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Dear Pilots:
We have treated a number of pilots with prostate brachytherapy and they are all anxious to resume working as quickly as possible. Please find this information as I hope it will be helpful to you. There is a company called Virtual Flight Surgeon – VFS. The phone number is 1-866-237-6633, or 720-857-6117. The website is: www.aviationmedicine.com. VFS has been coordinated with the Allied Pilots Association. After a pilot has received a prostate seed implant, the pilot needs to obtain all documentation regarding his diagnosis and treatment employed. Paperwork is sent to VFS. They coordinate and relay documents to the FAA and I believe send the documents to the FAA who then reviews it. It usually takes the FAA a couple of weeks and then they send a medical back to the patient so he can resume his flying duties. That is the big overview of it.
Typically, once a pilot finds out that he has prostate cancer, he is removed from flight status and all told utilizing prostate brachytherapy they are usually back flying within four months. That includes the waiting time for the prostate seed implant which takes approximately four to six weeks. Typically three months after the implant is performed, the patient is ready to resume flying. There are no restrictions to the pilot’s flying abilities. The pilot does need to once a year send paperwork from his doctor to the FAA medical examiner. This is the individual the pilot typically gets his flight physical from. It is our understanding that the rules are the same for pilots who fly commercially or privately. It all has to go through the FAA. There may be some difference if the pilot does not need to maintain a first class physical. If the pilot only needs a second or third class medical, the restrictions may be different yet we are not certain.
After the patient has a prostate seed implant, typically the pilot will rest up, convalesce and heal. He will go back to the doctors for post-operative check. Gradually as the pilot’s energy is improving and the PSA is coming down, the data is submitted from the doctors to the virtual flight surgeon who forwards it to the FAA. The FAA then grants the release for the pilot to resume flying. It is our understanding that the Allied Pilots Association is somehow affiliated with Virtual Flight Surgeon. If a pilot is not associated with VFS, they can obtain the documentation themselves and send it to the FAA. They would have to contact the FAA, however, to find out who to send it to and just what exactly they want. VFS fees are typically paid through the pilot’s union, thus for union pilots there is no expense but there may be for private pilots. Virtual Flight Surgeon is located at 14707 East 2nd Avenue, Suite 200, Aurora, CO 80011.
We do hope that this information is helpful to our pilot patients. Should a pilot have other information that could be helpful to others, please let us know and we will try to update our website accordingly.
Sincerely yours,
Gregory A. Echt, MD
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