Optical Express

I had Lasek treatment on 8th May in Leeds. I was supposed to have the Lasik treatment, so only booked off a couple of days from work. I then found out from the surgeon on the day that as my eyes were too small for the sucksion ring and the eye clamp I had to have Lasek instead. I was a bit annoyed in having to change all my plans when I could have been informed in my consultation that this would be the case. Anyway after a week of pain and blurred vision I got my contacts taken out on friday, the vision was the same but by the end of the day my vision was back. It was still slightly blurry but I could see again, it was amazing. The surgery itself was not half as bad as I expected. I could see everything the surgeon was doing but could not feel a thing. The issue that most concerened me was that my date of birth on my notes were wrong, this made me worry slightly as i was letting strangers operate on me! eeek!! all went well tho. The aftercare I receive was brilliant, cant fault them. Well worth the money in the end. Dont let a little pain put you off.

I had Lasik wavefront surgery at the Milton Keynes branch. Overall very impressed and would recommend the surgery and the clinic.If you are considering this a couple of things to note,firstly the price is misleading it states from £395 an eye, this only applies if you have a very weak prescription and if you have you may question the logic for having the surgery.My precription was -3.00 in both eyes and was quoted £695 each eye,however due to the size of my pupils they recommended wavefront at £995 per eye.After my consultation i decided not to commit but to do some more research on the treatment and other clinics and about 3 weeks later Optical express contacted me asking if i was going to have surgery with them as they had some slots in about 2 weeks time, so with this i enquired about what discount they would give (obviously they had slots to fill) to which they offered 10%, so surgey was fixed for 3rd May. The surgery itself was painless, previous comments on this site are quite accurate in terms of the sensations.Even directly after surgery a noticeable eyesight improvement is evident.For me the worst part was post op, your eyes are constantly watering it is if you are pealing onions for 2 hours.The best advice is go home asap and go to bed and try to get some sleep. The next day was amazing, it was if i was wearing my lenses ! i went for my check up and 24 hours after surgery i had 20/20 vision. Overall very satisfied with Optical express and the outcome...just need to sort out the rest of my body now !

LASEK Further to my comments of 9th May. I went to the Optician on the 9th. I could see more of the letters on the board with my right eye then I could previously with my glasses 20/20. However left eye bordering driving standard.Is a bit blurry. Not clear like my right. Not really noticable walking about the street daytime but in dim light and close up's at work does deteriate. My left eye has not improved in a week and I'm not confident it's going too but still time. Bit worried but at the same time I got rid of the specs so not complaining too much. Will update next month.

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.

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 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 had Wavefront Lasik in Leeds (sugeon Mr Aziz)on 31st May and am amazed at the results. I had the surgery @ 1 o'clock and after going home to bed for 2 hours awoke at 6 o'clock with perfect vision ! There was a little discomfort during the procedure and I was v. frightened (!) but the surgeon put me at ease and seemed very relaxed and confident. At my check up the next day I was told that I had perfect vision. I can not recommend this highly enough, for a few hours of discomfort (not pain !) I now have perfect vision !!

Consultation @ Eastcheap Treatment @ Bluewater I dont think anyone could be more apprehensive than I was about having laser eye surgery done. As soon as I came out my eyes were so watery i couldnt see for about 10 mins until the sourgeon put some drops in my eyes and then for about 10 mins I could see the results. I had a kip for about 4-5 hours and when I awoke I could see......though had to turn the lights out in the house- like a vampire or a gremlin. But all in all, the next morning, after a good nights sleep wearing my googles which are real passion killers, I can see perfectly today without any problems. DO IT!!! Its so worth it and I hope this puts to rest all your fears if you are thinking about LASIK/LASEK, I had the one with the 'flaps' whatever its called.

The surgeon and all the staff were fantastic. I am so glad that I chose Optical Express to do my laser eye surgery. It is the best thing that I have ever had done and I would like to thank the surgeon and all the staff for all they have done for me. Kind Regards - Paul White.

Fantastic, what an improvement! Should have done it sooner. No more glasses or contacts. Complete value for money, well worth it for just five minutes of surgery.