Accuvision Laser Eye Clinic

I wanted to give you a brief step by step guide through the process from initial enquiry through to surgery and the follow up.

I have been wearing glasses for around 10 years now and being in my late 20's and still playing a fair bit of sport & surfing; I had become increasingly annoyed with wearing glasses and uncomfortable, tired eyes after a day of wearing contact lenses.

After my initial enquiry I received an appointment confirmation & DVD in the post the next day. I found this fantastic in giving me an idea of what to expect during the initial consultation and provided I was a suitable candidate, what I could expect from the next steps.

Upon arriving for the first appointment, I was impressed to hear that Accuvision treat a lot of the patients other laser surgery clinics cannot – already I began to feel more assured!

I had my eyes tested which I am always quite frustrated about, having to admit to myself that my vision is just not at all good!

Then, on to the more specialised checks which I found very reassuring, given we have only one set of eyes, I for one want to be sure that the best available technology will be at the surgeons disposal.

I was a suitable candidate for Accuwave Lasik treatment and booked a time to come back in for my surgery.
I arrived on the day, being sure to have followed all of the pre surgery requirements and was ready to go – slightly apprehensive, but this was more due to the unknown. I watched the testimonials from the DVD though & I was never scared or in doubt of having the surgery done.
I was taken though after my first checks were done and lay down ready to take the next steps in regaining my vision.

The process was literally 5 minutes per eye and not in the least bit painful, even though I was preparing myself for some discomfort there was none of it! I had to wait in the reception before going back in for a quick check, my surgeon Dr Brett Halliday, did notice a bit of debris but upon removing the protective contact lens found it was on the contact lens itself – so no need to worry and sent me home to rest.

I have been for my one day follow up and am overjoyed in that I left with 20-20 vision and was told by Vic that it will still get better as things tighten up and the eye continues to heal!

I can thoroughly recommend the clinic, staff, surgeons and the procedure and have already suggested my wife and family consider having it done as this will be truly life changing!

I found the testimonials both on this site and lasik-eyes.co.uk invaluable so thought it only right to add mine.

My prescription Right Eye; Sphere minus 8.00 / Cyl minus 3.25 / Axis 25. Left Eye; Sphere minus 8.25 / Cyl minus 2.75 / Axis 158

Friday 16th March 2007 I went to Optical Express in Birmingham and must say the experience left me cold! It felt much like a cattle market and not at all personal.

I was told I would be suitable for treatment and was encouraged to pay a deposit there and then in order to secure my operation as soon as possible. This gave me the feeling of a sales-orientated environment and not one whose MAIN goal is the improvement of the patients eyes… (This comes from a woman who is a qualified independent mortgage adviser – who would never resort to ‘hard sell’ tactics).

Suffice to say I did NOT pay a deposit and told them that I intended seeing at least one more clinic before deciding.

I had already booked my initial consultation with Accuvision on Friday 23rd March. From the moment I arrived at the Solihull clinic I felt comfortable with the environment. Vik was great he carried out the various eye checks and said I was suitable for Accuwave Lasik treatment. He explained the procedure, answered all my questions and said that should I proceed my surgeon would be Brett Halliday.

I left the clinic with 4 dates when the next treatments would be conducted, no pressure to pay a deposit and book the surgery there and then. I was already 95% sure that I would return to Accuvision, but thought it through over the weekend. I rang the clinic first thing on Monday and booked my treatment for the earliest available date and I underwent surgery yesterday, Wednesday 4th April 2007.

I must confess to having doubts right up until the moment I was in the laser room, in fact the day before I was removing my spectacles saying to myself it wasn’t so bad wearing contact lenses and spectacles (I had worn spectacles since I was 6 and gas permeable contact lenses since I was 17).

My appointment was 12 noon – I arrived to find about 5 people calmly sitting in the reception area with their eyes closed due to the fact they had each already undergone surgery. I joined the few that were awaiting their pre-op tests.

When one of the pre-op tests was conducted it showed that the surface of my eyes had altered which suggested that my prescription had altered. I therefore had my vision checked by Vik once more to confirm the current measurements. At this point I was worried I would not be operated on that day. I voiced this to Vik who assured me that they would indeed be proceeding.

I eventually had my surgery just before 3pm. There is absolutely nothing to be worried about. I did get a little concerned when I was told to watch the green light and I said ‘I can’t see a green light’ – but was reassured that this was normal!

WOW! I could see without visual aids!!!!

I left the clinic after a final check from Brett and the instruction to rest my eyes for half the time. I spent last night watching a little TV then closing my eyes. I inserted a drop in each eye every hour, as instructed. At 11:30pm I decided it was time for bed and my partner attached the eye shields and had a chuckle at my expense! I woke up several times through the night, which is normal for me. At 6:30am my eyes felt a little gritty and I thought I would like to rub them and sat on edge of bed willing myself to ignore the sensation – my partner suggested inserting drops which was a good move and I went back to sleep for an hour and woke up with no feeling of sore or gritty eyes.

I went back for my 1 day check up at 11:45am (sitting in the waiting room reading a magazine!). They were happy with my progress – not yet 20:20, but was reassured that my vision would improve day upon day.

As you can see from this diary entry I am using my laptop computer with no problems seeing the screen or keyboard. I say again WOW!

I really do wish I had been in a position to have undergone this surgery when I was younger – I am now 43, but hey better late than never.

I will endeavour to post another one or two diary entries as time goes on and hope that it helps you to make up your mind.

It occurred to me that I am very fortunate to have been able to undergo this surgery and wanted to donate my old glasses to a worthwhile organisation. I searched the internet by entering 'donate spectacles'. You may be interested to do the same…. I opted for the second sight project on the following link: http://www.secondsightproject.com/index.php you can enter your name and address and an envelope will be sent to you – they require a £1 donation to process.

Feel free to e-mail me.

Well, I had my eyes done in October. The first week, everything was quite misty and my eyes felt gritty. Once the mist cleared my vision was really good, apart from first thing in the morning. I did suffer with my eyes being very dry though and was quite reliant on drops for the first couple of months. I have left it this long as I wanted to write a fair report. It is now almost six months and my eyesight is fantastic, I never allowed myself to hope that I would see this well. The dryness has now gone, and the only slightly negative thing is that I get starburst effect at night. However, this is not uncomfortable and doesn't bother me much, since I used to get it with contact lens and to a certain extent with glasses anyway.

I felt that Chad Rostrom did a great job. The only criticism of the service I can give is that I felt that I was rushed out into the waiting room whilst still feeling faint. The aftercare was great though, I was worried about the itchiness in my eyes and was advised to come straight away to see someone, and they even posted me eye drops when I couldn't come to the clinic. All in all, it was the best thing I have done and I am so glad that I took the risk

Ops on 15Mar07, -5 on both sides with tiny ast. in right. Had checked lots of websites (incl this one, invaluable!!) and decided to check out Accuvision, Optimax and Optical Express. Narrowed it down to Accuvision and Optical Express and made appointments for the consultation. Got the paperwork from Accuvision the next day, Optical Express didn't even manage to send the promised material within a week (and subsequently I cancelled the appointment).
Consultation went well, thicker than average cornea and small pupils, both things apparently very promising. Took a couple of days to decide (no hard sell whatsoever, no chasing or anything) then booked the op. Surgeon was B. Halliday with excellent reputation. Got a nurse to hold my hand during the op, no pain whatsover (still nerve-wracking though)just a bit uncomfortable. Then a few hours of pain, I think the protective lenses they put in seriously irritated my eyes – tears streaming down my face, didn't want to open them and had to take really strong pain killers. But vision was good (took the odd peek, couldn't help it) and the pain subsided towards night time. Went to bed with the funny eye covers on (small minus point: no reference made how best to fit them) and woke up the next morning pain free and seeing pretty well. Checkup was bril, already 20:20, and then the lenses came out (talk about pain then!). Since then quite sensitive to sun and wind (sun glasses are essential) but very good vision. I returned to work after 4 days, apart from slightly dry eyes no problems.
Happy about the whole thing, was well worth it.

I was -9 in both eyes, so was delighted when Accuvision were able to treat me in April 2006. I had previously gone to Ultralase who advised that I was not suitable, so to have a positive response from Accuvision was great. I was a bit concerned when they said they could do it as I had already been told I was unsuitable but they reassured me that they had more advanced machinery and could treat patients with a higher prescription.

I was made to feel comfortable at all times and the treatment and aftercare were brilliant. I now have 20/20 vision which is amazing as I was so short sighted before. Both my friends and family were amazed wtih the results and I would recommend Accuvision to anyone.

Don't put it off any longer, go for it – it's well worth the money.