Primarily for general aviation discussion, but other aviation topics are also welcome.
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By nallen
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1841454
santon wrote:I've got early stage cataracts in both eyes. My optician suggested that eventually they will need to be done but said that the NHS wait for them to be bad before operating.


My optician said that I had very, very early stage cataracts a few years ago. According to her, when you can no longer reach the driving standard, then the NHS will deem you suitable for the op … don't know if that's the only criterion or if other extenuating circumstances apply. (As a policy, it would seem to leave lots of people on the cusp driving around with quite bad eyesight, all waiting until it got just that bit worse … or until they met a sympathetic optician like Rob's!)
By terrybarr
#1841670
When I had mine done about five years ago I'd gone to an eye doctor with dry eyes. She told me that I had early stage cataracts. I said something about having to wait until they were quite bad before having them removed and she replied that they could be done at any time and to go and see my GP. I did so and after a trip to the optician and a bit of chasing around over missing faxes etc. they were done. Distant fine now and 2.5 dioptres for reading.
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By akg1486
#1841688
Rob P wrote:As I am currently on a PMD and I judged myself fit to drive within a week I'd say seven days grounding would have worked. I have just been to the optician for a four week check, no requirement to wear spectacles for distance work at all, so I'm guessing that had Class 2 been available then this four week grounding would be about the full extent of it.

Of course eight weeks in total as the right eye was done four weeks previously

Rob P

Thanks, Rob. I have booked my yearly AME examination for Friday this week and I'll talk to her about when and if I should consider surgery. I have no doubt I'll pass the test with my current glasses. Being grounded for a month (it won't be both eyes) is certainly a small price to pay, especially if not during the summer months.

Thanks to everyone who contributed here. :thumleft: I really only resurrected this older thread to say how useful it was, but then the usefulness got added to considerably.
By Billstone
#1842574
Rob P wrote:I have had surgery within the last couple of months on both eyes.

I meet the legal standard to drive, so my PMD remains valid. But as I will at some point want my Class 2 back I have kept my AME informed.

Billstone wrote: ...as he was injecting my eye ...


For anyone facing this procedure, no injections were used in my procedures that I was aware of.

Rob P


Wow! I should have gone to the place you did then!
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By Rob P
#1842621
I just checked their procedure and the anaesthesia is with eye drops only. And very effective they are. :D

Rob P
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By akg1486
#1842657
I passed my yearly Class 2 medical on Friday and my AME told me what to do when the time comes to have the surgery. So I'm all set! :thumleft:
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By Billstone
#1842779
At my next medical following cataract surgery I took a letter along from my eye surgeon explaining that everything was OK, luckily I copied it first because the AME snaffled it, but the point being that cataract surgery seemed to be a no big deal issue with regards to medicals.
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By akg1486
#1842855
Flyin'Dutch' wrote:Be aware that i.a.w. Med A.020 you have to declare surgical procedures at the time they happen, not just at your next medical.

That's exactly what my AME told me to do. Which makes perfect sense, of course.
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By akg1486
#1909641
A year has passed since I resurrected this thread from 2020, and foolishly enough I didn't do a separate vision test this winter but left it until my yearly Class 2 medical. Which I failed. :( I now have an appointment with an opthamologist in just under two weeks and hope to get the surgery as soon as possible. If the waiting time at our equivalent of the NHS is too long, I have a medical insurance policy through work. But either way, I'll lose this summer's flying since the AME told me that it's a minimum of three months between a successful surgery and being allowed to get a new medical.

Advice given in this thread earlier (in 2020 and 2021) was very good, so the thread deserves a bump. Too bad all posts including quotes can't be shown anymore after the upgrade. The most important thing to know is that, if you need surgery, you must clearly state that you're a pilot. The best surgery that could give you good vision at any distance without glasses isn't available to us since it makes you susceptible to glare. The good news, as told by several in this thread, is that the end result is usually excellent.
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By Flyin'Dutch'
FLYER Club Member  FLYER Club Member
#1909647
Varifocal Intraocular lenses has improved but there is still a fair risk of glare. I am not sure what the Swedish (making an assumption here!) view on varifocal IOLs is, maybe worth asking.

Sorry to read the timings are not working out for flying this summer - that is a big shame.
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By akg1486
#1909659
Correct assumption, FD, and I did ask my AME. But I can live with progressive reading glasses. I will consult with the specialist, too, of course.

I should have taken a regular eye test earlier: my mistake.
By Vtr1000
#1909662
Don’t where you are but if your in East Anglia ask your Dr to refer you ACES Anglia Community Eye Services under NHS. I was referred within 6 weeks and after that first op following week then 4 weeks second op followed by settling for 6 weeks and comprehensive CAA optical examination and CAA Class 3 medical reinstated.
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By akg1486
#1909664
I'm not in the UK, but thanks for the tip: there may be several others who can benefit. :thumleft:
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By akg1486
#1909829
My AME contacted me today (on a Sunday!) to let me know the rules have changed from the last time she looked: I don't need to wait three months post surgery, just 3-4 weeks. So summer isn't necessarily lost, provided I can get a slot for the procedure.

Good service by the AME :thumleft:
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