Optical Express

wavefront lasik with intralase:surgeon Mr Giledi, (following morning better than 20/20). To put in context, i cry faint with injections & blood tests, i am a complete coward when it comes to anything physical,so please take comfort when i say there was no pain.go for the laser to create the flap,this is uncomfortable not painful.the team at Shaftesbury Avenue was excellent every step of the way was explained and it was all over in 10 minutes,after my eyes stung a little (as if i had chopped onions) for about an hour, then it was amazing - i could see better than with my spectacles & this morning is better still.fabulous thanks to everyone there.

I had surgery on 8 July 2006 (1 year ago) at Shaftesbury clinic with surgeon Osama Giledi. I had the wavefront scan and wavefront guided lasers. Previously I'd been about -2 on both eyes with astygmatism. My eyesight is now perfect and has been for about 10 months. I do feel as if my eyes are very dry quite often, but that could just be because London air is generally quite polluted. I don't require eye drops, although use them maybe once every 2-3 weeks. My eyes do sometimes feel as if they're weaker/thinner than they were previously, but I guess maybe they are... this causes no problems though. My experience of surgery was a little traumatic. During all my pre-surgery tests I specifically asked whether I was suitable for LASIK. I was assured that I was a "perfect candidate". However when I turned up on the day the surgeon looked at the same test results and said I was not suitable for LASIK because my corneas were uneven thicknesses. So he gave me 30 minutes to decide whether to do LASEK or to go home. I was entitled to a full refund if I said no. Although I was not actively pressured, I did feel a little pressured by staff coming to ask if I wanted to go ahead every 5 minutes. And I felt as if I did not have enough information to make an informed decision about LASEK, as I had spent the previous 2 months reading up about LASIK. I decided to go ahead. The next 4-5 days I had very sore eyes, and very blurry eyesight. I was forced to take more days off work than I had planned, which was annoying and again if I had been told early on that I was only suitable for LASEK I may have decided not to do it. For about 2 weeks after surgery my eyes were very tired and very dry, and I had less than perfect vision. I had double or triple vision for about 3 weeks in total, which was somewhat concerning. After about a month the double vision had subsided, but for the next month or so I still had problems focussing on sharp brightness contrasts, e.g. computer screen or train timetable messages (anything with LEDs was a problem). About 2 or so months after surgery I felt as if my eyesight was good, and it felt stable. It has been so ever since. Optical Express's test of your eyesight prescription post surgery is not overly flash - I got told I had 20/12 vision (i.e. better than 20/20) but I guessed some of the letters on the board as I had done the test a number of times during the whole process. Surgery itself was not too bad - having my eyes held open for about 2-3 minutes each eye was a little uncomfortable but not too bad. The surgeon did have to re-do one eye, which was a little concerning, and a bit more painful. Was it worth doing - yes. Could it have gone better - probably. Do I recommend Optical Express - yes, they were capable, but not perfect. I also checked out the Ultralase offices, which seemed almost identical in terms of professionalism and technology as Optical Express. I chose Optical Express because they were about £400 cheaper (taking into account the discounts I could get from either), and the office was more convenient for me. Hope that's useful.

My 20 year old daughter has just booked lasik with wavefront and intralase to be carried out at the Leeds Optical Express on 17th August. Having read lots of comments I am encouraged but worried that she has a consultation at Ultralse in Leeds the day before Optical Express and they said she wasn't suitable yet as her prescription was not stable enough. Can anyone re-assure me that she will be ok having it done at such a young age? Any comments from other youngsters who've had the procedure would be most welcome. She is -3 in both eyes by the way.

LASER COUNSELLER - Lakeside Thurrock (as from October 2007) I would just like to say, after reading ALOT of customer comments/worries that I myself do not need laser vision correction, and during my training i had to see suregery taken place, and as quite a scared person, i wasnt looking too forward to it. I myself imagioned the surgery to be really scary and painful but this is not the case. I was higly surprised at how quick the treatment was (roughly 20 mins) and how "easy" it looked. Obviously i dont mean that the procedure is an easy procedure to take out as the surgeons are very highly skilled and trained in what they do, but on the whole the procedure is very fast and accurate. I do recccomend people to definately go for the Wavefront treatment as it does achieve personl best vision, the standard procedure is Highly succesful but it is best to have the added benefits of wavefront technology. I hope ive managed to re-assure people in Laser vision correction and i hope to see some of you very soon! Ross Clark LASER EYE COUNSELLER Lakeside Thurrock

Very surprised at how quickly my vision has improved. The staff have all provided an excellent service. When you have your surgery it can be a bit of worry but the nurses & surgeon in glasgow make you feel relaxed. I would do it again!

Wavefront IntraLase (Lasik). Had the surgery at Bluewater on Friday July 13 ! Staff at Bluewater very efficient and professional and didn't keep me waiting at all. Surgery was fascinating and all over in 15 mins. I could 'see' that my eyesight was much better straight away although vision was blurry which they said is due to the fluid they used in the procedure left under the flaps, which is normal and eventually goes away. After 20 mins I was told I could go home ! Eyes felt gritty and watery but no pain. Went home and rested for a few hours and 8 hours later, perfect clear vision ! Eyes still felt a little gritty but by Sunday morning this had gone. For those that are worried about the procedure don't be, its a small inconvenience to the vision sensation you will feel soon afterwards. My thanks to all the staff at Bluewater for looking after me.

I had my surgery on 11/07/07 by Mr.Khan at the Leeds Clinic. I was not waiting around too long, and the whole procedure can't have taken more than 10 minutes. I felt no pain at all, although the experience was a little weird and I was extremely nervous during the right eye. The left eye seemed to be done in no time. Once the anestetic wore off, my eyes streamed for an hour and then began to calm down. At the check-up the next day I could read the bottom line of the chart with both eyes - amazing. The staff (nurses and admin) have been friendly and helpful throughout. The optometrist who carried out my 1 day check was excellent - he was patient, had plenty of time for me, answered all my questions, told me exactly what to expect over the coming week and was generally very thorough. The clinic has been great at managing my requests for appointment times and I would have no hesitation in recommending them. I just hope my eyes are still just as good at my week check up!

Before I got my surgery done I was nervous but the staff at Bluewater made me feel confident in getting it done, I got the Wavefront in both eyes and the surgery was 15 mins and with eye drops in didn't have any pain, because I was so short sighted -6.50 in right eye and -5.50 in the left I found it hard to look straight ahead once they lifted the flap of my eye up to laser it, once it was done it was a wee bit sore once the drops wore off but I was in a dark queit room and then someone came and gave me some more drops, that was lush as they started to get a bit sore, I could see straight away but after I left the clinic I wanted to just keep my eyes shut, I got home and my friend had to put y drops in as I couldn't bear to have my eyes open as my lids felt really heavy, I had a sleep for a couple of hours and felt much better and kept taking my drops for the two weeks and went back to work after a couple of days. All I have to say about getting the surgery done is how surreal it is to be able to see without glasses, first thing I would have to do when I woke up was put on my glasses, I wore glasses & contact lenses from my early teens and I cannot tell you have fantastic it was getting my eyes done, I love it! Three months down the line and it's like I've never wore glasses, I wish I had it done years ago, my quality of life is just so much better, when I stayed with friends and going on a night out I would have to remember to bring my contact lenses stuff, no worries now, I had to know the lay out of the swimming pool before I went in as I was seriously blind as a bat, I'm going on holiday soon and can't wait to go swimming in the sea even lie on the beach and fall asleep and not worry about glasses or contacts. If you are thinking about getting it done, what are you waiting for? It is seriously the best money I have spent in my life, so thank you very much to my surgeon Wayne-Crew-Brown at Optical express in Bluewater.

Wavefront Lasik 22/3/07 - Had the surgery yesterday (5.15pm) and feel brilliant this morning at 9.30am. Surgery uncomfortable but extremely quick. The staff in Glasgow (just like at George St, Edinburgh) absolutely fantastic, very attentive & reassuring. Half an hour after the op the teary eyes began & the grittiness appeared. For the next 4/5 hours grittiness was extremely irritating and vision was better already at 10pm. Have just had a one-day checkup today and I have better than 20/20 vision already. I am absolutely delighted & over the moon. 29/3/07 - One week later. Feel fantastic, eyesight just unbelievable. So glad I got the laser treatment & my only wish is that I got it sooner. Night time vision also brilliant. Its great to be able to drive again without the glasses. 18/3/07 - One month later - vision completely settled & confirmed as having 20/15 vision - fantastic! A massive thank you to Optical Express. Staff tremendous.

Information given in "non pushy" way by Richard Taylor at Harrogate.Big reason for choosing them was having consultation and follow-up checks in Harrogate,only traveling to Leeds for surgery.Only had 1 eye done, ended up with lasek as unable to get "thing"in eye!Was about 90 mins of re-checks and waiting before surgery,a bit nervous by end of wait.Surgeon & staff brilliant.Only painful when lens taken out after 4 days but that one day of pain was well worth the result.Now have one eye able to read (untreated) and other sees distance.Its just brilliant just getting on with life and not deciding glasses or contacts.