Eyeworld

EW FEATURE 52 Refractive surgery in military personnel and first responders • July 2016 AT A GLANCE • Life-or-death situations have led agencies to increasingly view refractive surgery as an important part of helping to ensure public safety. • First responder patients are often motivated by job requirements to obtain refractive surgery. • These patients are notably compliant in the postop care and drop schedules. by Rich Daly EyeWorld Contributing Writer Refractive surgeons aim to help their local communities by improving the vision of first responders I t was a cold night when a police standoff led to a SWAT team's sniper lining up and preparing to fire on a suspect. Despite the challenging conditions, the keen vision of the sniper's spotter was able to discern that the suspect was not an immediate threat, and he told the sniper not to shoot. The spotter was a former refractive surgery patient of Daniel Durrie, MD, clinical professor of ophthalmology, University of Kansas Medical agencies have embraced refrac- tive surgery. "Individuals who are charged with public safety and are disabled because their glasses are knocked or if they lose their pre- scriptive correction through some accident are then unable to per- form their duties," Dr. Vukich said. "They know this immediately places them at risk in situations in which Center, and founder of Durrie Vision, Overland Park, Kansas. "He said 'Thank you, Dr. Durrie, for my outstanding vision because I knew not to shoot,'" Dr. Durrie said. It's a story that send chills up Dr. Durrie's spine whenever he recalls it, and it is one of the reasons why he strives to meet the needs of his police officer, firefighter, and paramedic patients. "If our first responders see bet- ter, then we're safer. This should be a community process that we work on," Dr. Durrie said. John Vukich, MD, adjunct asso- ciate clinical professor, University of Wisconsin Madison School of Medicine, noted law enforcement Serving those who serve their communities Monthly Pulse Refractive surgery in military personnel and first responders T he topic of this Monthly Pulse survey was "Refractive surgery in military personnel and first responders." We asked, "What percentage of your refractive procedures in the last 12 months has been on military patients or first responders?" The majority of respondents to our survey said 0–20%. We then asked which refractive procedure physicians use most often when operating on those in the military or first responders. The most popular answer was LASIK, and PRK was a close second. When asked, "What do you think is the greatest impact that the Depart- ment of Defense refractive surgery program has had on your practice?" the majority of respondents to this survey answered, "It is unclear whether it has impacted my practice." The second most popular answer was, "It improves patient confidence in the procedures." Finally, we asked, "What other oph- thalmic procedures do you think could be of further benefit to the military or first responders from a refractive standpoint?" Responses were almost equally divided among topography-guided LASIK, femtosecond lenticule extraction, and crosslinking.

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