St Thomas’ Hospital

It's been 7 weeks since my surgery on my left eye. My vision is very good although I am still very slightly long-sighted but this should regress within next few months as surgeon confirmed on my last check up on 10th of January. Take into account that the more short-sighted the longer it takes. I was -6 with some astigmatism. My astigmatism is now almost non existent and so far so good: I have no problems at night vision (although my pupils are very wide!) no dry eye, nothing…all is fine! Only thing I find my treated eye is very sensitive when cutting onions :-) I went back to swim the other day and had no problem at all with the water, and being able to see clearly (albeit with my left eye only) was quite fantastic! I have now booked for my right eye for 28th of February. I will keep you all posted on this!

What can I say, but thanks to David O'Brart my life has changed. A year ago I couldn't recognise my own son from 6ft away. I was -8.5 in the right eye and -8 in the left, both with astigmatisms. I tried Ultralase who only did LASIK but because I had thin corneas they couldn't treat me. After research I found St Thomas's and Mr O'Brart. It's now been a year since I had my right eye treated (9 months for the left) and what a difference it has made. Very little pain with the right but more so with the left. David was very reassuring throughout and I felt much happier being seen by the consultant doing the operation in the first place than (like ultralase) being passed round from one assistant to another each doing their own tests. The only problem I've experienced was a little dry eye in very hot temperatures. And the result, I'm now +0.5 in the right, and =0.35 in left, legal to drive, no reading glasses needed and I can recognise my son across a football field. Don't hesitate, do it now.

I have spent the best part of the last year doing lots of research on the internet with regard to Laser Eye surgery and have found this web site to be absolutely invaluable. A friend had already recommended David O'Brart to me, and his name had been mentioned by others, but the comments on this web site assured me that he was the best person for the job. I had my consultation in November, very impressed with the way everything was explained to me and I was pleased that I was suitable for Lasek, as the invasive technique of Lasik had never appealed to me. Would you believe it took me weeks to pluck up the courage to book my first eye in, and with some trepidation, I arrived at St Thomas on 17th January with my sister, Janice, who had also decided to take the plunge, and have Lasek to correct her short-sightedness. I was very nervous, (understandable, I suppose, after all, it's not every day that one has eye surgery!), but David was very patient and calming. My right eye, the weakest, was duly 'zapped', and, apart from some pain after the protective contact lens was removed on the Monday, everything has been fine. It is now 2 weeks since the surgery and the vision is absolutely unbelievable. I was -8.25 with a severe astigmatism of -3, (I hadn't realised that I was that short sighted !!), but following my 10 day check up, on 27th January, I am ever so slightly long-sighted at +0.65 and I'm told that this will improve still. David has said that my left eye could be done in approx 6 weeks, which is great. My sister, Janice, is equally pleased with the results of her surgery. Anyone reading this who is unsure, I would say do your research like I did, but I would thoroughly recommend Mr O'Brart. I know that it's still early days, but for someone like me, who has worn glasses since the age of 7, and GP contact lenses for the last 18 years, it is truly remarkable. Looking forward to the next eye being done, and being free of contact lenses completely.

Guys here are my experiences - hope they help others with their decisions. Would I do it again? YES. Ask me in 30 years though; don't forget this is still an experimental procedure. Surgery Bilateral 2 weeks ago. -2.75 left and - 3.0 with astigmatism in right. Chose David 'cos; 1. This website 2. Ophthalmology surgeon friend who recommended him after hearing him speak. 3. Wanted LASEK I concur with all the other good comments about him on the website. OK despite being into various so called "extreme sports" bilateral eye surgery is the scariest thing I've ever done!! Day of OP; Started immediately on full dose of Co-Proxamol pain killers. Despite this had severe bilateral pain for about 3 hours on day 1 and used the local anaesthetic drops 3 times each eye. Day 2&3; bionic vision in left eye blurred vision in right eye. Both eyes "uncomfortable" Day 3; lenses out - blurred vision in both eyes for rest of day. Days 4-7 distance vision blurred in left (previously "bionic") eye and very clear in right eye. Near vision intermittently blurred in both. Awoken with pain from dry eyes each morning. 6/7.5 and 6/10 at 1 week check up. Days 7 - 16 (today). General gradual improvement in vision in both eyes. NOTE; this is better 1st thing in morning and fluctuates during the day. Vision can be as good as 6/4 in either eye but is occasionally 6/12. Seems to be settling down now with more time having great vision and less time blurred. Blurring also seems to be related to ability to focus and distance vision is worse for a few minutes after having been reading. Painful dry eye has now gone. Have only very minimal halos and glare and this is already settling. I'm MASSIVELY pleased with this result so far and if it continues to settle and remains at 6/6 (or ? 6/5) in both eyes it'll be awesome. Lessons learnt; vision is ALL OVER THE PLACE for 1st week and you really can't have any expectations. Everyone's experiences are probably different. Things seem to start to settle at 10 days to 2 weeks.

Thought it was about time to post my update. I had the previously aborted left eye done at the end of November. This time David used his brand spanking new custom laser with which he was more able to take into account the erroneous ablations of last June (see earlier reports). Thankfully all went well and David retrieved a difficult situation admirably (which shows the value of getting the right person when it comes to your eyes). Anyhow, cutting a long story short, I have come form -9.00s in both eyes and last measurements (end December) showed left at 0.00 and right at +.25 ish. I was a bit concerned that as the right had moved from +2.00 to +0.25 that the left would have gone the same way - but there is no sign of that happening as of today. The thing to remember for you high myopic out there is that the correction is so great that getting to 0.00 requires quite a bit of luck as well. We all heal at different speeds. My right eye was done 4 months ago and it still continues to "fill in"...... and it hasn't finished yet. Definitions are becoming more acute with every week that passes - sometimes almost imperceptibly, but you know it's happening. this process can take months in cases like mine. This is inconvenient if you are working with PCs or you have to do a lot of reading. At my age (46) you might expect to have to use reading glasses. It seems that the short sightedness was hiding or delaying in some way the necessity for reading glasses (a muscular problem, not corneal) . I'm currently using a temporary +1 correction to read but as my eyes are still filling in, this might end up as final, it might be +.5 ... or it may not be necessary at all. But hey, who cares. That's nothing!! I'm in for a test next week. I suspect I'll be put back on the steroids for a few weeks as the eye is still in recovery mode but I have to tell you I'm ecstatic. Since having the eyes done I've been kayaking in New Zealand and I'm off to Finland in February for a bit of "Hole in the Ice " (jumping in a freezing lake). I'm not telling you this to boast - but with -9.00s you tend to think twice about these things and you feel less inclined to take risks where you might lose you eyes (glasses). Now I don't. It's difficult to describe this feeling to those born with perfect vision. I'll keep you posted.

I had PRK surgery with Mr O'Brart in 1999. I was -2 to -2.5 and am now less than -0.5 is either eye. I fully recommend Mr O'Brart to anyone willing to pay for one of the best surgeons in the country. I have written a web page detailing my experiences which is located at: http://www.twinnies.demon.co.uk/prk/prkexperience.html Cheers, Paul

My latest check up a year or so on from surgery shows that my vision is better than 6/6 in my left eye and 6/6 in my right eye, which is amazing quite frankly. To save you trawling back through my posts, my eyes were around -7 dioptres before surgery. Mr. O'Brart will call me back in a couple of years for a free check up on my eyes and because he wants to add to his 13 years of patient data. I can see him for free at any time in between. I doubt you'd get this sort of service from a clinic.

I had -1.75 on both eyes and a slight astimatism on one of them. After intense research on the web and in particular on this site I chose LASEK by David O'Brart. LASEK combines most of the advantages of LASIK (less danger of reflections at night through an uneven surface, less pain and quicker recovery) without its higher risk level (the flap that is being lifted up in the LASIK process only heals on the side and can become loose even after years!). David O'Brart is probably the best eye surgeon in the UK with experience in laser eye surgery since 1990 and is one of the pioneers of the LASEK method. He does everything himself including the initial consultation (I recommend to go first to one of the other clinics which offer a free consultation, as Mr O'Brart charges £ 100 for this in addition to the £ 900 per eye). I had my surgery one month ago and my vision is now perfect, without nighttime reflections or any other problems. The first two days were slightly painful, so not unbareable and I was very lightsensitive for about one week (wearing sunglasses even indoors helped me a lot). I reached already driving standard after one week and went back to work after 10 days. The first couple of days at work were rather tough so, as my job means staring full time at a PC screen, which was very tiering. All together I can highly recommend David O'Brart and LASEK. I believe it is worth it to pay the higher price than going to one of the big chain clinics, where you haven't got a clue who is going to operate you and might have had just a weeks training!

I had considered having laser treatment for some time, but was very concerned with the risks, as I have sight only in one eye. After much research I decided to have LASEK performed by David O'Brart. Several clinics said they could perform the surgery, but I felt it was important to have it performed by a surgeon who could, if anything went wrong, provide the best aftercare. After an initial consultation with Mr O'Brart, where he outlined the risks and advantages, I decided to proceed. The surgery was performed on 28th March 2003, now just over a week the vision in my eye has gone from +1.75 to -0.5, hopefully the correction will stabilise to 0.0. I found the operation painless, feeling totally reassured by Mr O'Brart at every stage. The surgery was performed at 10.00 a.m. the rest of that day I rested in a darkened room. The next day, with the aid of sun-glasses I walked for several hours, still requiring a rest in the afternoon. The only discomfort I have experienced is the contact bandage slipped around my eye giving a feeling of soreness. I am due to go back and see Mr O'Brart early May, after which I will post another report. I agree with most people who have posted reports on this web page, that Mr O'Brart provides one of the best services available.

I had bilateral lasek performed at St Thomas by Mr O'Bart 11th April after 2 years research and dithering. I am glad I opted for such a professional surgeon who put me at ease at every stage even though it meant travelling in a car for 4 hours after the operation. I had no pain at all from my right eye and could see (if slightly blurred) immediately post operatively and 2 days discomfort from the left after my first check up I was 0.25 and 0.5 but I feel this has already settled somewhat and will find out next week the current level.