Ptosis

P

Prospective USMC

5-Year Member
Joined
Apr 29, 2013
Messages
40
What are the conditions one must have to get past ptosis? I have a remedial for which I need to explain pre and post op eyesight, and I was curious if my case is bad because DoDMERB doesn't seem to like surgery.
 
I am curious about this too. My son got hit in the face with a baseball when he was younger. Although there was no damage to his eye, the muscle above it relaxed and caused his lid to droop. He had surgery and has been fine since then.

He was medically disqualified for it, even though we presented a letter from his doctor stating he no longer has ptosis and that his vision is fine and in no way impaired. They still didn't remove the medical disqualification, so I am curious to see if a medical waiver is likely or unlikely since there is nothing wrong with him. I assume surgery for this condition is automatically a medical disqualification since that's what happened to my son.
 
Remedial or DQ?

"He was medically disqualified for it, even though we presented a letter from his doctor stating he no longer has ptosis and that his vision is fine and in no way impaired. They still didn't remove the medical disqualification, so I am curious to see if a medical waiver is likely or unlikely since there is nothing wrong with him. I assume surgery for this condition is automatically a medical disqualification since that's what happened to my son."

Did they DQ your son immediately, or did they ask for a remedial first? I also had perfectly fine vision afterwards (albeit with glasses/contacts), and if you can prove that then I don't know why they would automatically DQ him. Hopefully a waiver is already in the works.
 
Prospective USMC, I believe he was disqualified first because it was a surgery and then they asked for information from his doctor. I got a copy of the file and submitted it. Since it did not change his status, we figured that maybe the file we sent from the doctor didn't make it clear that he did not have the condition any more and his vision was not impaired. We then submitted a letter from his doctor that said he was fine. However, it still did not change his DQ status. It's now been submitted to the waiver board.

I thought it was strange that it would still be disqualifying when he does not have the condition and the doctor verified it. Oh well, there is nothing we can do about it but wait. I guess some things must be disqualifying no matter what the result is.

Good luck to you! I hope it goes well.
 
All went well!

I found out yesterday that my status was changed to "Qualified." We followed DoDMERB's instructions and gathered all pre- and post-op records, and sent them in, and I guess it was enough. We also requested a letter from the surgeon who performed the procedure, which I think hammered it home that this didn't affect my vision.

That being said, best of luck!

Prospective USMC
 
That is great news! Congratulations! Thanks for the update. That is very encouraging.

We are still in limbo. I have suggested to my son to make a few calls and make sure the surgeon's letter was received, but I don't think he's done that yet. Since we have a letter from the surgeon stating everything is fine, maybe my son will also get qualified. I don't have a lot of confidence in DODmerb updating his status to qualified since they have had the letter from his surgeon since September. Hopefully he will get the waiver.
 
Last edited:
Update: my son called Dodmerb and they said they did receive the letter from his surgeon, but he is still disqualified. :frown: I guess that's the way it goes and shows that every single case is different. The surgeon's letter said that he doesn't have the condition any more and he has no vision impairment. I guess that's pretty much all we can do. Although it's very discouraging, I guess if it was meant to be, then it would happen. If not, then my son will pick himself up and plan a different future.
 
Another update: My son's waiver was granted! It took slightly less than three months.
 
Congratulations! We waited over three months for notification of our son's waiver...some of the longest months of my life. But worth the wait!


Sent using the Service Academy Forums® mobile app
 
paulycowgirl said:
Congratulations! We waited over three months for notification of our son's waiver...some of the longest months of my life. But worth the wait!


Sent using the Service Academy Forums® mobile app
Click to expand...

Thanks! This was definitely the longest wait. It was much worse than finding out about the scholarship because at least if he hadn't received the scholarship he could have still joined ROTC and eventually had a military career. The waiver was kind of a make or break type of thing. I seriously have never seen my son look happier. It's his dream and the wait was worth it.
 
I just wanted to contribute to this thread for future searches related to congenital ptosis. My son's status was just updated to Qualified. His ptosis does not affect his vision. Best wishes to everyone who is seeking a service academy appointment who has this condition. We've worried about this for years, and now we don't have to anymore!
 
Elizablessed said:
I just wanted to contribute to this thread for future searches related to congenital ptosis. My son's status was just updated to Qualified. His ptosis does not affect his vision. Best wishes to everyone who is seeking a service academy appointment who has this condition. We've worried about this for years, and now we don't have to anymore!
Click to expand...
Please clarify.

Was it a DoDMERB DQ?

All the services/commissioning programs have different waiver policies/waiver authorities? Are you willing to be specific if a waiver was required and what commissioning program and service?
 
Capt MJ said:
Please clarify.

Was it a DoDMERB DQ?

All the services/commissioning programs have different waiver policies/waiver authorities? Are you willing to be specific if a waiver was required and what commissioning program and service?
Click to expand...
My son was not DQ and did not need a waiver. He is DoDMERB qualified for USAFA and USCGA.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top