St Thomas’ Hospital

Mr O'Brart zapped my eyes to cure my short-sightedness many years ago - about 1997, I think. I'm 47 now and still have excellent vision. He gave unbiased advice, warning me of the slight variability in results and how my sight will always deteriorate with aging. I could probably do with wearing reading specs now - but Mr O'Brart told me this would be the case by the time i reached mid-forties. Anyway, to sum up, an enormous 'thank you' to Mr O'Brart.

So, I went for my consultation with David o'Brart yesterday afternoon and I've decided to go ahead next week for Bilateral LASEK - I have -3dioptres in both eyes - so I'm mildly myopic I was please that he didn't offer LASIK - as the flap option really disturbs me. He's obviously an incredibly competent guy and very well respected in the international community. He was extremely pleasant and answered all of my many questions. I recommend taking a friend family member with you for your first consultation as they may have questions you forget to ask! So I go next Friday - watch this space. For more info on David go to: www.davidobrart.co.uk

I regretably had LASEK at Ultralase in St. Albans and afterwards suffered burning eyes and blurred vision, I was advised that I could go back to work (I'm a PA working on a computer in an airconditioned office)as long as took regular breaks and promptly suffered sudden flashing lights and floaters, which I now have been advised is a partial vitreous detachment and at 31, this should not have happended. I then have been also left with burning eyes and blurred vision for 5 months until seeing David O'Brart at St. Thomas's who patched my eyes with antibiotic cream and gave me punctul plugs and now I am in no discomfort and can see! Ultralse kept telling me I had Blephritus and there was nothing they could do whereas David healed me within a week! I would strongly advise anyone to go to David for their treatment and only wish I had. I am now left with all these floaters which I firmly believe are from straining my eyes on the computer that I could hardly see and so wish I could turn the clock back!

I had both eyes 'LASEKED' five days ago. I concur with many of the comments on this website, believing I chose the best man for the job; Mr O'Brart. The surgery seemed to go without a hitch and Mr O’Brart always reassured me and let me know what was going to happen next. After the operation I had about 24 hours severe discomfort in both eyes, but after that I had very little trouble. Currently my right eye is pretty blurred and I have some sensitivity to light. Will let you know when the blurring diminishes, but I cannot stress how amazing it is not to be encumbered by glasses anymore!

Just an update on my previous comments below, following my surgery (LASEK) in Dec. 02 (left eye) and Feb. 03 (right eye). My vision is perfect, I have no problems at all. Night vision is perfect, my eyes are not dryer than before, really... it's boring there is nothing to say!. I am starting to find difficult to read very small letters, but this is probably age related (hitting 40 in 2 months!). All in all very glad I did it and that I chose David!

After about 5 years of indecision (and afraid of the pain of PRK and potential complications of LASIK), in 2003 I finally decided to go for the new LASEK method which seemed a good compromise between the two others. My eyes were short sighted, -3.75 and -4.00 with some astigmatism. I was treated by David O'Brart last August, and to save time had both eyes treated the same day. In my left eye I never felt any discomfort whatsoever, but my right didn't seem to respond to the anaesthetic and I felt every bit of the operation, and agony for around 9 hours afterwards. This quickly faded to discomfort over the weekend and was no problem by 3 days post-op. I was also very light sensitive the first week - the first two days I hid indoors with all the curtains shut and the light off! My eyesight was immediately better than it had been before, though a little blurry for the first 4 or 5 days. By a week or so I was OK driving. My right eye quickly had no short sightedness at all, my left lagged a little behind in the healing though on the first couple of check-ups. Using both eyes together, I was able to function perfectly well around 2 weeks post-op. At my 6 month check-up, my prescription was -0.125 in my left, +0.375 in my right. Using both eyes together, I can read one line BETTER than 20/20 vision on the eye charts, so I am very pleased.

After years of if’ing and butting whether to have laser eye surgery, I decided to research the various laser treatments but more importantly, find a surgeon that I could trust. I‘ve heard a few horror stories in the papers and wanted to ensure I wouldn’t be one of them. I wear soft contact lenses and have an annoying problem in my right eye with the lens moving out of place (revolving). This is due to my large astigmatism (eye shaped like a rugby ball, i.e. not round). The Toric lenses I wear, although designed and weighted do however move out of place a little, subsequently affecting my vision. Hopefully refractive eye surgery would fix my problem and eliminate the need for aided vision. Initial consultation with Mr O'Brart outlined the risks and advantages and he did say that due to my large astigmatism I might need additional surgery. I liked the idea of LASEK due to there being no flap involved unlike (LASIC) and a better recovery period and less risk of hazing than (PRK). I decided to proceed with LASEK on my right eye on the 10/10/2003. My prescription was –2.75 diopter sphere with a –2.25 diopter cylinder at 180 degrees, corrected to 6/5. Surgery went ok on the day, which was a Friday. Zonked out over the weekend and on pain killers. The only problem I did have was on the Sunday when my eye was sort of developing an intolerance to the contact lens due to wearing it constantly for 3 days, I think my eye couldn’t produce enough tears to keep it wet. Returned to Mr O’Brart on the Monday to have the contact lens bandage removed, what a relief to have it taken out! I then returned again on the following Friday for another check-up and was told it was healing nicely. Stopped the antibiotic drops and carried on with the suspension drops for a month. During the first month it should be noted that the surface skin healing did give fluctuating vision from one week to the next. Another check-up 5 weeks post op my prescription is 6/6 unaided and corrects to 6/6 with a +0.5 diopter sphere with a –0.5 diopter cylinder at 50 degrees with nice clear cornea. The slight over correction takes a bit of effort focusing, but hopefully will stabilise closer to 0.0 as time goes on. Overall I am very happy with the results, I can now read my projection clock on the ceiling even if it is only with one eye! I am also glad I had one eye done at a time, as Mr O’Brart said there are very rare complications that can happen which is why he prefers doing one eye at a time. It also enables you to get on with your normal day to day life pretty easily, alternatively I would have needed more time off work if I’d had both done at once. The down side of course is having to go through it again, although that’s a small price to pay when you consider it’s your eyes we are talking about here. I am having my other eye done in January and would strongly recommend Mr O’Brart to anybody considering Refractive Eye Surgery. Watch out for future posts.

I last posted in September 2002 and you can read all my posts dating back to Sept 2001, so just an update. No problems really. I would say that at night or dark conditions, my originally-weaker-eye does strain slightly as the pupil dilates. Anyone else have this? My other eye which had a very minor correction is perfect day and night. I'm still very pleased about the results and havent looked back. To be honest, I've forgotten I ever had the surgery! HIghly recommended.

I had my first month's checkup with Mr O'Brart on Thursday 11th September 2003. The results were better than I had anticipated, in that I was just slightly under in one eye and just slightly over in the other. My vision is still stabilising and I am confident, as is he, that things ought to improve in 2 months' time. Driving has not been a problem. Some slight dryness in the eyes, partcularly the left, has been a slight annoyance when waking up, and some sleep residue in the eye once caused a painful moment when blinking, but otherwise there has been no cause at all for complaint. I am very pleased indeed with my results.

After years and years of contemplating whether or not to have laser eye surgery, I decided to research the various laser treatments but more importantly, find a surgeon whom I could trust implicitly. David's profile attracted me the most as he seemed to constantly research this issue and provided superb aftercare to patients that he had treated. He was also very frank about the suitability of the treatment for a me as opposed to many clinics out there who are keen to make a quick buck without warning clients about the potential risks. It has been 3 years since I had surgery and I thoroughly enjoy not having to wear glasses and contact lenses anymore. Being able to see the world clearly after years and years of not being able to see it at all without constant aid is a life-changing experience and I would recommend David unreservedly and wholeheartedly.