.

MM

 

[KingKikapu]

There are two big reasons why I went PRK.  First was that I was a borderline candidate for LASIK because the procedure requires a thicker cornea relative to PRK, so in that situation you go with the safer bet.  Secondly, I chose PRK because I moonlight as a construction worker and I, along with my optometrist, figured that the incredible amounts of dust present on job sites would lead to a higher chance of a flap infection.  Now I can't say how much creedence you should pay to that last bit as I have no idea how easy or difficult it is to infect a flap, but it's something to think about if you are concerned about such a thing and you happen to do work in some sort of dusty environment.....