Expert: MARK A. HOWELL - 11/3/2009

Question
My son is in boot camp in the Navy.  He was slated to go to the Nu-program.He has been diagnosis with Keratoconus.  He ask for a wavier.  He was denied.  I have research Keratoconus.  There are new cures for it.  Intacs and C3-R(R) (corneal collagen cross-linking with riboflavin).  If he gets either one of these treatments done.  Can he go back to the Navy?  He is completely devastated.  He waited 11 months to go with a special class.  What can he do?

Answer
Prathea,


Keratoconus is an automatic disqualification for the military.  Surgery to correct it is also a disqualification.

Keratoconus is usually readily apparent to the examiner.  His cornea will look cone-shaped instead of curved round.

Patients that have keratoconus usually start with a mild astigmatism, commonly at the onset of puberty, and are diagnosed as having the disease by the late teenage years or early 20's.  It reaches its most severe state in his 20's and 30's.

The classic symptom of keratoconus is the perception of multiple 'ghost' images, his vision will get steadily worse very rapidly, and his night vision will be very poor.

Most commonly, keratoconus progresses for a period of 10 - 20 years before the course of the disease generally halts.  It never goes away, and it never gets better, it just stops getting worse.

I'm sorry, I know that's not the answer he or you wanted to hear, but there's basically nothing he can do now.
Colonel H