Glasses tend to be an inconvenience for many of us. For our soldiers, vision correction is more than inconvenience it’s a hazard on battlefields such as Afghanistan and Iraq. Glasses and contact lens are not a reality for combat soldiers, so doctors in the military have reviewed other, more permanent visual correction options such as LASIK and Implantable Contact Lens for nearsighted soldiers.

LASIK is a visual correction using a laser to reshape the cornea so the eyes are not dependent on glasses or contact lenses. The ICL is an implantable lens that achieves similar visual independence without removing the eye’s natural lens. The initial military study conducted at Fort Hood on 104 soldiers and 206 eyes have shown that the ICL provides better night acuity, safer on the battlefield and results of 20/20 post-op. According to the study, more active duty soldiers are asking for ICL.

Dr. Sandy T. Feldman, of ClearView Eye and Laser Medical Center in San Diego, suggests that soldiers have a complimentary consultation so that she can tailor a visual correction plan that best fits their eyes. She’s a leading eye surgeon in San Diego and has treated military service members with LASIK and PRK, another LASIK alternative for near and farsighted eyes.

At Clearview in San Diego, Dr. Sandy T. Feldman understands that visual acuity day or night is critical for soldiers and that is why she uses the customized Wavescan Wavefront System that digitally maps the eye’s imperfections to find the precise prescription. This system is 25 times more accurate than those used in most eye doctor offices. This customized “eye fingerprint” translates to achieving 20/20 vision for 98 percent of her patients. She uses that unique image to decide if LASIK or ICL, or even PRK is best.