Ultralase

The treatment I received before and after the operation was excellent and made me feel at ease and gave me confidence I had come to the right place. The staff were very caring and understood how you felt (nervous) about the surgery you were having. They talked to me throughout the op, telling me exactly what they were doing and even held me hand for support. I will always be grateful for the new confidence I now feel with my new eye sight. My holidays are now great, I can now go swimming. Thank you!

Have been for my first consulation on Saturday 4th Nov at the Newcastle Clinic and have been told that I have very thin cornea's with the added complication of having large pupils. The surgeon that was on duty said he wouldn't perform the surgery but I was told another two surgeons also worked out of the clinic and my file would be passed to them to see if they would perform Lasek. I was wondering if anyone else had had this problem and whether they actually went ahead with surgery and what the results were. I had no doubts before I went for the consultation but now am having seconf thoughts and doubts. HELP!!

I am due to go for a consultation next week, was wondering if anyone out there had any floaters prior to surgery ? and if this made any differance. Can reply back to me @ Nick . collingwood @ hays-travel . co . uk Thanks

Yes, they are on the pricey side - but be assured that the treatment and results are amazing. I used the Chester clinic and found the service and follow-up care 1st class. Life is great without the specs! Oh - painless too....

Great experience.

After several years of 'playing' with the idea of laser surgery, I finally got down to some serious research over the last 3 months or so. Cost was never going to figure in the equation as, in general, I believe that you get what you pay for. As it turned out, the most expensive clinic I found appeared to have the best track record, in terms of results and complications, and I had a consultation with them in September. I was disappointed in a number of areas; the ‘consulting rooms’ were part of the hospital and were well over-due for refurbishment. To be fair, I did spot one sign apologising for the current state of the facilities. I did not receive particularly good information as to what was involved and what would happen. After about 20 minutes, I was called through to another room by someone who turned out to be an optometrist. This room again appeared cramped, cluttered and untidy. I was then given the normal eye-test using the standard chart and various other tests related to the laser surgery. I then spent some time with the surgeon who was very good and appeared to be extremely competent and ‘knew his stuff’ however… At the end of it all, I came away feeling a little uneasy about the whole thing and decided to check out another clinic so that I would have something with which to compare this experience. Ultralase had a comparable track record only on a much larger sample so I booked in for a free consultation at their Birmingham clinic. From the moment I arrived, I started to develop a completely different, and very good, feeling from that at the previous clinic. The reception staff took time to explain the procedure… who I would see first, what would happen next… etc. etc. I was given a very thorough examination and each check was explained to me… Corneal scan, Pressures, corneal thickness, pupil size etc. I was encouraged to ask as many questions as I liked all of which were answered candidly and fully. At the end of the consultation, I was advised that I was a good candidate for surgery (-2.5D left eye, -2.75D right eye and -1D of astigmatism in both eyes. Due to having relatively small pupils and thick corneas, I was advised that the ‘basic’ UltraLASIK treatment would be my best option, as there would be little, if any, benefit gained from having either of the more expensive options. At no time did the optometrist, the ‘personal advisor’ or any other member of the Ultralase team, ever ‘push’ any of the more expensive options. I got the feeling that at every stage, they only had my best interests in mind. I did opt to have the flap cut using the intralase laser however, due to the enhanced predictability and precision offered above and beyond that of the Microkeratome blade. I duly signed up and had my treatment scheduled for the following Friday September 29th. On the day of surgery I met my surgeon Mr. Wevill. He introduced himself and took me through to his consulting room. There, he carried out a number of further tests and verified the type of surgery I would be having and answered any further questions that I had. I felt totally comfortable and completely happy that Mr. Wevill would be operating on my precious eyes. The operation went without a hitch and was completely painless. After resting in a ‘quiet room’ for about 20 - 30 minutes (during which time I did take an occasional peek at the clock on the far wall which I could read perfectly :-) !!!) Mr. Wevill re-examined my eyes and pronounced them ‘fine’. I then went back to the hotel to rest. This was the worst part of the experience for me. As the anaesthetic wore off, my eyes became very light sensitive and were streaming quite badly. The sensation of peeling onions is a good description… not painful just (very) uncomfortable. Trying to put the eye shields on in only the light from the bathroom was no fun either! However, with the eye shields in place and lying on the bed, the discomfort eased quickly and I managed a reasonable night’s sleep. I awoke to my ‘new’ eyes!!!. A little hazy for sure but wow! 35 years of wearing glasses were over! My morning check-up went well and I was given the ‘all clear’ to drive home. It is now a week since my operation. After that first day of some haze, I have had no problems with ‘dry eyes’ or my vision. I have stuck rigidly to the after-care regime of eye-drops and wearing the protective eye shields at night to prevent any inadvertent eye rubbing. My eyes are improving steadily and I would estimate that I now have 20-20 vision in both eyes. A heartfelt ‘Thank you’ to Mr. Wevill and all the staff at the Ultralase Birmingham clinic. Highly recommended!

After previously being turned down for treatment 4 years ago due to 'thin corneas', I tried Ultralase after seeing their brochure saying due to new lasers it could now be possible for people like me to have laser treatment. So I came for tests and was delighted to be accepted for treatment. I've had surgery and am now pleased to say that I'm glasses free'. Has improved my every day life tremendously!

Intralase done! I had intralase with ultra lasik plus 4 days ago and having finally stopped shaking (!) I thought I'd come on to describe the treatment day. My prescription was -3.25 in both eyes prior to treatment. The treatment itself was fine although I was naturally very worried beforehand. I had my treatment done at the Manchester clinic and all of the staff there were brilliant. Before treatment I had to put on plastic covers on my shoes and pile my hair into a plastic hat. Iodine was wiped on the outside of my eyes and anaesthetic drops put in my eyes. I was concerned that the anasthetic drops wouldn't work but the nurse reassured me that the surgeon would reapply them before the start of treatment. The nurse led me into the treatment room and I lay down. Someone (not sure who!) put the sticky things on to hold my eye lids back. Some people say that this is uncomfortable but for me it didn't feel any different to having my eyes open! It still felt as though I was able to blink perfectly normally. The surgeon did reapply anaesthetic drops (phew!!) and I was told to look at the centre of a red dot that I could see. I was then told that my vision may disappear momentarily as someone pressed down on my eye (although it didn't really disappear it just went hazy) Again, this didn't hurt at all. Then they used the intralase laser to create the flap. I could hear someone shouting out numbers (I presume the places on my eyes where they were cutting, I don't know). Then I was wheeled under the ultralasik plus laser. Then someone told me that they were going to start lasering my eye. Apparently I had 4 times of the laser and as each one was done someone counted down. At this point I could smell the smell everyone has desribed on this forum but for me it didn't remind me of bacon cooking but of singed hair. They told me that the lasering was complete and that they were going to clean my eye. This was a really pleasant experience and felt great! Then I think they replaced the flap and told me that the first eye was complete. The second eye was done but this time I was much more aware what was happening but still no pain at all. All of the info that they gather at the consultation is used for the lasering process. It is all stored on a floppy disc and inserted into the laser machine (I think!) I was worried that they might have the wrong disc in the machine and that they might laser my eye to suit someone else's prescription (stupid I know!!) However, apparently the laser uses the info on the disc and if it doesn't match up to the eye that it is about to laser it can't work!!! Amazing technology! When it was complete I was told to sit up and I could already see the clock in the room but it looked as though I was looking through a pane of frosted glass. It was in focus but very hazy. Hard to describe! I was led to the recovery room and the nurse gave me a drink of water but I couldn't hold it as I was shaking so much. I think it was relief that I had gone through it and everything had been fine! I was discharged by the surgeon who looked in my eyes and said everything was fine. He warned me that my eyes might start stinging and to go home and go to sleep. About 10 mins after he said that my right eye started streaming and stinging (very very similar to the feeling that you get when you cut onions and can't control the watering!) Still no pain at all. When I got home I just rested my eyes as the stinging was preventing me from opening them properly. I didn't go to sleep because I still wasn't relaxed enough and I was really worried about my corneal flap sticking to my eye lid, even though I had been told that this wasn't possible!! The stinging and streaming lasted for about 2 hours (my left eye didn't have any reaction!) and then I was slowly able to open my eyes. And I could see! It was an absolutely amazing experience. It was still a little bit like seeing through frosted glass and gradually improved. I went to bed, again, unable to sleep so at about 3:30 am I got up and looked out of my window and read the number plate of the car over the road! Wow!!! 20 hours after my treatment I went to Chester clinic for my follow up appointment. I was told I had 20/20 vision. I can't describe how pleased I was. Since then my eye sight has remained the same. The only thing I have suffered with is a bit of dry eyes but that is improving daily with use of the artificial tear drops that I was given. I think it is impossible to put a price on having perfect sight. My treatment cost just under £3600 which is a small price to pay for sight that I have longed for. It is a very nerve wracking experience for anyone because obviously your eye sight is so important. I think I was so fed up with glasses and contact lenses that I was prepared to go through it and deal with the consequences. Luckily for me I have been fine. I realise that it's still early days at day 5 but I am very hopeful that everything will remain positive. I would wholeheartedly recommend ultralase. All of the staff have been brilliant. Thank you so much!!!

Having made the decision that for my 40th birthday I wanted to do something life changing. I decided that the best present I could ever have was perfect eyesight. After the initial consultation I was determined to have it done, because it all seemed so easy! Everyone at Ultralase was very helpful and friendly, and as the day came I must admit I grew a bit nervous wondering would I keep still? Would I sneeze? In the pre-op room I was even more nervous, then time for the op. It was all over and done within a few minutes and all those fears instantly disappeared. I was easier than going to the dentist is now what I tell everyone. A big thank you to Ultralase for making a dream come true, and a massive thank you to my partner Karen for making it happen!

Wow, I hadn't realised how much wan't seeig - even with my glasses on. It's wonderful, like being reborn at 51! Because I wanted to be completely free from wearing glasses I opted for the mono-vision treatment. Now when I go fishing not only can I see perfectly in torrential rain but I can also see to tie knots. It's such a magical feeling to be able to see everything is so much detail, without any effort. I find it quite breathtaking at times. Thank you so much - Juliet x