IRVINE, Calif., Dec.
11 /PRNewswire/ -- Marking both a milestone in US Naval medicine
and refractive surgery, the Navy announced that the first all
laser Lasik (All-Laser
Lasik) procedure has been performed on an aviator as
part of a new project.
Lasik is not approved
for use in the US military aviation community, however after many
years of Lasik clinical trials on non-aviation personnel, the new
Bureau of Naval Medicine project is underway to treat four
additional aviators with All-Laser Lasik as part of the first step
of the program. While Lasik remains the most popular surgery in
the civilian community, the Naval Medical Center San Diego's
Refractive Surgery Center is the only center currently in
Department of Defense offering All-Laser Lasik.
Though Lasik has been
around for many years, concerns about the harsh aviation
environment prevented its use in US Navy aviators. Aeromedical
professionals have been cautious of employing the procedure on
aviators who frequently encounter environmental extremes such as
high altitude, dry air, wind blast and 'G' forces.
According to Capt.
Steve Schallhorn, MD, Navy Program Manager for Refractive Surgery,
"While Lasik has been around for many years and is a common
elective procedure, this is a significant first in the aeromedical
field. Wavefront guided Lasik using the IntraLase method
represents the best-of-the-best and is a truly exciting
advancement for critical Navy personnel whose sight is of utmost
importance in their military duties."
The IntraLase FS
laser is the first technology approved in the US for a truly
all-laser, blade-free Lasik procedure, replacing the hand-held
mechanical microkeratome blade historically used in creating Lasik
corneal flaps -- the first step of the procedure -- with a
computer-guided, femtosecond (fem-to-second) laser.
The first candidate
was aviator, Marine Capt. Michael Oginsky, an FA 18/D weapons and
sensor officer with VMFAT 101 at US Marine Corps Air Station
Miramar. Within just four hours, Oginsky's vision was 20/20. At
the 24-hour mark, his vision exceeded 20/20. There are four
additional aviators scheduled to take part in the first step of
the program and have received All-Laser Lasik.
