St Thomas’ Hospital

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.

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 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.

I had bilateral LASEK surgery, performed by Mr David O'Brart, on Friday 25th July 2003. I learned about this practice and LASEK by word-of-mouth, and chose this method as I am a diver and it is most suited to me because I have wide pupils. I am now on my fourth day post-op and am recovering steadily. I can already see well enough to type and read my comments on the screen of my computer. I can tolerate this and the television in short periods and read for short times too. My vision at this time is slightly blurry but I have little soreness in either eye, save for a sensitivity to bright light. The first 48 hours after the operation were spent resting in a darkened room as my eyes were sore, but not unbearably so. Despite being prescribed anaesthetic eye drops, I did not feel the need to use them. There was no pain at all during the operation. I commend Mr O'Brart on his professionalism and reassurance during every stage so far. Seeing the gradual improvement to my vision that each day brings is worth it thus far!

I thought I would put an update. I had my left eye done last December (I was -6.00) and the right one in february (-3.5), both with some astigmatism. I had my check up consultation last week and everything is perfect! I have a bit of residual astigmatism on my left eye but it does not bother me, I hardly notice. As far as I know my vision is now perfect (6/6) and I'm very glad I went ahaed with surgery and I chose David for the job. I can definitely recommend him to anyone! What's next then? I will have a follow up consultation f(or free of course around october) to check all is fine and in the mean time if I need to see him I just phone! The aftercare is certainly fantastic.

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!

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 -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!

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.