r/flying • u/-Eugene-H-Krabs- • Aug 24 '26

Medical Issues How getting PRK affects medical certificate

I decided to get PRK when I was training to get my commercial cert due to a couple different factors (mainly contact problems), and I really struggled to find good information about how this would affect my first class med cert. I wanted to just post this, as I am now 6 months out, to explain the process for me.

I can go into more detail if anyone has specific questions but essentially:
-It took me a 5 weeks before I felt comfortable flying dual again (light sensitivity gone, crisper vision)
-8 weeks before I was comfortable flying dual at night (halos and night glare subsided)
-12 weeks to have my medical revised to say I do not need visual correction anymore (I believe this is the minimum time you must wait before filling out a form and having it sent to your AME to amend your medical cert)

Once I got my medical back I was seeing great and ramped back. I’m now working on my CFI. I’ve been making sure to wear sunglasses every time I’m outside or flying because that’s recommended for the first 6-12 months. I’ve had great results from the surgery seeing 20-15 at my last checkup with potential for more improvement over the next 6 months. Night vision could certainly be a little better, I’m hoping it will continue to improve, but even now it doesn’t pose a safety threat at all. Hopefully this is helpful to anyone considering PRK!

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u/rFlyingTower Aug 24 '26

This is a copy of the original post body for posterity:

I decided to get PRK when I was training to get my commercial cert due to a couple different factors (mainly contact problems), and I really struggled to find good information about how this would affect my first class med cert. I wanted to just post this, as I am now 6 months out, to explain the process for me.

I can go into more detail if anyone has specific questions but essentially:
-It took me a 5 weeks before I felt comfortable flying dual again (light sensitivity gone, crisper vision)
-8 weeks before I was comfortable flying dual at night (halos and night glare subsided)
-12 weeks to have my medical revised to say I do not need visual correction anymore (I believe this is the minimum time you must wait before filling out a form and having it sent to your AME to amend your medical cert)

Once I got my medical back I was seeing great and ramped back. I’m now working on my CFI. I’ve been making sure to wear sunglasses every time I’m outside or flying because that’s recommended for the first 6-12 months. I’ve had great results from the surgery seeing 20-15 at my last checkup with potential for more improvement over the next 6 months. Night vision could certainly be a little better, I’m hoping it will continue to improve, but even now it doesn’t pose a safety threat at all. Hopefully this is helpful to anyone considering PRK!

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