Eye issues and 2nd class medical

[ADRidge]

I cannot for the life of me remember who it was on here recently asking about strabismus-type issues and not being able to pass the 2nd class med, but I figured I'd share some insight I just received from my AME.

 

I had an operation on my left eye when I was 6 months old to fix my strabismus, and because of that have some bifoveal divergence. I was told by my first AME that I couldn't pass a 2nd. Well, my new AME is actually willing to work with me a bit. She basically explained that I'd have to go to an eye doc and get a full exam. The eye doctor will write up the report and send it back to the AME, who will then send it to FAA Medical Branch. I suppose at that point, OKC will decide whether the results are good enough to get a straight up 2nd class or if I have to get a special issuance.

 

So far, it's taken all of five minutes at a doctor's office to get the ball rolling. As the process unfolds, I'll update this thread to try and document the process for others. I know there is very little in the way of easy to understand material on eye-related issues with the FAA, so hopefully this will help someone.