PRK Navy Laser Eye Surgery

Join the Navy and see the world -- in fact, if you're a midshipman at the Naval Academy, you're likely to see it clearer than ever.

Midshipman 1st Class Whit Abraham entered the Naval Academy four years ago with 20/200 vision and was considered "legally blind."

About 350 midshipmen, all in their junior year, undergo the corrective procedure each year, said Dr. Pasternak, the head of refractive surgery at National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda.

The cost to taxpayers is $600 per eye, which Dr. Pasternak described as a good bargain, considering it costs about $250,000 to educate a midshipman at the academy.

The Navy generally uses the PRK (photorefractive keratectomy) laser process and not Lasix surgery.

Both procedures reshape the eye's cornea but Lasix leaves a small flap of tissue on the eye, Dr. Pasternak said. While not a problem for most people, the flap may be subject to tearing or irritation in extreme combat environments.

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