Any pilots here had HD Lasik?

[michal 44]

You are entitled to you opinion. Not sure why risky for pilots and not anyone else. If it is risky it is risky, period. By the way I completely disagree that it is risky based on the careful research I did before I had the operation. It all depends what your threshold of risk is. There are people that think getting out of a bed every day is risky - no doubt there is a risk involved. In my case it was the best $1700 I ever spent on anything. Frankly my confidence/performance as a pilot got significant boost. No longer do I have to worry about my glasses not being clean, giving me poor peripheral vision, looking at everything at a smaller scale, having distorted view or my contacts falling off in the worst possible moment on approach. Not to mention that for me a scuba diver it made life so much easier.Michael J.WinXP-Home SP2,AMD64 3500+,Abit AV8,Radeon X800Pro,36GB Raptor,1GB PC3200,Audigy 2http://www.precisionmanuals.com/images/forum/747400.jpghttp://www.hifisim.com/images/asv_beta_member.jpg

[Guest GamePlayer]

Did your surgeon use intralasik or the microkeratome to make your flap?

[Guest jrewing]

Michael,The promise of Lasik is very appealing. I'd love to throw out my glasses and not have to mess with contact lenses. Since my corrected vision with contacts or glasses is 20/20 and the risks associated with them are well understood and very low, a Lasik procedure is not a necessity for me. As a professional pilot, I must keep my medical to keep my job, so my risk assessment might be different than another person's.I'm glad to hear you got good results, though.John

[michal 44]

>Did your surgeon use intralasik or the microkeratome to make>your flap?I don't even know what these terms mean. I had my Lasik done at least 4-5 years ago when some of the fancy stuff was not yet available. So my flap was cut - this was the only a bit painful meoment. He told me I would feel a pressure but it was a sense of having a blade running across my eye. It lasted 3 seconds.I had my surgery done by Harvard educated dr. Scott Hyver (hopefully I spelled his name right) who performs many such operations every day and who was contracted to perform Lasik on the 49-ers football team. Recently I got some flyers from him about some new techniques available. I have now 20/20 vision though my right eye could have been slighly better giving me 20/15. My right eye had significant amount of astigmatism that never got fully corrected. My vision before the operation was so poor I could not read a book from a distance of 4 inches. I always feared that one day I would have to get up quickly in the middle of a night due to some emergency and not being able to see things around me - putting contacts on takes some time (I guess having spare glasses make sense). You can imagine my joy when I woke up a day after the procedure and was able to see small birds half a mile away.Dr. Scott like probably many fully qualified eye surgeons makes complete evaluation (it is free) of your eyes before the procedure. Some people simply don't qualify for it. If he perceives any risk he won't touch you. I don't know what the criteria is.I picked him because he came recommeneded by my local employer - NASA Ames Research Center. I know two other PPL/IFR guys who had Lasik with great results. Some of them paid double of what I paid - prices vary greatly but it is important not to make doctor selection strictly on price.Michael J.WinXP-Home SP2,AMD64 3500+,Abit AV8,Radeon X800Pro,36GB Raptor,1GB PC3200,Audigy 2http://www.precisionmanuals.com/images/forum/747400.jpghttp://www.hifisim.com/images/asv_beta_member.jpg

[michal 44]

It was a simple 15 sec search on google - Dr. Scott Hyver has a website. You can read all about the latest technology offered. Famous Bill Walsh (49-ers coach) was one of his clients. I may go back one day and have my right eye corrected. It is nice about Lasik - you can go back and have it redone. Michael J.WinXP-Home SP2,AMD64 3500+,Abit AV8,Radeon X800Pro,36GB Raptor,1GB PC3200,Audigy 2http://www.precisionmanuals.com/images/forum/747400.jpghttp://www.hifisim.com/images/asv_beta_member.jpg