I had Wavefront LASIK with David Gartry on 28th February. I must say that everyone at Moorfields was very professional and I was seen by Dr Ilari for the initial Wavefront scan, a nice doctor from Trinidad (I think Dr Khan?) for the after care advice on the day of the operation, and of course Mr Gartry himself in the laser room, together with the charge nurse Mike Behrend and also another nurse whose name I cannot remember but I think was from NZ. All were super and very professional but at the same time friendly and chatty. My wife was more worried than I was!

The actual procedure itself was simple and totally painless, not even uncomfortable. I went out to dinner with 12 friends from my Yacht Club the night of surgery and they were all amazed by how much I could see already, although distance was a bit blurred and remained so for probably a week before I was really comfortable with driving. But NO adverse side effects, no haloes or starbursts at night, no pain or even discomfort (and my wife says that like most men I’m such a baby that if it had hurt the world would have known about it…….)

Before the op I had minus 8.50 right and minus 8 left, and significant astigmatism in both eyes. Mr Gartry saw me on the Monday after the op and told me I had 20/20 vision although to be honest it didn’t feel like it at the time. Now, 4 weeks later, it continues to improve and I can see far more than I ever did with glasses. My eyes water a bit in cold winds but then I suppose everyone’s do and if they are shielded behind glasses perhaps you don’t feel it. The odd day of ‘dry eye’ occurred but this has largely stopped now. I have to go and see Mr Gartry again next week and I’ll be interested to have the eye test and see what he thinks.

I’m 49 and work with computers in an office, and there have been no problems on that front at all. I also sail and I’m really looking forward to getting out in the boat in the summer with no salt splashes on my glasses.

I found this site to be extremely helpful and particularly to someone called Ian who had had the surgery and was kind enough to answer my email – I picked him because he had a similar large correction to mine.

If you are considering it I cannot recommend Moorfields too highly. It is the best eye hospital in the world and I don’t know about you, but in this life you only get one set of eyes and if you can have the best then that’s for me and so far at least it seems that Moorfields and Mr Gartry is just that. Some may balk at the fee but any professional at the top of their profession charges accordingly. From my own professional knowledge I can assure you that you wouldn’t get a top London QC to even open his door to you for what Mr Gartry charges for the op.

A couple of tips that you may find useful. Make sure you have a coffee before you arrive at Moorfields as theirs is from a machine and it is truly disgusting. There’s a Starbucks down the road. You may also find a cheap pair of swimming goggles useful to keep the water out of your eyes when showering during the week after the op. Make sure you get a brand big enough to cover your eyes without pressure on the lids. I used Adidas ones at £9.99 from JJB Sports.

If anyone has any concerns please email me and I’ll try to answer. This cynical, seen it all before and don’t trust anyone 49 year old is truly amazed with the result. Early days yet, of course, but all seems fine so far.