Eyes set on dream job following surgery in Leeds

Yorkshire man, Kieran Hogan, has dreamed of becoming a pilot for as long as he can remember, but this ambition had been crushed by vision problems.

Aged 23, Kieran explains: “When I was 16 my first eye test showed that I had one long-sighted eye and also a lazy eye. I had not noticed as it was only in one eye, but it meant my brain was choosing to use the dominant eye, and so the other was becoming weaker.

“I wore a contact lens in the weaker eye for two years to see if it would correct the refractive error, which it did, but it did not have much impact on the weakness in my eye.  I was devastated that I could not join flight school at that point.”

Instead Kieran went to university and while there trained to sky dive and secured his solo license.  He went on to secure further licenses as well as for formation skydiving.  He has also recently taken up gliding at Burn Gliding Club near Selby, and enjoys sky diving from Peterlee in the North East every weekend that the weather is good. 

His enjoyment of these sports has further motivated him to make flying his career and so he reached out to eye health experts to help him once and for all.

From Mirfield, Kieran went to Optegra Eye Laser Centre Leeds (optegra.com) and met with Consultant Eye surgeon Mr. Shafiq Rehman.

Mr. Rehman said: “After thorough tests, we were confident that Kieran could have laser eye surgery – LASIK – in his right eye which was very long-sighted, to improve his vision in order to allow him to apply for his pilot training and license. His vision is now good enough for him to apply.

“As the vision across his two eyes had been so different, Kieran’s brain was favouring the stronger eye – called ocular dominance – and this is something that may be need to be improved in order to take the next step.

“His optometrist is now also helping him overcome this with special eye exercises which Kieran does three or four times a day.  We hope that by this summer, he will be able to successfully apply to flight school.”

Kieran is very pleased with the result of his surgery and said everything is now clinically perfect.  He noticed the difference in his vision immediately after surgery and is now continuing his eye exercises, which he describes as work in progress.

Following his Masters degree in maths at the University of Durham, Kieran currently works as a freelance web developer and aims to secure his pilot license as soon as possible to go on to become a commercial airline pilot.

Optegra Eye Hospital Yorkshire treats the A to Z of all eye health care and is based in Apperley Bridge, Bradford as well as Optegra Eye Laser Centre Leeds which is now open six days a week.

A free of charge and no-obligation consultation at Optegra can help a patient decide which vision correction procedure would suit them best. Your consultant will explain customised options and what these could mean for your vision. For example, whether laser eye surgery or lens replacement is most suitable, and then which specialised type of lens might best fit for your lifestyle. Even for cataract surgery patients the possibility of no longer relying on glasses or contact lenses for day-to-day vision is a strong possibility when the correct personalised approach is used.