I had Lasik at Accuvision in January 2003, with a relatively high prescription of -6.75R and -5.25L. I had previously been to Boots who turned me down due to my high prescription and corneal thickness. I had seen on this web site the claim that Accuvision could treat people turned down by other clinics so I contacted them and was informed that they would be able to treat my prescription.

Due to my age, I was advised to have monovision (one eye slightly
under-corrected) which would enable me to continue to read without the need for glasses as it seemed silly to replace one pair of glasses with another.

Accuvision were extremely professional throughout. Everything was fully explained and I went for my consultation having already sought out as much information as possible so I would know what to ask about. They were very patient and quite happy to answer my numerous questions.

On the day of treatment, I was like a nervous wreck and as the surgeon approached me I nearly took off out the door. The treatment itself was uncomfortable completely painless and having the benefit of not being able to see what was happening because of my short-sightedness was a bonus. Due to living 100 miles from London, I had to stay overnight in an hotel as I would need to be checked the next morning. I also chose an appointment late in the day so I could just return to the hotel and rest my eyes for the remainder of the day. My eyes felt gritty for a few hours, but by 9 o'clock this had passed. My husband had to administer the hourly eye drops, which was the only time I opened my eyes until the next morning. It was immediately struck by being able to see the clock when I woke up, something which I haven't been able to do for a long time. However, I was unable to read, but it was early days and was told this could improve. The next day I was +0.5 in both eyes. When I returned for my monthly check up, this had reduced to +0.25 and, as there was a possibility that this would be the case, I was already booked in for an enhancement to be done on the same day. I must say I went in feeling rather blasé about it all having already had the procedure once, but the downside was that I could see everything they were doing which was a bit daunting. Everything went well and the discomfort after was much less than the previous treatment due to only slight surgery. I still had to have an overnight stay so I could be checked the next morning. Anyway, the next day I had 20/20 in the right and -1 in the left which was the intended outcome so I can function without any need for glasses. I would point out that during the whole process I was meticulous about my eyes, ensuring nothing got into them and following the advice on eye drops, etc, to the letter. I even wore the eye covers overnight for an extra couple of nights as I was petrified about rubbing my eyes in my sleep.

A year later my eyes are stable and it still amazes me that this can be done at all, especially after 20 years of wearing contact lenses. It is brilliant to go on holiday and not to worry about falling asleep on the plane and getting lenses stuck to the eyes and not having to carry numerous of pairs of contact lenses with me. I can't thank Accuvision enough. It was a bit of a pain having to keep travelling back and forward to London for the regular checks, but it was certainly worth doing and I would recommend Accuvision to anyone. Obviously there are risks, but you need to weigh up the pros and cons and I feel Accuvision are one of the leaders in the field.