Optical Express

I was -5 in each eye with astigmatism in both, and had worn glasses since I was 3. For the last 6 years I have worn gas permeable lenses, which left me with dry and bloodshot eyes every day. At age 21, my prescription was stable, and I had my surgery on 18th May after a lot of research and a lot of putting it off! I would say that the surgery is completely painless but quite uncomfortable. The flap creation took 20 seconds on each eye, and the changes to my prescription, 30 seconds on each eye. The worst bit for me was the lifting and replacing of the flap by the surgeon. Afterward, my vision was hazy and blurry, and my eyes felt slightly gritty but not painful. I got a lift home from the clinic, and my eyes were very light sensitive and watery, even with sunglasses. I took some paracetamol, and went to sleep (with my goggles on!) for a couple of hours when I got home. When I woke up, my vision was clearer, but still a little cloudy. The next day, my vision was clear. I went for my 24 hour checkup and my vision was better than 20/20! My right eye is still quite red and bruised, but I have been instructed to use anti-inflammatory drops every hour, which are helping. I'm still experiencing starring of bright lights at night, so driving at night isn’t great, but apart from that, my vision is brilliant! Can't quite believe that I'm not wearing my contact lenses! I would recommend Optical Express, as the results have been great for me so far. However, at the Reading branch I went to, I found the admin was quite poor, with appointments always being late, being told different things by different people, and paperwork (such as confirmation of appointment times) being sent to me about 5 times in the post! I would say to anyone who has thinking about laser eye surgery for a while to go for it! It is not painful in the slightest and the results are amazing. Good luck!

Treated in Inverness Branch. Good support both pre and post surgery. Had treatment not been locally available, I would have had concerns about having to travel for extended times to had there been problems. Friendly, knowledgable staff.

I have a spinal injury and use a wheelchair. I found the staff to be extremely friendly and accommodating, but the equipment was not disabled friendly at all. It was not an easy process doing the numerous tests and scans. Although the technology itself is amazing, I wish I'd thought more carefully about it before having it done. I've only ever heard great things about it, so it never occurred to me, nor was I told, that by correcting my short sightedness, my near vision would worsen. It has only been two weeks since my surgery and I'm only 30, so I am told it should improve. My mum has postponed her surgery as her near vision will definitely be compromised because of her age and seeing how I am struggling with it, she is not sure whether it is worth it. After I had the surgery, within 20 minutes the anaesthetic had worn off and the pain was excruciating for about 5 hours, although my eyes were fine after that. On a positive note, my long vision is fantastic and worth every penny. My one recommendation is to not rush into it without giving it plenty of thought.

I had my consultation at Darlington and surgery at Newcastle with Mr Lorrimer Esselaar on Fri 12th June. I've worn glasses/contact lenses for 30yrs+ and it took me several years to pick up the courage to go and I could not believe how simple and painless it actually was. I was given various treatment options that would be suitable. My work involves looking at computer screens all day so I decided not to go for the basic Lasik treatment as there was better success results and recovery times with the Wavefront and Intralase treatments included - I would be lost without my eyes. I was in the clinic approx 2hrs - all staff were very helpful and put you at ease. The surgery itself lasted no more than 10mins and was totally painless. Every step was explained clearly to me before and during the surgery. After the anaesthetic drops wore off I had slight pain (like peeling onions) and my eyes were very watery but after sleeping for a couple of hours, I could see almost perfectly without glasses. The more I slept, the better they got. I would definitely recommend it to anyone and like everyone else wish I had done it sooner. Special thanks to Mr Esselaar and everyone involved in my surgery and the consultation prior to surgery.

I would have absolutely no hesitation in recommending this surgery to friends. It's still a bit early to see the final results but I am over the moon with what has been achieved so far!

My experience is a bit of a mix bag with Optical express. Having said that having laser surgery is one of the best things I have ever done! I had my surgery 4 days ago and apart from a little dryness and tenderness I can see absolutely fine no problems whatsoever. My initial consultation at Meadowhall was a little disappointing. I felt that there was an emphasis on "selling" the treatment, it was almost like buying a car in some respects. I didn't decide to go ahead with the treament on that day, I needed to think about the cost a bit more. As a result, I received phone calls from both the shop and head office regarding the treatment. I finally decided to go ahead. I found the actual laser treatment quite an unpleasant experience but not necessarily painful. Worse than I thought though! However, the surgeon and surgerical team were absolutely fantastic - first class!!! Couldn't fault them. They were very supportive and reassuring. It lasted for all of 10 minutes, so easily bearable even for the faint hearted like myself. The hours after treament were bearable but again not very pleasant. I had streaming and stinging eyes for hours afterwards. I couldn't physically open my eyes for a good few hours afterwards. I had my treatment at 11.30 and by tea time I still had blurred vision and very heavy eyes but I was able to open my eyes a little. Slept absolutely fine that night and the day after was remarkable. No pain and excellent vision. My eyes still get tired quickly especially after watching TV and working on the computer. I would highly recommend this to anyone who is 100% sure that they want to do this. The surgical team at Optical Express Meadowhall were fantastic and I would highly recommend anyone to go there just on the basis of that as it's critical for something like this.

I had my surgery approx 2 months ago, I still cannot not believe the result , amazing! Better than 20.20 vision. Initially the wait prior to the operation was too long,really . However once with the surgeon and his team, the procedure went very well and quickly. This was quite an unnerving experience, the team were very reassuring during the procedure, which put my mind at ease. Afterwards,my eyes were very sore and stung for several hours afterwards, resting was difficult. Later that day, when my eyes had settled I could see that my sight was certainly improved, the next day I was euphoric as I could see, so unbelievable! They have continued to improve as time goes by, absolutely fantastic! I would thoroughly recommend anyone to at least have the initial consultation, to assess if they are suitable. If so don't hesitate, brilliant.

As a surgeon I did a lot of online research prior to embarking on this. I found optical express to be helpful, efficient and transparent and perhaps a bit less commercial than some of the other clinics who continue to bombard me with emails and post. They explained each part of the work up process and they provided me with details of the surgeon. The day of treatment was very straightforward and relaxing. I have been long sighted and worn glasses since the age of 5yrs and I`ve now had laser surgery at the age of 40. My prescriptions were about +3.5 and + 4.5 I think, with some astigmatism. I have waited for several years for laser to become good at treating long sightedness. My vision 1 month after laser is as good as with glasses and perhaps slightly better. The procedure itself was not in anyway painful but was a slightly strange experience but it was very quick. My eyes have been a lttle dry and I continue to use eye drops to keep them moist. For the first few days and up to 1-2 weeks the vision was good but a little blurry and they warned me that this does happen for long sight. Overall I`m delighted I had it done, my vision is great and I have no regrets and no complaints. A very good service from optical express which I can recommend without reservation. I have since had a follow up at the Torbay branch and the Plymouth branch and each of these branches have provided me with equally good service. Eye surgery is expensive but then the laser equipment, set up costs, staff costs and insurance costs all add up so on the whole I feel that it is reasonable value for money and of course the effect is life changing so it`s difficult to put a proce on that!

i had been thinking about having laser eye surgery for a long time so after my consultation in june and being told i was suitable i knew i had to have it done! i was very nervous on the day of suregery and this was not particularly helped by the surgeon( cant remember his name) saying 'young people often underestimate the pain' ( im 22yrs old) however he was nice, and the rest of the staff at the nottingham branch were lovely and reassuring. the procedure was absolutely fine, i was worried i'd panic if it was painful but it wasnt, it was just very odd and afterwards i was laughing about how nervous i had been over nothing! after i had dry eyes, they felt very heavy for the rest of the day but by the evening i had perfect vision and very little discomfort( i kept expecting it to get worse and it never did!) the next day i went back to the clinic and was told i had better than 20/20 vision and the following week, my optometrist said my eyes were 'phenomenal' it is now about 3 1/2 weeks since i had it done and i would not think twice about reccomending this treatment, it really is the best decision i have made, it has improved day to day life and my confidence tremendously! if you are considering it, please go for it, you wont regret it!:-)

The staff at the clinic (Bristol, Cribbs Causeway) were really friendly and helpful, but there was quite a long wait on the day of the procedure. The procedure itself was excellent, all clearly explained by the surgeon, Tom Materman. It was quick, only about 10 minutes, and the results were extremely impressive. There was a little discomfort and watering, but this subsided in a few hours. By the next morning, less than 24 hours after surgery, I had achieved better than 20/20 vision according to my post-surgery check-up at Optical Express, Torquay. Although the procedure was fairly costly, I can't argue with the results and can only assume that you get what you pay for. I'd recommend the Intralase and Wavefront services as, although they cost much more, they clearly help speed recovery and boost the results. Overall I'd say Optical Express offered a top quality service at a fair price, and would have no reservations about recommending them to others.