I have worn glasses for the last 22 years (and I'm only 29!). With a prescription of -7.5 and -8, I just wanted to be able to see a bit better without glasses and was prepared for the fact that after surgery it may not be possible to not need glasses at all.

My surgery with Mark Wilkins at Moorfields 3 days ago has given me the sight I was never blessed with at birth. Straight after the op I could already see the difference and after the 'magic 3 hours' later I was already able to see to a standard not too much worse than my glasses. 3 days later and I'm over the moon my eyes are pretty much to how they were without glasses and it was worth every penny!

..............................................................................................................

Before deciding to go through with the surgery I took some time to shop around. With such poor sight I appreciated what I had and wasn't about to take chances...

Ultralase were the first appointment - I was initially impressed with what they had to say but was put off when I learned the guy taking the Wavefront readings had worked in a clothes store just 2 weeks prior to my appointment. The 'surgeon' had told me information I was later told by the two other companies to be rubbish - namely that Wavefront speeds recovery time because it is customed to your eye and so less cornea needs to be taken off. There is no evidence to suggest this and in fact one company said there might be slightly more taken off, however all companies promote the newer technology because I have been told it lessens some of the side affects of its predecessor such as star-bursts at night.

Optimax - I was impressed with the Optician and the surgeon, but again the rest of the staff were all very new. I was not reassured by the fact that the surgeon I had been booked with for the appointment was only in the UK for a few days a month and so the follow-up after care would all be dealt with by others less qualified. That said, if finance is of particular concern to anyone I'd advise leaving it a while after your appointment before booking an op with Optimax because the deals they send on email keep getting better!

Moorfields - a work colleague had seen them about something else and thoroughly recommended the hospital. I felt confident and reassured after the appointment with Mark Wilkins and having paid £150 felt that this removes the incentive for a sales pitch at you!

................................................................................................

I won't pretend that the actual procedure was nice. Yes, as people say it is pain free both before and after, discomfort is the worst of it. But I found the whole thing really quite horrible from a psychological point of view. Having said that......... it is all over within 20 minutes and it is very, very worth it!