For most people, glasses or contact lenses are an inconvenience. But when your job involves flying an aircraft, working in the field, wearing protective equipment or responding quickly in unpredictable situations, they can become a little more frustrating.
Glasses can fog, move or get in the way of helmets and other equipment. Contact lenses may not always be convenient during long shifts or in demanding environments.
It’s one of the reasons we see pilots, defence personnel, police officers and people considering these careers asking the same question:
“Can I have laser eye surgery and still meet the vision requirements for my job?”
For many people, the answer may be yes. But when your eyesight is connected to your career, there are a few extra things we need to consider.
It’s Not Just About Seeing 20/20
In visually demanding careers, good vision involves more than being able to read the bottom line of an eye chart.
Pilots may need to move quickly between instruments and distant objects. Police and defence personnel may work in low light, outdoors or in situations where visual awareness is particularly important.
Depending on the role, professional vision standards can consider things such as:
- Distance and near vision
- Prescription
- Colour vision
- Contrast sensitivity
- Glare and halos
- Stability of vision after surgery
- General eye health
That’s why we encourage patients to tell us about their occupation—or the career they’re planning to enter—during their initial assessment.
Which Type of Laser Eye Surgery Is Best?
There isn’t a single procedure that is automatically “best” for pilots, police officers or defence personnel.
The right choice depends on your eyes, your prescription and your career requirements.
At Focus Vision, we take detailed measurements of the cornea and assess your overall eye health before recommending any procedure.
CLEAR®
CLEAR® is a small-incision procedure that corrects vision by removing a tiny piece of tissue, called a lenticule, from within the cornea.
Unlike LASIK, CLEAR® doesn’t require the creation of a corneal flap. For some people with active or physically demanding careers, this can make a flapless procedure worth discussing.
PRK
PRK is another laser vision correction procedure that doesn’t involve creating a corneal flap.
Visual recovery is generally slower than with LASIK, so this needs to be factored into work and training schedules. However, PRK remains an established option for suitable patients and may be considered where avoiding a flap is desirable.
LASIK
LASIK remains one of the most established forms of laser eye surgery and generally offers relatively rapid visual recovery.
During LASIK, a thin flap is created in the cornea before the laser reshapes the tissue underneath.
Whether LASIK is appropriate will depend on your corneal measurements, prescription, lifestyle and any specific requirements associated with your profession.
ICL
Being unsuitable for laser eye surgery doesn’t necessarily mean you are out of options.
For people with higher prescriptions or eyes that aren’t suitable for corneal laser treatment, an Implantable Collamer Lens (ICL) may be considered.
Instead of reshaping the cornea, an ICL is placed inside the eye while your natural lens remains in place.
Again, if you work in a regulated profession, your occupational requirements need to be considered before deciding on treatment.
Can Pilots Have Laser Eye Surgery?
This is one of the questions we hear regularly.
Refractive surgery can be compatible with aviation medical certification, but there are specific requirements around surgery, recovery and returning to flying.
If you’re a pilot or air traffic controller, we recommend checking the current CASA requirements and speaking with your Designated Aviation Medical Examiner (DAME) before undergoing refractive surgery.
Following surgery, your vision needs time to recover and stabilise, and you shouldn’t assume that you’ll be able to return to flying immediately.
The required timeframe can depend on the procedure and your individual recovery.
What About the ADF, Queensland Police or AFP?
The same principle applies if you’re currently serving or hoping to enter the Australian Defence Force, Queensland Police Service or Australian Federal Police.
Different organisations—and sometimes different roles within the same organisation—can have their own medical and eyesight requirements.
These requirements can also change.
If you’re considering refractive surgery specifically to meet the requirements of a future career, check the current standards before having surgery. We can then take those requirements into account when assessing your eyes and discussing your options.
This is particularly important if you’re working towards an upcoming recruitment, training or medical assessment.
Can Laser Eye Surgery Correct Astigmatism?
For many suitable patients, yes.
Astigmatism occurs when the focusing surface of the eye isn’t perfectly symmetrical, causing blurred or distorted vision.
Procedures such as LASIK, PRK and some lenticule-extraction treatments can correct certain types and amounts of astigmatism.
The important part is determining what type of astigmatism you have. Detailed corneal mapping allows us to examine the shape of your cornea and determine whether laser correction is appropriate.
What If I’m Over 40 and Need Reading Glasses?
This is another important conversation for pilots and other professionals who constantly switch between near and distance vision.
From our 40s onwards, the natural lens inside the eye gradually loses its ability to focus up close. This is called presbyopia, and it happens regardless of whether you’ve previously had excellent distance vision.
Depending on your eyes and visual requirements, strategies such as blended vision may be considered.
However, when your occupation has specific vision standards, we need to think carefully about how any treatment could affect both your near and distance vision.
Your Career Should Be Part of the Conversation
If you’re considering refractive surgery and your eyesight is important to your profession, tell us about it.
At Focus Vision in Brisbane, we don’t simply look at your prescription and decide whether you can have LASIK. We assess your corneal shape, thickness, prescription, eye health and visual needs before discussing the procedures that may be suitable.
For someone in aviation, defence, policing or another visually demanding profession, your career requirements become part of that conversation.
The goal isn’t simply to get rid of your glasses. It’s to find an option that makes sense for your eyes, your lifestyle and the work you need to do.
Considering laser eye surgery for aviation, defence, police or another visually demanding career? Book a comprehensive assessment at Focus Vision or call our Brisbane team on 07 3239 5005.