I’ve been wearing glasses since I was about 7 and contacts since I was 16. For me glasses and contact lenses have been the bain of my life. Wearing contacts dried my eyes out and wearing glasses put pressure behind my ears. By the end of the day I would either have very tired dry eyes or a sore head! I'm now 25 and had had enough!

So when all this new laser surgery came in I suggested it to my father. My father is a GP but used to specialise in Ophthalmology, so was versed in these developments. Being the worrying parent as well as a doctor, he wanted to make sure that we went to the right place and had the surgery done by the best person.

I asked several of my friends, who had already had the treatment, where they had it done and investigated the various places. One of my friends highly recommended the ‘Centre for Sight’ at East Grinstead. I suggested this to my father who made his own investigations. After speaking to some other doctors, we agreed to go to the Centre for Sight for a consultation.

I had a consultation on a Thursday, where I had a series of tests conducted on my eyes which took several hours. I later discovered why it took so long. The Centre for Sight is one of the few places that use Zyoptix Lasik to correct short sightedness. This technology has been around for about 3 years and has seen better results than normal Lasik. As explained by Dr Daya, the huge number of tests were necessary just in case I wanted Zyoptix rather than normal Lasik.

I booked in to have the surgery the following Saturday. The surgery isn’t painful at all as you are given a sedative beforehand and takes only five minutes for both eyes. I would describe it as uncomfortable rather than painful but for a whole five minutes I was prepared to put up with it. Dr Daya actually conducted the surgery himself which instilled me with confidence. Dr Daya has been in this profession for around 10-15 years. The nurses were absolutely wonderful, caring and very patient. There is always someone on hand to help you after the surgery as you’re eyes are very sensitive for a couple of hours after the treatment. I can’t fault the nurses one bit.

I went home and went straight to sleep for several hours. It’s very tempting to use your new eyes when you get home as you’re eyes have become accustomed to light again. It’s also important to use your drops religiously afterwards as well. By the following day, my eyes were fine and I was having a drink with a few friends the next day as if nothing had happened.

I went for a check-up the following Monday and was declared to have perfect vision. It was a tremendously satisfying feeling to place my glasses into the bin which eventually goes to 3rd world countries. I have booked in for an appointment in a month’s time for a further check-up.

Centre for Sight aren’t cheap but after going for the consultation, I had decided this was definitely the place as it was safe and hygienic and the staff are fantastic. I just didn’t like the idea of doing it in our local Boots store.

Just make sure your eyes have been stable for at least 2 years otherwise you will be cheating yourself, make sure you use drops religiously afterwards and definitely make sure you go to sleep as soon as you get home from the surgery. I would definitely recommend taking a few days of just to be on the safe side. I took about 3 days off and I’m glad I did to allow myself to get used to my new eyes.

Hope this helps.

Ash Sripuram