Visual stability of laser vision correction in an astronaut on a Soyuz mission to the International Space Station.
This report documents the effects of photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) in an astronaut during a 12-day Russian Soyuz mission to the International Space Station in 2008. Changing environmental conditions of launch, microgravity exposure, and reentry create an extremely dynamic ocular environment. Although many normal eyes have repeatedly been subject to such stresses, the effect on an eye with a relatively thin cornea as a result of PRK has not been reported. This report suggests that PRK is a safe, effective, and well-tolerated procedure in astronauts during space flight.


BACKGROUND
No author has a financial or proprietary interest in any material or method mentioned.
Coastal Eye Associates, Webster, Texas 77598, USA. charles.gibson-1@nasa.gov
C Robert
CR
Gibson
Thomas H
TH
Mader
Steven C
SC
Schallhorn
Konrad
K
Pesudovs
William
W
Lipsky
Elias
E
Raid
Richard T
RT
Jennings
Jennifer A
JA
Fogarty
Richard A
RA
Garriott
Owen K
OK
Garriott
Smith L
SL
Johnston
D000337:Aerospace Medicine; D018480:Astronauts; D003315:Cornea / Q000502:physiology*; D019781:Corneal Topography; D006801:Humans; D054018:Lasers, Excimer / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009216:Myopia / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D018903:Photorefractive Keratectomy; D012029:Refraction, Ocular / Q000502:physiology; D013026:Space Flight; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014786:Vision Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D014792:Visual Acuity / Q000502:physiology; D014893:Weightlessness