Optical Express

I was treated disgracefully. I rang up the day before to check if parking was available, told there was, but "centre" was a shop in a pedestrianised centre of Liverpool. I arrived one minute late,after driving for 2 hrs,refused use of toilet,had to go to nearest toilet in precinct,got back to "shop" 5 minutes late for appointment and was told optician? wouldn't,not can/t see me because I was 5 minutes late and she was seeing someone who had wandered in off the street.is their surgery as shoddy as their customer service? wouldn/t use them now for free.thought about complaining but if that is representational of the company I wouldn/t let them do laser surgery on glass eye they/re crap. I have worked in retail management for 25 years and i have never come across such ignorant staff.

I have booked Lasik Wavefront with Wayne Crewe-Brown at the Bluewater branch in mid july. Please could anybody who has met or been treated by this surgeon let me know what he is like. I also would appreciate any feedback from anyone with a similar prescription and treatment (I am -4 in both eyes, with reasonably thick corneas and large pupils hence Wavefront). Many Thanks.

Hi. I'm going for my initial consultation at Optical Express, bristol tomorrow, and I wondered if anyone had any feedback, good or bad for that branch. Thanks

I attended the Shaftsbury avenue clinic for a consultation and was advised that I would be suitable for lasik treatment and opted for the wavefront surgery for a total of £1795 (both eyes). I had been to a competitor and was quoted £3000 for the same so this seemed reasonable. I was told I would be able to have surgery on the Saturday and be able to return to work with near perfect vision on the Monday. When I attended for surgery I met with the surgeon and was told I could not have lasik and would have to have lasek and would probably need a week off work. This was very upsetting as I was not at all prepared for this as the staff at my consultation had not explained this at all. The surgeon's accent was also very strong and this made it very difficult to understand what he was saying. I was subsequently counselled by a member of the team who explained things further and put me at ease. I underwent the lasek surgery and found the immediate results amazing. My eyes became painful, as expected, over the next few days and, whilst I was able to see things around me, I was unable to use a computer and read so I could not work. When I went back to the clinic to have the contact lens bandages removed, my left eye had not healed too well and the optician put another lens in. This caused such severe discomfort I could not see at all and had to have my boyfriend guide me home as I could not keep my eyes open due to the pain. This was very very upsetting. I went back for a second time to have the contact lens removed and was seen by an optician who instilled confidence in me for the first time. She looked at my left eye and informed me that the contact lens that had been put in was torn and that was the reason for my sever discomfort. Once this was taken out, my vision and level of comfort improved rapidly over the next few days and I was able to drive a week after my surgery. I found the whole experience rather slap-dash; some of the staff are obviously well trained and care about their patients. Others seem to not understand how seriously you are going to take having surgery on your eyes and adopt a rather careless attitude to the way you are treated. I would recommend the surgery, but the service was rather below par; I guess that's why it is so much cheaper than other places.

I have just had Wavefront Lasik at the Shaftsbury Avenue clinic to correct my prescription of –1.00 and –1.75. Mild perhaps but it stopped me from driving, cinema, recognising friends on the other side of the pub etc without needing glasses or contacts and I wanted to invest in the benefits of better sight for the long term. Optical Express offer a free consultation and whilst this is comprehensive do be prepared for a bit of a hard sell afterwards where they try to get you to book dates for surgery. If it doesn’t feel right think about it for a while. As others have said the £395 per eye advertised is for very mild prescriptions – even for mine the price offered was £695 per eye but then they recommended wavefront as my pupils were 7mm. (Anyone with pupils > 7mm is said to benefit from Wavefront which helps reduce any unwanted glare or haloes at night. Of course this bumps up the price and I ended up paying £995 per eye. My advice to anyone would be to ask about a discount at this initial consultation as I have since found out that if you mention other competitors are cheaper (e.g. ultralase) and ask to price match they will often offer a 10% discount. They do offer interest free instalments over 10 months however which is a good option. Having said all that I was very keen to go ahead anyway and was lucky enough to get a Saturday slot for the surgery just 10 days after my initial visit. The surgeon was Stefan Klopper who had replaced Mr Giladi at the last minute due to illness. The slot is 3 hours long but most of this is waiting around and getting a few final checks. This is also the time when you’ll get the wavefront scan if you opt for this. Finally I was called in. The staff were excellent and great in putting me at ease. They were very reassuring and good at explaining what was happening at all times. The surgery was completely painless. I would describe it more as mildly uncomfortable but very quick. It seemed to take just 10 minutes. My advice would be to relax as much as possible. The stretchy thing they put on your eye to hold it open can apparently hurt a little if you try to resist it so I just relaxed and kept my eye wide open. I didn’t notice any difference in the surgery between each eye. Stefan Klopper had a good professional manner and did an excellent job. Immediately afterwards I was surprised could see quite well. My vision was a little blurry but not bad at all. How you rest afterwards is as important as the op itself. I went home, put on the goggles provided and lay in bed for 4 hours with my eyes shut. Then watched a bit of telly but it did feel like I was straining my eyes. Used the eyedrops provided and went to bed and next morning was a HUGE improvement. Still felt like eyes were adjusting/repairing but I could notice a major improvement. Went in for my next day check up and it seems my eyes are much better than 20/20 on day one and due to improve (stabilise) over the next week if I continue to use the eyedrops as instructed (very important as infection can cause complications). I plan to be back at work on Tuesday. Aftercare is very important so be sure to not rub your eyes and follow the nurses advice, avoid dusty, smokey environments etc. Also be prepared to give your eyes time to fully stabilise after the surgery – everyone is different in this respect. It can take 3 days or several weeks so its good to be patient. Overall I’m extremely pleased with everything to date and the Optical Express service. It can seem a little like a production line but the standards are extremely high and my surgeon was excellent. Based on my personal experience I would thoroughly recommend Optical Express to anyone who has decided to proceed with Lasik. I’m a happy man.

I am booked to have surgery with Optical Express in Glasgow - with surgeon Vicky Reid - how come her name is not on the list at the top of this page?

I had Lasik Wavefront yesterday (29th May, 2006), in the Newcastle branch - the surgeon was Mr. Selim. Having worn glasses for the last 33 years - I am amazed at the results - 24 hours after surgery and my vision is better that I previously had using contacts. The surgery itself is pretty painless and the team at Newcastle looked after me very well. Optical Express so operate a bit of a "production line" - but I have no complaints - the cost is very competitive - even taking into account I traveled from Belfast to Newcastle for surgery; the team were obviously professionals and their confidence meant that I was put a my ease during the whole procedure. If you've been considering laser surgery, then my advice would be to go for it - and based on my experience of Optical Express to date - I would have no hesitation in recommending Mr Selim and his team.

I am -6.00 in my left eye with astigmatism and -6.50 in my right eye, I am due to have wavefront lasik with Wayne Crewe-Brown at Bluewater on the 13th June however I had an allergic reaction to the eye drops used for the eye exam, staff have not been very re-assuring and just told me to go to the GP, I am now having second thoughts about the surgery and would appreciate any feedback from anyone that has had sugery with Mr Crewe-Brown or at Bluewater, I did try to cancel the surgery due to my concerns but am being given the "hard-sell" from the staff who rather than cancelling it want to "discuss the matter further"! I would appreciate any comments asap as my 7 day cancellation period is nearly up!.

I had a consultation in Manchester Optical Express, and found all the staff to be very helpful. I had wavefront-lasek in Newcastle, as it wasn't offered in Manchester. My eyes were -5.00 and -4.75. The surgeon I chose was Wasim Asiz, who is based in Manchester, and he is fantastic, very helpful and confident. The wavefront cost £1000 more than ordinary treatment. The sugery itself took 10 minutes! Having had lasek, I was expecting pain and bluriness, but I could see within 10 minutes. There was no pain at all. Once the anaesthetic wore off, my eyes began watering and became red. But by the next warning this was fine. The only side effect I had was itchy eyes, which lasted about a week. It's 2 months on and my eyesight in 20:20. However my left eye is not as good as the right, but unnoticeable. My eyes were dry for the first month and I couldnt open my eyes in the morning, until I put drops in, as they stung, but that's no longer the case. I've been having follow-ups in Manchester, which have all gone well, the optician is very helpful. I would definately recommend everyone to have it. But note, recovery will depend on each individual, as I have met people on the surgery day who were in pain, and met people aftewards who suffer from dry eyes. But nevertheless it worked for me.

Hi there, it seems quite some people had been to the Bluewater clinic, just wonder if any body had been to the Milton Keynes or London (Shaftesbury Ave) clinic? And any good? Thanks.