Photo-refractive keratectomy (PRK): threat or millennium for military pilots?
The development of the excimer laser, which is capable of correcting myopia without leaving obvious scars as does radial keratotomy, makes it certain that this promising but very new modality is something the military aviation community will be facing in the immediate future. Methods of detection are available, but are expensive and time-consuming. Should military aviation permit or even sponsor a group of PRK student pilots in order to observe them closely, and then perhaps use this new modality in place of contact lenses or even spectacles?
Department of Ophthalmology, Naval Aerospace Medical Institute, Pensacola, FL 32508-5600.
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Markovits
D000337:Aerospace Medicine; D003315:Cornea / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D053685:Laser Therapy; D008889:Military Personnel; D009216:Myopia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*