AF Offers Surgery to Replace Eyeglasses

The Wilford Hall Refractive Surgery Center at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, is offering eye surgery as a possible replacement for eyeglasses. The center has no waiting list, said the director, Lt. Col. Charles Reilly, because it has increased its capacity due to advanced technology and systems as well as improved efficiency. Surgical options available include Laser-In-Situ Keratomileusis, or LASIK; Photorefractive Keratectomy, known as PRK; and newer procedures such as Epi-LASIK, which is a combination of the two. Military members requesting the surgery must submit an application, have their commander’s authorization and an eyeglass prescription that is at least one to two years old. Only 10 percent to 15 percent of patients who apply for the surgery will not qualify. Colonel Reilly says that patients have a 96 to 98 percent chance of achieving better than 20/20 vision after surgery.