Optical Express

Has Lasek done 6 days ago at Birmingham branch. Mr George recommended Lasek as I had very thin corneas. Had heard stories of pain following procedure so was very nervous. However, no pain just grittiness and smarting of the eyes for 3 days. Found the smarting got worse after having had the bandage lenses out and could not bear light for about 12 hours after but now am fine. Vision is still a little blurry but fantastic improvement (-4.75 and -5.75 pre op). I still have a little discomfort in one eye – it feels like I have something in it – but on the whole am very pleased. Vision seems to be improving and I realise it is a slower process with Lasek so am hoping for fantastic vision in a few months. I would not hesitate in recommending Lasek, it is fantastic to wake and not fumble for my glasses after 35 years!!
The only little grumble I have about Birmingham branch is the waiting. I was booked in for treatment at 2.30pm and was still waiting at 5.10pm! This makes the anticipation worse and by the time I got into the treatment room I was a nervous wreck. This waiting is not uncommon as three family members have had the same experience. My advice is to take a book to read and try tostay calm as the procedure is so simple and pain free, the anticipation and waiting is the worst part of the treatment but well worth it.

I had LASIK done on 10th December in the Birmingham Clinic, with Dr George. My prescription was -4.25 in both eyes, which was too high to have mono treatment, and the scariest thing about the whole procedure for me was the fact that I did have both eyes done at the same time. The results so far, after 2 weeks, are amazing. I had better-than-20:20 vision after less than 24 hours, and this is still the case. The procedure was a bit nerve-wrecking, but absolutely painless. And it only takes a few minutes (nothing compared to the 3 hours we all had to wait in the waiting room), and immediately after I could read the time on the clock. Without my glasses, I wouldn't have even seen the wall, let alone read the time! I found that the main discomfort only lasted for about 3 hours, which I spent sleeping anyway. After that, I wore my sunglasses for about 1.5 days, but really didn't have any discomfort to speak of. I didn't need any painkillers. The discomfort was completely gone after less than a week, and I even stopped taking the artifial tears after 10 days. I only use them now first thing in the morning. I am obviously really pleased and have recommended this treatment to many colleagues (it's amazing how many people are keen to do this but hesitate to take the 'risk'). I am aware of the possibility that my sight might still deteriorate again in a few months or a year or so, but I know I could then have a top-up operation, and in any case, it's unlikely to go back to what it was like. I thought the web-information on my consultant, Mr George, didn't do him justice. He is obviously really experienced and the team know exactly what they're doing. So, thank you to the Birmingham team.

If you are advised that Lasek is the best for you be prepared for recovery to be longer than you think. however the result is well worth the wait.

I have just finished reading other peoples post op comments and I am suprised at the lack of feed back for people who like me have had Lasek treatment. My first consultation was a year ago at Milton Keynes, they recommended Wavefont Lasek at Shaftsbury Avenue because of my occupation followed by post op treatment at Milton Keynes. I had my right eye done in January and decided to have my left eye done in October. I opted for mono vision at first but it didn't suit my lifestyle. I drive around 30,000 miles a year and take part in a lot of outdoor activities. The main problem I encountered was judging distances close up. If I worked in an office environment I would have stuck with mono. After all if it's not for you have the other one done later.The best advice I can give is follow all the procedures by the book and you should have no problems. After each operation I went home to bed and slept for a few hours, the following day I stayed at home and kept out of the direct light. After each operation I suffered no pain and very little discomfort. The healing process takes longer but the results are truly amazing.I'm 50 years old and now need glasses for reading but then so do most other people of my age.My thanks to Mr Gelidi for your advice and carrying out the operation and also to the after care team at Milton Keynes who are totally commited to customer care. Exceptional value for money.

I had LASEK surgery at the end of November in Bristol on boths eyes. My prescription was -1.25 and -2.25 with an astigmatism. My eyes were out of focus with one another and I was short sighted but through sheer laziness, I never took my glasses off and therefore ended up needing them for everything but sleeping! I went for the consultation in Cardiff which was just like a very thorough eye test taking about 1 hour. My eyes were very light sensitive after as they dilated the pupils but not uncomforable. When they said I could have the op I booked straight away and had to pay a £200 deposit. Nothing else needs to be paid until just before the surgery. I was very nervous as the date was approaching and made my husband's life hell for a few days. Although my first appointment was cancelled due to an air conditioning unit breaking it was the best news for me as, after the disappointment of being cancelled, I went on this website to look at peoples views of the surgery and it made my nerves fade away. I was so excited. My new appointment was only 5 days away and I couldn't wait. Dr Giledi was really nice, although I couldn't understand a lot of what he said I got the gist of the conversation. Make sure you ask questions before the op, if you have any, as the pre-op consulation did seem a bit rushed. Don't be frightened to ask. No-one can tell you to not be nervous as it is only natural but my experience was really excellent. You get in a chair like a dentists and they lower you backwards. Anesthetic drops are put in. These do sting a bit but you just close your eyes and it lasts seconds. When they mention that they are going to clamp your eyes open it is just like holding your eyes open with your fingers, no worse than that. I was worried about not being able to blink but as they only do one eye at a time, you are free to blink with the unclamped eye and this psycologically makes you think that you have blinked with the other eye. If felt fine. You have already had the anesthetic drops in so you can't feel a thing. You are swung around to under the laser machine and you have to look up at a red dot above you whilst the surgeon firstly clamps your eye, gently pushes the top layer of your eye (you can't feel a thing) then they count down whilst the lasering is being done, mine only took 20 seconds, they then push back the top layer and insert a clear contact lens then cover up that eye and do the same with your other eye. The whole procedure from first lying down to getting up was 15 minutes. I could see a difference straight away although blurry. A nurse comes in and goes through all the medication with you. Make sure you have someone with you as I didn't take all the information in at first as I was so excited after having the procedure. You are given a leaflet which tells you what to do.The medicine that I was given was antibiotic drops for 1 week followed by anti-inflammatory drops for 4 weeks and also some lubricating drops to be used as and when needed. After a short while I was expecting the itchy, gritty feeling to start that everyone mentions, 24 hours later I was still waiting. As most women know, there is always house work to be done so, I thought, I may as well do it as I was feeling o.k. BAD MISTAKE. Take my advice and rest, rest, rest as 27 hours later the gritty feeling started. It may not have if I hadn't done the dusting. The feeling wasn't painful but really uncomfortable and I didn't sleep much that night. However, by the next day, I did rest and made an icepack up which I placed over my eyes whilst listening to the telly. This really helped and by that evening I was o.k. So in short, the uncomfortable feeling only lasted for 17 hours. I had the surgery over 2 weeks ago and I havn't had to use the lubricating drops hardly at all. My experience of the surgery is excellent and as you will probably read in other statements, I wish I had had it done earlier. The cost of my op was £1290.00 for both eyes which is a lot cheaper than other companies and seeing as the service was excellent I don't see why other companies should charge so much. If you are in doubt about the procedure there is nothing to worry about. Every operation has a chance of failure but if the ask the surgeon there is about a 0.07 chance of it not working. So this is just as good as 100% success. Go on, do it, it will change your life.