Subjective Safety And Practicality Assessment After Presbyond Laser Blended Vision In Class 1 Commercial Pilots

To report the subjective outcomes of PRESBYOND Laser Blended Vision in presbyopic commercial pilots using a pilot functional vision questionnaire.

London Vision Clinic, London UK

This was a retrospective study of 23 pilots who underwent PRESBYOND Laser Blended Vision. Following a review of the pre­senting complaints and motivational factors expressed by pilots when presenting for laser refractive surgery assessments, a questionnaire was designed with the input of three commercial airliner pilots. The questionnaire consisted of 16 questions and pilots were asked to retrospective­ly grade each occupational task according to a 5-point Likert scale (1 = very poor, 2 = poor, 3 = adequate, 4 = good, 5 = excellent) from before surgery with glasses to after surgery without glasses. Pilots could indicate on the questionnaire if glasses were required in performing each of the functional tasks listed.

Questionnaire data was available for 18 pilots (78.3%), all pilots achieved Class 1 medical certification from the UK Civil Aviation Authority. Eleven pilots (61%) achieved recertification without spectacle requirement and 7 pi­lots (39%) recertified with a spectacle requirement. Fifteen (83.3%) pilots reported full independence from glasses during flying irrespective of a spectacle limitation. There was a statisti­cally significant postoperative improvement in performing each of the 16 functional tasks (P < .001). There was a statistically significant improvement to eye comfort compared to before surgery: 88% (15/17) of pilots reported improved comfort, 12% (2 of 17) reported no change, and no pilots reported reduced comfort after surgery.

The full range of visual requirements of presbyopic pilots can be met by PRESBYOND Laser Blended Vision LASIK. Presbyopic Class 1 commercial pilots reported a subjective improvement in visual tasks and comfort after surgery.