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October 26, 2004
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By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Oct. 25, 2004 -- Many people choose laser eye surgery
because they think it will make them more attractive or save them
from having to grapple to find their glasses all the time.
But for an increasing number of servicemembers, laser eye surgery
isn't a cosmetic or convenience issue. It's about saving lives on
the battlefield.
"The bottom line is that if you're in the middle of a fight and
you can't see the enemy before they see you, you're dead," Army
Lt. Col. Scott Barnes, an ophthalmologist at the Warfighter Refractive
Eye Clinic at Fort Bragg, N.C.
Barnes said that motivation has spurred special operations and
18th Airborne Corps soldiers at Fort Bragg to flock to the clinic
at Womack Army Medical Center "in droves," hoping to get laser eye
surgery before their upcoming deployments.
"We're operating full speed ahead," said Barnes. He said the clinic
is giving priority to combat troops on deployment orders.
Fort Bragg isn't alone. Throughout the military services, there's
a growing recognition that eyeglasses can be a battlefield liability.
Dirt, grime and lack of convenient hygiene facilities make contact
lenses impractical in combat zones. On the other hand, eyeglasses
break and fog up when subjected to the rigors of combat, like jumping
out of airplanes, diving underwater, or crawling through dirt and
sand, Barnes said. Some soldiers complain that they interfere with
night-vision goggles or gas masks.
Fearing that their eyeglasses might break, Barnes said many deployed
troops find themselves stashing extra sets in pockets, rucksacks
-- wherever they can quickly retrieve them if they need to.
And although the military runs mobile eyeglass fabrication labs
to replace broken eyeglasses,
Barnes said they simply can't be as responsive as the 24- hour
commercial eyeglass shops that dot American shopping centers nationwide.
Barnes said some troops question what might happen if they are taken
prisoner and their captors take their glasses away from them. "How
can you have any chance of escaping if you can't see?" Barnes said
they ask.
"The threat of having to go without glasses can be a psychological
factor for a soldier who is dependent on his glasses," Barnes said.
"It boils down to the fact that eyeglasses can be a liability."
Barnes said he'd like to be able to provide laser eye surgery for
any soldier who wants it, but that limited time and resources force
him to give priority to troops most likely to see combat. "For those
guys on the front, in the heat of the battle, it's important for
them to be able to be free of their glasses," he said.
The military has come a long way since 2000, when DoD first began
allowing people with two common forms of laser eye surgery to enter
the military with a medical waiver. People who'd had corrective
eye surgery were previously ineligible for military service.
That move was based largely on groundwork laid by the Navy. Naval
Medical Center San Diego launched the military's first refractive-surgery
program in 1993, primarily serving Navy SEALS who had problems losing
contacts or eyeglasses while parachuting or in the water.
Now all the services offer laser eye surgery for their members,
although rules vary about who's eligible to receive it and what
military jobs they're able to fill. Laser refractive surgery is
now permitted for all warfare communities within the Navy
and Marine
Corps. Officials said more than 10,000 laser procedures having
been performed at Navy refractive-surgery centers to date. In addition
to Naval Medical Center San Diego, other Navy facilities offering
laser eye surgery are Naval Medical Center Portsmouth, Va., and
the National Naval Medical Center, in Bethesda, Md. The surgery
is also available at naval hospitals in Bremerton, Wash.; Jacksonville,
Fla.; Camp Lejeune, N.C.; and Camp Pendleton, Calif.
The Air Force Warfighter Photorefractive Keratectomy Program went
active at the end of 2001. Currently, qualified Air Force people
can get the surgery at Wilford Hall Medical Center, Texas; Travis
Air Force Base, Calif.; the U.S. Air Force Academy, Colo.; Keesler
Air Force Base, Miss.; and Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.
The Army's first Warfighter Refractive Eye Clinic, at Fort Bragg,
opened its doors in May 2000 and has conducted about 16,000 of the
surgeries, Barnes said.
The Army now operates four other clinics at Fort Campbell, Ky.;
Fort Hood, Texas; Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Germany; and
Tripler Army Medical Center, Hawaii. In addition, Barnes said the
Army conducts laser eye surgery at two centers where it also teaches
the procedure: Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C.,
and Madigan Army Medical Center at Fort Lewis, Wash. Brooke Army
Medical Center in San Antonio is expected to add the service within
the fiscal year, Barnes said.
The most common types of laser eye surgery offered are photorefractive
keratectomy, or PRK, and laser in-situ keratomileusis, often referred
to as LASIK.
Barnes said 80 percent of his patients chose PRK, a procedure that
requires a slightly longer healing time but has less risk of complication.
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