San Diego’s large military community will continue to benefit from a growing U.S. Department of Defense funded program that provides free refractive surgery to medically eligible active duty servicemen and women.
While most near or farsighted individuals struggle with contacts in front of the bathroom mirror, military personnel deployed to Iraq often battle 120-degree temperatures, gusting winds, sand storms and spartan accommodations. Similarly challenging is the fact that glasses interrupt the seal of protective gas masks, they scratch and they trap dust and dirt.
“Esos son solo una fracción de los problemas que enfrentan nuestras fuerzas en servicio activo”, dijo el Capitán Steve Schallhorn, oftalmólogo del Centro Médico Naval de San Diego. “Al reducir la dependencia de anteojos y lentes de contacto, las personas que tienen que enfrentarse al peligro están mejor”.
Schallhorn pioneered and currently directs the Navy Refractive Surgery Program and continues to free patients from the burdens associated with poor eyesight at no cost. Active duty from all branches and coast guard are eligible. Once a candidate is approved for the surgery by their eye doctor, the individual’s commanding officer submits a request to the program and designates a priority. The applicant’s need and job duties determine whether the wait time is weeks or years.
El programa ha tratado a 100.000 miembros del servicio hasta la fecha, mientras que las instalaciones de la Marina realizan aproximadamente 15.000 procedimientos al año. El número sigue aumentando a medida que los beneficios eclipsan los riesgos y la tecnología mejora.
“A medida que tratamos a más y más personas, más y más personas lo quieren”, dijo Schallhorn. “La flota, la línea, las fuerzas operativas han llegado a apreciar lo que puede hacer por ellos”.
Maj. Michael Rohlfs underwent PRK at the Naval Training Center’s Primary Care Center in Point Loma during April 2005 after returning from a five-month stint in Iraq. Rohlfs, a Marine stationed out of Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, took advantage of a clinical trial two weeks after his first inquiry. He no longer wears glasses and looks forward to the luxury his new eyesight will afford during his second tour of duty in Iraq this coming August.
“Ha marcado una diferencia en esta parte de mi vida, pero especialmente cuando vengo aquí al campo”, dijo Rohlfs mientras entrenaba en Yuma, Arizona. “Es mucho más fácil aquí no preocuparme por perder el tiempo con anteojos”.
The actual application of the laser to the eye lasts between 10 seconds and one minute, depending on the patient’s vision. The time consuming work is prepping each patient beforehand. Side effects range from minor eye irritation, such as dry eyes to serious visual impairment.
“Hay riesgos”, dijo Schallhorn. “Hemos aprendido a gestionar los riesgos, mitigar los riesgos, saber qué pacientes pueden tener mayores riesgos y tratar de maximizar la seguridad de la cirugía en ese contexto”.
Recovery time varies with the type of surgery from days to months. Photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) is a surface procedure that requires true convalescence afterwards and a longer visual recovery than Laser-Assisted In Situ Keratomileusis (LASIK) eye surgery. Rohlfs was unable to drive and had difficulty with bright lights for five days following his PRK procedure.
“After the five days, my eyes were healed and I had no more pain and no need for glasses,” he said. “Over the next couple of months my eyesight continued to improve. Today I see better than 20/20.”
A principios de la década de 1990, el jefe de las fuerzas especiales de la Marina catalizó el programa y aseguró la financiación después de identificar los problemas con los contactos experimentados por los SEAL (Sea, Air, Land), una unidad móvil altamente calificada entrenada para operar estratégica y tácticamente.
In 1993, the Naval Medical Center San Diego stepped forward as the first facility to offer clinical trials evaluating the safety of refractive surgery among military members. Letters and calls poured in to Schallhorn detailing the difficulty of performing military duties while wearing glasses or contacts. At that time, the procedure was not commercially practiced, as the lasers used had yet to receive Federal Drug Administration (FDA) approval. Following the FDA’s endorsement of two excimer lasers in October of 1995, the military program expanded and patients were able to receive the surgery without having to participate in a study.
The Navy’s initiative caught on and the Army and Air Force subsequently started their own programs. There are now more than 20 military laser vision correction centers nationwide, seven of which are Navy-operated. The San Diego facility accepts patients from as far as El Centro and Yuma, in addition to servicing greater San Diego County. Recently, a clinic opened at Camp Pendleton for Marines, shortening the local wait time for San Diegans.
Schallhorn argumenta que hay más que ganar con la cirugía refractiva que mejorar la vista.
“La calidad de vida y la moral mejoradas, aunque secundarias, no deben pasarse por alto en el contexto general del beneficio que brindamos”, dijo.
For more information, contact the Naval Medical Center San Diego by visiting www.nmcsd.med.navy.mil or calling (619) 532-6400.