5.nbspTeen undergoes innovative eye surgery in hopes of achieving US Air Force dream
Photo credit: Boxer Wachler Vision Institute
When 15-year-old Jon Dase was later diagnosed with Keratoconus, a disease that causes vision loss, distortion, double-vision and multiple images, impacting everything from reading text on paper, to driving at night, he thought he military dreams were over. Jon’s father is an active-duty U.S. Marine, his paternal grandfather was also a Marine, and both of his maternal grandparents were in the U.S. Army. His brother Chris plans on joining the U.S. Marines Corps when he turns 18, and Jon has wanted to join the U.S. Air Force since he was 10.
The military, however, maintains a policy that prevents men and women from entering the service if they have had keratoconus— even if they’ve received corrective surgery, according to the U.S. Air Force website. Dr. Brian S. Boxer Wachler, of the Boxer Wachler Vision Institute in Beverly Hills, Calif., invented a surgery— called Holcomb C3-R— that would eventually halt the progression of Jon’s Keratoconus. The procedure serves as an alternative to a cornea transplant. The non-invasive surgery involves applying a crosslinking solution to the cornea, which is activated with a special light. That combination strengthens the eye’s collagen fibers and prevents further bulging, thus stabilizing the keratoconus. Dase and his family have now reached out to their local representatives in the hopes of petitioning the military to make changes in their eyesight policy for people having corrective surgery.
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http://www.foxnews.com/health/2014/11/11/teen-undergoes-innovative-eye-surgery-in-hopes-achieving-us-air-force-dream/