Optical Express

I went to Optical Express at Lakeside in Essex to have both my eyes lasered and i must say its the best thing i have ever done. My eyesight was -2.50 in both eyes which isn't that bad but the thought of wearing contact lenses and glasses for the rest of my life was really depressing me. I had been wearing contact lenses for 20 years when one day i got an ulcer in my left eye caused by a faulty contact lens. This was the reason why i decided to have laser eye surgery. I went to see the consultant who said i was suitable to have the treatment, i then booked the surgery for a few weeks later. On the day of the surgery i was very nervous but i shouldn't have worried as the Optical Express staff were very friendly and helpful and the surgeon was also very friendly and made me feel at ease. I had the surgery which took 10 mins and was painless, i had a slight discomfort in my eyes for a few minutes after the surgery but with the eye drops given to me they were fine a few hours after. I had to wear sunglasses for my journey home as the bright lights made it a bit uncomfortable, when i got home i went to sleep for a few hours and when i woke up my eyesight was better then 20/20. I had to use 2 different types of eye-drops for 6 months after the surgery to help with the dry eye i was having, which was normal. Good luck with your treatment, Dave.

I had my LASEK procedure on 29th Feb 2012. I had been thinking about laser eye surgery for a while- not only to give me the freedom from contact lens' but also to enable me to pursue a police career (my standard of vision unaided did not meet their minimum requirements-this would have meant I failed my medical and therefore would not get in). My prescription was -4.25 in my left; and -3.75 in my right eye with a -1.25 astigmatism. I attended a consultation at the Preston branch in January ad was told I'd be suitable-I chose to opt for the LASEK procedure as it results in a better-healed eye-the eye is stronger - this is important to me as I am sporty including contact sports such as kick boxing, I also enjoy horse riding (and therefore fall off on occasion!) and in the police I would risk possibly getting knocked about a bit-the risk of receiving a knock to my eyes is not worth it. Hence my choice. LASEK involves a longer healing period-I had read that you don't get the 'wow' factor immediately after the procedure-this was not true for me-my vision was amazing. The surgery itself was brilliant-I was made to feel welcome and at ease from the moment I arrived at the clinic (I went to the Trafford Centre Clinic). Within an hour I was in the chair having my surgery. I am a bit of a whimp and I thought I'd be terrified but I was surprisingly calm. The procedure was pain free and quick. I was very relieved and throughout the surgery I had a nice lady holding my hand :) Immediately after I was taken into a rest room and had my drops explained to me. My sister then drove us back home, she put in my drops, I put my goggles on and went to bed. My eyes felt like I was chopping onions for about 2 days. As a result they watered a lot. It wasn't painful though, and felt a lot like just having contacts in that had dried up. The day after I attended a post op check at Preston and the optometrist checked my eyes for signs of infection and checked the bandage lens' were in place. All was fine and I went home (sunglasses firmly in place-I was qute light sensitive). 3 days after surgery I returned to the Preston clinic to have my bandage lens' removed. This was quick and pain-free. I am now on day 5 since surgery. My eyes feel completely normal and have done since day 3. My eyesight isn't 100% but will improve with time, it is certainly a lot better than it was originally. So far so good :)

had my eye surgery done in December 2010, at the Leeds Optical Express. My experience with the Leeds team was amazingly positive, I was seen quickly, though the waiting area is a little dingy ... but the staff were outstanding, I had to have one hold my hand because I kept twitching out of nervousness and she really helped to calm me down. I was kept about 30-40 minutes after my surgery to make sure everything went okay, and was given explicit instructions on aftercare (which was useful, as I actually live in York). I was a minus 12 prescription so you can possibly imagine how expensive my own surgery was! A year later I'm still amazed that I can wake up and not fumble for glasses, nor do I have to worry about accidentally falling down my stairs on a night! It's a life-changing treatment, seriously!

My husband and I both had laser eye surgery at Optical Express on 13th March 2012 and are very pleased with the results. I had intralease- Lasik and my husband had Wavefront - Lasik. We both only need glasses for reading which is a +1.50, so we are now able to just buy our reading glasses over the counter like at BHS or Boots instead of going to the opticians which is great and cheaper!!!

I had surgery 5 days ago at the Reading branch. The results are amazing. Immediately after the surgery, I could see that everything was in focus, despite the white 'cloud' that was there. Once the aneasthetic had worn off, my eyes were quite uncomfortable, bordering on painful, but a rest and some strong painkillers sorted me out, and by the evening they just felt gritty. You're told to keep your eyes closed as much as possible straight afterwards - I didn't have much choice - my eyes were so heavy, I seemed to lose the ability to control my eyelids. This passed within about 3 hours. The next day, things were still slightly cloudy but I was able to focus well - the first check up confirmed much better than 20/20 vision and I was able to read the bottom line of the chart. 5 days on - I have perfect vision (still have halo's at night, but that's expected for a while), any swelling has gone along with most of the bruising on the eye. As for Optical Express - I'm going to split the review into 2 parts, the consultaion and surgery, because the experiences were quite different. The consultation - they kept me waiting for over 45 minutes without explanation. Only when I asked what was going on did I get told they were running behind..... I'd already worked that one out so I wasn't over happy with the pathetic explanation. I was ready to walk out, when they realised I was getting quite annoyed and they suddenly managed to find someone to see me. The consultant was lovely and very thorough throughout all the checks. She confirmed I was suitable and gave me the price. I was then shown to another room where you see your 'counciler' who goes through the procedure with you, but in reality, their main objective is to get you to sign up and pay your deposit. As I was not prepared to make a decision there and then - I was asked if price was the problem as they could do something! I still didn't agree on the day as I wanted to think about it and discuss it with my family. I called back a few days later, and when I said that price was an issue, they immedately took 10% off the price. At this point I booked the procedure. The Procedure - as soon as I arrived, someone was waiting for me and whisked me off for the first set of checks and tests. Once they were complete, I was taken to the surgery suite, which is a much nicer environment than the consultation rooms. There were 2 others ahead of me waiting to be done. I then saw a nurse who went through the aftercare with me, she was a lovely, bubbly character who made me feel at ease. I then met the surgeon, who did some more tests and went through any questions I had - again, she was really nice. next up was the procedure, which from start to finish, took approx 10 minutes for both eyes. Not painful at all, but the 'flap creation' I found quite uncomfortable. All done, I could see and I'm led into a dark room to relax for while before going home. In total, I was in and out within 1 and a half hours. So, in a nutshell - Optical Express are really good for the surgery, but you need to get past the 'sales pitch' first. Make sure you push for a discount, and try and find someone who's had it done before who can give you a money off voucher.

Really impressed. Surgery went smooth, and the aftercare was brilliant. Had my 1 day and 1 week appointments at the White-City branch with the same Optometrist Pete who was very thorough as he guided me through all the do's and dont's. The actual surgery is only 30 seconds per eye, and the first day was painful. But after a good night sleep I woke the next morning with my eyesight better then 20/20. My eyes were set we're for the first two weeks, but this went away gradually after about a month. Would highly reccomend.

Really good, have better than 20-20 vision now, I was terrified but its nothing, doesn't hurt just a little uncomfortable, over in 15 minutes.< Ad re vouchers removed by Web Site Administrator>

I had my Lasik carried out just over 2 weeks ago on 14 December 2012. I was originally going to have monovision but on surgery day my surgeon advised that it would only be a very short term fix and that I would need reading glasses anyway within as little as 1-2 years (I am 49). My prescription was -4.00 in both eyes prior to surgery and my distance vision is perfect, HD now. My close up vision is still a little blurred (however, I am still managing to type this without reading glasses). Does anyone know if the blurriness does improve for close up vision? I do think that it will as I have been experimenting on my Kindle with large and regular sized text and the blurriness is pretty much the same with both. I would recommend Optical Express as they are very thorough and my surgeon in particular was excellent. Sandra x Ed - Removed text mentioning vouchers.

Great results. Achieved 20/20 vision. Should have done long ago. I would recommend Optical Express.

I went to the Shaftesbury Avenue clinic last November. The results are pretty good - I've gone from -6 in both eyes to having near perfect vision. The downside is that I suffer from very dry eyes, and can sometimes have trouble focusing. Eyedrops (when I feel the need) and eye exercises (five mins a day) help with both. My top tip - rest before the surgery, and get your eyes used to accepting eyedrops. Optical Express themselves have several things going for them - they are cheaper than many others, more flexible with appointment times and offer unlimited follow up consultations for the first year after surgery. The downside is that they are very impersonal, and you often feel like you're on a production line. In 8 appointments I've seen 7 opticians. On the day of my surgery all the test were done by different people, and none bothered to explain what they were doing. However, they got there in the end. The one tip I'd give anyone contemplating surgery is to not underestimate the surgery itself. The staff are always very keen to downplay the seriousness of it, and to explain how you can go back to work the next day etc, but actually it is a major operation. Taking a day or two off work before surgery is highly advisable, as you are then rested and everything is easier. I didn't do this, and was very tired on the day. I also wasn't used to eye drops, so my eyes scrunched up when they tried to put the anaesthetic eye drops in, and I'm not sure they were quite as effective as they could have been. This meant that my eyes were very uncomfortable during surgery (though not painful), and I also struggled to keep my eyes still and focused during surgery. The surgeon had to keep stopping and starting again, which lengthened the whole procedure significantly. The surgeon coped really well with this, but I think had I been rested and used to eye drops I might have felt less and found it easier to hold still, and would have been easier and quicker. I might even have avoided the dry eyes. The most important thing though, is that it worked! Despite the niggles, my vision has gone from -6 to -0. The dry eyes are manageable, and definitely a price worth paying for being free from glasses and lenses. Oh - and go for all the extras like wavefront etc. It may up the price, but it also improves your chances of good results.