Technical Diving Considerations for PRK/LASIK/LASEK

[onepointfivethumbs]

Hi all.

I am considering getting laser eye surgery in the next year to correct myopia and some astigmatism.

I am a (civilian) pilot by trade so I am aware of some of the potential drawbacks (like halo) and some of the early military testing of PRK for pilots; I also seem to recall that there was some very successful trials with SEALs and PRK in the 90's. I don't know the depths or mixes they were diving, and none of the ophthalmologists around me are also hyperbaric medicine specialists or Navy Diving Medical Officers to give any more info than "yeah if you wait two weeks and dive NDL's it's cool"

Assuming I am otherwise healthy and the surgery is successful and I am not dunking my eyeballs in seawater immediately afterwards, are there any other considerations especially in regards to technical diving, depth, exposure, and mix?
Will my corneas explode at 450FSW?
Does having surface scar tissue make the eye compressible?
etc.

My preference would be for custom LASIK for best long-term acuity results, but if PRK is more durable I'd go for that and save some cash in the process, and thought I'd ask people smarter than me [especially since I let my DAN membership lapse...oops]

 

[Underwater Tourist]

I don't have anything close to a medical degree, so don't quote me on the below. Just sharing my experience.

I did lasik in the EU and I was told to avoid strength work outs (and lifting heavy weights in general) for 6 months. The reason is that as you work out (for example doing a bench press), your inner eye pressure increases as you push the heavy weight. Given that your corneas are damaged after the surgery (for myopia they reshape your cornea by burning some of it off with a laser), significantly increasing your inner eye pressure can slightly deform your now thinned out corneas resulting into worsening eyesight.

Therefore, it looks like the variable that matters is the inner eye pressure. To my understanding, scuba diving does not affect that.

Now, my girlfriend did lasik in North America and was told that after 1 month she can do whatever she wants. When I asked her doctor why not 6 months (and explained what I was told by the EU doctor), NA doctor said he hasnt heard about any 6 month limits on weights and that we shouldnt worry about - 1 month is good.

Bottom line, I would wait at least 1 month to let your eyes fully heal after the surgery. And because (to my understanding) there is not pressure changes in your eyes during scuba diving, it should be good. Also, if anything you should be concerned about corneas imploding rather than exploding

 

[The Ruttmeister]

Have you looked at SMILE?
I had that last year.

 

[ginti]

I did laser surgery and nobody told me any drawbacks about diving, but I am curious to hear more, @Duke Dive Medicine maybe you can help us?

 

[Dsix36]

I waited 30 days after my lasik per my doctors recommendation. I have been below 600' since then with no adverse effect to my eyes. Best advice will be to listen to your doctor though.

 

[boulderjohn]

I had LASIK 20 years ago, and I was just told to wait a few weeks until it was healed before diving. I was given no other warnings of any kind related to diving. I did a week of diving as soon as my recommended time limit ended, and the main thing I noticed was how much better I could see compared to diving with contact lenses. I have had 20 years of diving since then, including lots of technical dives, with no eye problems whatsoever.

 

[Wookie]

I had PRK in 1995 in Vancouver by the guy who developed it at University of Utah.

No eye doctor since has been able to tell I had it.

My eyeballs did not explode at 450 feet, or shallower, or at all.

No scar tissue is left behind.

 

[Duke Dive Medicine]

Hi all.

I am considering getting laser eye surgery in the next year to correct myopia and some astigmatism.

I am a (civilian) pilot by trade so I am aware of some of the potential drawbacks (like halo) and some of the early military testing of PRK for pilots; I also seem to recall that there was some very successful trials with SEALs and PRK in the 90's. I don't know the depths or mixes they were diving, and none of the ophthalmologists around me are also hyperbaric medicine specialists or Navy Diving Medical Officers to give any more info than "yeah if you wait two weeks and dive NDL's it's cool"

Assuming I am otherwise healthy and the surgery is successful and I am not dunking my eyeballs in seawater immediately afterwards, are there any other considerations especially in regards to technical diving, depth, exposure, and mix?
Will my corneas explode at 450FSW?
Does having surface scar tissue make the eye compressible?
etc.

My preference would be for custom LASIK for best long-term acuity results, but if PRK is more durable I'd go for that and save some cash in the process, and thought I'd ask people smarter than me [especially since I let my DAN membership lapse...oops]

The specifics are best left to your ophthalmologist, but in general, once you're cleared for full activity you should be fine to dive. I don't know of any depth limitations for refractive surgery.

Best regards,
DDM

 

[jt15550]

Not a doctor but -

These procedures remove or cut a flap into tissue a few cells deep, and zap microns of tissue off of your cornea. I’ll think they structural integrity of your eyeball will remain intact, making sure to heal completely so that no debris or scar tissue is within your field of vision.

I had the surface ablation version in 2009 and no one would ever be able to tell today. In fact, the freedom from glasses was the main reason why I was able to pursue scuba diving.

 

[Robert H. Diver]

I had PRK in 2011. Didn’t dive back then, but was told not to swim for a couple weeks then I was good. I’ve never had any problems with it since starting diving.