Will my occupation dictate whether or not I can have Laser Eye Surgery?

In short no it won’t. It used to be the case that some occupations, such as working in the armed forces or police force were unsuitable for people who had undergone laser eye surgery. This was because the LASIK procedure creates a large flap in the front of the eye to allow the ophthalmologist to access the underlying layers of the cornea, so that they can reshape it to correct your vision. Once this flap has been made, there is always the risk that it can become dislodged by knocks or jolts that you may experience. This would lead to you temporarily losing your vision. In physical professions such as the police or army, you have an increased risk of dislodging the LASIK flap, so this procedure is usually not allowed.

Do not despair, there are a number of other procedures that are available to correct your vision if your job involves an increased risk of the flap dislodging. Acceptable procedures include LASEK and PRK, which do not have such a large flap and in the case of PRK have no flap at all. For more information contact a laser eye clinic to ensure the procedure you want is acceptable to your job or speak with your employer.

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