Ultralase

It is now just over 10 months since I had bi-lateral LASIK Hammersmith, Feb 15 02, by Vinod Gupta, see my previous reports. Was discharged by Ultralase after 6 months as I had a very good result and unlikely to change for the worse. I am still entitled to the 12 month aftercare though, and I'm sure if a problem arose after this time they would be most helpful. I think its important to point out to prospective patients that at Ultralase the Optometrists do all of the pre and post operation examinations. I have not been examined by the same Optometrist twice in a row, if ever. Some are pleasant and helpful, others less so. You only meet the surgeon on the day of the operation and never again, unless you have re-treatment or complications ..... which may or may not be your perception (i.e. not a perfect result but surgeon thinks its within normal parameters..) Have had many eye tests for work related reasons in the last 10 months. The worst I've had is 6/5 L and 6/6 R. I had very dry eyes that day and was dehydrated , and also because of in-car heating and air-conditioning at eye clinic. Airports are the worst for this. Both before and since I have been tested at 6/4 both eyes. However as per original post the right eye is still generally worse in vision quality even though I can read 6/4 (last week had a test and could make out 7 letters out of 8 on the 6/4 line with right eye, all of them with left eye. I'm past the dry eyes stage except occasionally, and then mainly upon waking and for the first hour awake. Night driving is fine and didn't have problems except in first post-operative week. Looking at video clock in darkened room is ok - a little blurry, or poor contrast , its 12 FT AWAY, BUT DVD PLAYER has a clock with smaller but brighter digits and is easier to read. This naturally fluctuates so sometimes very clear and easy, sometimes have to concentrate a bit or rest eyes first. Exactly like contacts and glasses when I was wearing them. Clocks are easier to read looking directly rather than at angles, just like before, right? As its now Christmas season with lots of lights I find much less glare than I used to with specs. Red lights have a small amount of halo, BUT none at all with white, green or other colours. After the first week, bright white light was the worst in quality. Now I can see 'into' the light and its clear, whereas with specs it used to be more of a blob. All in all I am pleased and I think its important to get your results in perspective, to what you had before corrected and uncorrected, and in relation to their refractive procedures. There were no guarantees given out beforehand and Vie had better than expected result. I would recommend it to anyone who is deemed medically suitable and cannot see better than 6/18 or 6/24 which is probably adequate for sports. If you can see well enough to drive(6/12) is it really worth the risk? You must ask yourself this. But I would say do your research thoroughly, have a consultation with more than one clinic, make sure you surgeon has done several thousand procedures, and do not go to a clinic that does other things in addition to eye surgery, such as hair removal. The surgeon should also have an extensive background in general eye care and is not merely a GP or mid-grade hospital doctor who is hoping to do to LASIK. Ask him how many corneal grafts he has done, which might throw him, but if he is a specialist he will have done this many times. Is your surgeon a member or fellow of the Royal college of surgeons or Ophthalmologists? If he is new to refractive surgery without an extensive Ophthalmic background Id say forget it and move on. Ask as many questions as you feel comfortable with. Bring a list in with you and a pencil to make notes. Do not let the surgeon put you off. I asked Optimax a list of about 12 questions after a consultation there in writing, and they were reluctant to answer them finally stating that if I wasn't sure or aware of the risks not to go ahead. How do you know the risks if they wont answer the questions? Amazing since if they had answered my questions in the way Ultralase did I probably would have used them and am very glad I didn't. By the way, they charged me £60 for a consultation fee, on their national booking line (which is only redeemed against an operation) but the sign outside their Bristol Clinic said FREE CONSULTATION. Keep the money Optimax. Finally I would say you generally get what you pay for, and its worth spending nearly £2000+ to ensure a good surgeon, rather than £1500 to get an average one. If a clinic has many endorsements from the public as well as celebrities then it is a good indication of good surgeons (use the surgeons who operated on the celeb's).

I underwent LASIK treatment at the Ultralase clinic in Tottenham Court Road one week ago with excellent results. My prescription was -3.50 with a mild astigmatism in both eyes. From the initial consultation I have been very impressed with the service I received from Ultralase, all of the staff have been incredibly helpful and able to answer my questions. The treatment itself was performed by Pascal Annonier and his team who were all very professional. At worst the treatment could be described as a bit unpleasant, but certainly not painful, and for me well worth the results. The day after treatment my vision was 20/20 in my right eye and slightly better in my left eye although a bit hazy, this cleared after a day or so. A week later my vision remains better than 20/20 and very clear with no night vision problems. The only side effect I have had is occasional stinging as my eyes settle, partly due to the preservative in the antibiotic drops. I am very satisfied with the treatment I received and thrilled with the results.

It's been two years since having LASIK at Ultralase in Leeds and my sight is still as clear as ever. It's one of the best decisions I've ever made. Some of my friends have also had their eyes done there, and they've all got 20/20 vision too. I can't recommend Ultralase highly enough.

Glad to hear it went well, Angela, I fully share your sentiments - especially re the rain! However be careful chopping up onions, I chopped one up the other day and my right eye cried drops bigger than I've ever seen in my life! I think LCRS should add that to their list of things you cant do for a month after surgery! I keep trying to take my glasses off to go to bed - and look for them in the morning sometimes when its dark. Old habits die hard I guess. I had my two week check-up on Monday, my right eye has absolutely no short-sightedness, it is 0.00 and I am so pleased. I do need secondary surgery on my left eye though, so there should still be improvement in my overall sight. Booked in for January 17th.

I had my eyes 'LASIKed' last Friday (it is now Monday). My prescription was not particularly bad - -2.75 and -3.00 with astigmatism. I visited the Chester clinic and found them to be helpful and caring. There was no hard sell and they explained the procedure carefully. 2 weeks later I went in for my treatment. Again the staff were very good and prompt. I was treated by Mr Chatterjee. He was very efficient and explained the procedure as he went on. I had small eye sockets and so the suction was uncomfortable - it didn't last long though. Next day I went for my check up. I could see the bottom line with my right eye and the second from bottom with my left! My eyes do not feel dry, gritty or uncomfortable - only a little tired at the end of the day. Today I can safely say that my sight is as good (if not better) than it was with glasses. I am delighted with results and would highly recommend Ultralase and there 'ultra service'!!

I had LASIK treatment on 26th November at the Chelmsford clinic, the treatment was performed by Suzannah Boytha. The treatment I received was very professional and I found all of the staff to be very pleasant and friendly. I found the operation itself to be pain free but pretty unpleasant, however well worth it. My prescription was -3.75 and -4.75 but now I think I can see as well as I could with my contacts. My eyes feel a little dry from time to time, but nothing that a few eye drops don't sort out. I highly recommend Ultralase to anyone that is considering LASIK.

I had been wearing glasses since primary school and later (in my twenties) began to wear contact lenses. I had a fairly strong prescription and as such had always found wearing glasses all the time a real 'bind'. Moving to contact lenses was ok but I really wore them far too much and my optician would often warn me about prolonged use. Laser Eye Treatment seemed the answer and although I was under the impression that my sight was too bad to be corrected (from research I had done a few years before) I decided to investigate more fully in late 2000. I discovered that technology had moved on since my earlier research and the LASIK procedure would be appropriate for me. In December 2000 I had the LASIK treatment with Ultralase in Leeds. The way I was looked after was superb - lots of empathy and TLC. I was given lots of advice and on my day of treatment, and during those first few days, nothing came as a surprise. It was truly amazing. The treatment was really painless. After the anaesthetic wore off my eyes felt a little gritty, as I had been told they would, but this soon cleared and that first evening I simply rested as much as I could. The following morning was fantastic and still rates as one of the greatest moments I have experienced. Waking up and immediately being able to see things in the distance. I mean immediately on opening my eyes - before having to pick up a pair of spectacles or resort to contact lens insertion. This was the first time in my memory that I had been able to do this. I visited the clinic that day for my first aftercare check and was advised that it was now ok for me to drive. I have since completed my visits to Ultralase but every time I was treated with great care and attention. Almost two years on and it is sometimes difficult to remember that I ever wore glasses. Only when writing this does the miracle again come alive - so simple, so painless and so quick - but so life changing. Thank you!

Chester clinic:
Friendly- yes, helpful - yes, detailed consultation - yes, risks/ complications explained - yes, treatment unpleasant- yes, good vision without any side effects- yes, worth the money - yes, changed me life - yes, would i recommend it - yes.

thankyou..

I had been contemplating laser eye surgery for 5 years and after having heard numerous accounts from other patients, I decided to choose Ultralase for my consultation. I was very impressed with the clinical staff at their Hammersmith clinic who conducted my initial consultation. Everything was clearly explained to me including all of the worst case scenarios. It was extremely reassuring to know that Ultralase turn away a significant proportion of their prospective patients which they deem not suitable for treatment, which reinforced how patient orientated they were. My particular case was slightly borderline as I had large pupils. I was told this could increase the likelihood of me experiencing Halos and Glare at night. After confirming that I could be treated because the treating surgeon would be able to compensate for this by altering the treated size, I decided to undergo the treatment. All I can say is: FANTASTIC!! I was able to see better than 6/6 the next morning in each eye and I still cannot get over just how easy it all was. Ultralase have improved my quality of life a 110% and my brother and cousin have since had it done with equally amazing results.

I did it! First one done last Friday, and it’s true no pain! So quick too. I was sore after and needed the pain killers but after that just scratchy feeling. I have to admit I was tearful when I removed the patch and could see across the room!! Long distance vision is quite good. Still blurry, early days though. My sight seems to improve during the day (opposite of how it should be) so I popped back on Monday to check it out. David Jory was more than happy to see me and run through some tests. I found this reassuring. It’s just the waiting game now, time for things to settle and readjust. Amazing though I can actually walk about without glasses! Problematic with computer, trying an eye patch out today (no doubt the parrot jokes will follow) and will remove lens from glasses. Good luck for Friday Angela