NAION

[Pilotfred]

Hello Doctor:

I am a Captain for a major airline and hold a Class 1 Medical Certificate.

I was diagnosed with NAION in my right eye about 4 years ago.

The FAA issued a Authorization For Special Issuance for my medical to include the Humphrey Visual Field test, a Report Of Eye Evaluation and a blood pressure evaluation on a yearly basis. Everything was ok with those follow-ups until this month.

2 weeks ago I found that I had the same symptoms now in my left eye. I was seen that day by the Ophthalmologist. The HVF test confirmed about the same visual field loss as the right eye. A ESR test was done to rule out GCA. The blood tests were normal and a dx of NAION was given to the fellow eye.

I should also note that the Eye Evaluation remained unchanged from all previous reports. Every other aspect is normal and vision is corrected to 20/20 in each eye.

With the research that I have done with this condition I know that a percentage of the persons affected with this will get it bilaterally within 3-4 years of the first eye.

I immediately notified my AME and faxed all supporting reports to him. He has stated that he in turn has faxed all of this paperwork to the FAA.

The question that I have for you at this moment is what should I expect to hear from the FAA in this matter and in what time frame would you expect a reply?

Thank You

[My Flight Surgeon]

If he FAXed the documents, it will speed the process by about 5 days. The usual length of time for their response is 4-5 weeks. That being said, if the AME waits 5 business days for the documents to get scanned into the system he can call and talk to the doctor on call who may well make a decision on the phone. We do this all the time.

[Pilotfred]

Thank you for you quick reply.

Have you ever had experience with a pilot with bilateral NAION attempting to get certification? If so what was that outcome?

Can you shed any light on your personal thoughts on what (you) would expect the outcome to be from the certification side of this?

Thank You

Just as I finished typing the above, the phone rang and it was my AME.

He said that he had confirmed that my stuff was on the reviewer’s desk and that I could call OKC about Thursday to find out what’s going on.

I got his personal thoughts on the outcome but would still appreciate yours as well.

TY

[My Flight Surgeon]

With an unchanged eye evaluation, I would expect certification. As you know, there is no known cause for this (except Viagra and company ). It just occurs. Seems to affect men over the age of 50 more than others.

[Pilotfred]

Thanks for the reply

Never had nor will have any Viagra here.

[Pilotfred]

UPDATE

It has been 14 days, and confirmed by me via phone, since OKC scanned in my reports that were faxed to them by my AME.

I have called on a regular basis to OKC and the call takers state that it is "under review".

I understand that these "reviewers" are not physicians and on any given day have about 1,000 cases to review with about 20-25 reviewers.

I would like to know: How long I can expect to wait for a decision?

Is there anyone that can expedite this process?

If the reviewers are not physicians, when does a
physician ever look at the reviewers actions.

Thank You

[My Flight Surgeon]

The process takes 4-8 weeks, depending on the case and what type of review process is required. If the non-ohysician reviewers can make a decision, it is usually faster. If the case has to go to a physician reviewer for a decision, then that may add another 4 weeks to the process. This time can even be lengthened if the physician reviewer at the FAA decides they need to have an outside consultant review the case.

Just be patient and don't even try calling them back until the time has exceeded 6 week.