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Night firing range performance following photorefractive keratectomy and laser in situ keratomileusis
Kraig S Bower1, Jenna M Burka, Prem S Subramanian
1Center for Refractive Surgery, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, DC, USA.
Objective:
To investigate the effect of laser refractive surgery on night weapons firing.
Methods:
Firing range performance was measured at baseline and postoperatively following photorefractive keratectomy and laser in situ keratomileusis. Subjects fired the M-16A2 rifle with night vision goggles (NVG) at starlight, and with iron sight (simulated dusk). Scores, before and after surgery, were compared for both conditions.
Results:
No subject was able to acquire the target using iron sight without correction before surgery. After surgery, the scores without correction (95.9 +/- 4.7) matched the preoperative scores with correction (94.3 +/- 4.0; p = 0.324). Uncorrected NVG scores after surgery (96.4 +/- 3.1) exceeded the corrected scores before surgery (91.4 +/- 10.2), but this trend was not statistically significant (p = 0.063).
Conclusion:
Night weapon firing with both the iron sight and the NVG sight improved after surgery. This study supports the operational benefits of refractive surgery in the military.
