Do you have questions regarding your FAA medical certificate and benign prostatic hyperplasia? Benign prostatic hyperplasia, or enlargement of the prostate, is a common condition that airmen experience. Fortunately, benign prostatic hyperplasia does not have to be a roadblock to your FAA medical certificate. Specifically, the FAA has identified a relatively straightforward process for achieving FAA medical certification following a diagnosis and treatment for benign prostatic hyperplasia.
If you are reporting benign prostatic hyperplasia on your FAA medical application, your Aviation Medical Examiner (“AME”) is authorized to issue you a medical certificate, without the need to defer your application, if you have findings consistent with uncomplicated benign prostatic hyperplasia and there is no evidence of prostate cancer. Most treatments for benign prostatic hyperplasia, such as alpha blockers, are not disqualifying and your AME should issue your certificate if you are found to be otherwise qualified. Medications for benign prostatic hyperplasia are disqualifying if you are taking them for any other condition such as pulmonary arterial hypertension. Furthermore, nitrates are disqualifying. Medications such as Cialis, Levitra, Staxyn, Stendra, and Viagra are approved by the FAA for treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia, with certain mandatory wait times before flying.
Why involve a FAA attorney in your FAA medical application? Despite what you may hear from your AME, the medical certification process is more so a legal process than a medical process. Ensuring that your doctor is developing the proper documentation regarding your history of benign prostatic hyperplasia, as well as your treatment, if any, can be a delicate process. To that end, everything that is submitted to the FAA (i.e. records, statements, evaluations, etc.) goes into your airman medical file. This file is what the FAA then utilizes to evaluate whether you are eligible to hold a medical certificate. If you are later denied and wish to appeal that denial, your airman medical file becomes “Exhibit A” before the NTSB or upon reconsideration by the Federal Air Surgeon. So, a FAA attorney can evaluate your records, prepare a plan for best presentation of your case to the AME or FAA, and best argue your medical eligibility to the Federal Air Surgeon, with an eye for potential, future appeal. Furthermore, if your medical documentation is as strong as possible upon initial submission, in doing so, hopefully, you will avoid unnecessary delay.
If you are concerned about your FAA medical and benign prostatic hyperplasia, call the FAA attorneys at The Ison Law Firm. We are happy to evaluate your case and discuss with you a plan for presenting your case to your AME or the FAA. Aviation law is all we do. Nothing else.