Optimax

I am looking to get laser eye surgery done at Optimax in Finchley. I am in particular looking to take advantage of the 2 for 1 offer. Basically if i apply for the treatment a friend can get treatment for free. I was hoping someone would be interested in going halves at £750 each for the LASIK treatment. If anyone is interested please email me at sheikh_mushood@hotmail.com. Thanks.

Had bilateral epiflap on 13th September at the Southampton clinic. My prescription was -2.75 in right eye, -2.5 in left. I found the staff in Southampton very helpful. My operation was performed by Dr Ayoubi, who took great care to explain everything carefully beforehand, giving me the chance to decide whether to have one or both eyes done and even to back out altogether if I got cold feet. My topography appointment was officially 2 hours before my laser appointment, but as the clinic weren't busy on the day, they gave me the option of going straight in for the surgery which I chose to do. Dr Ayoubi was great - he explained exactly what was happening every step of the way, and was very calming and reassuring - praising me for keeping still and telling me I'd done well. It may sound corny, but it's little things like that which really help you panicking at the time! The procedure was all over very quickly - I was in there for about 15-20 minutes total. The anaesthetic wore off after about 25 minutes - just after I arrived home. My eyes started to water like mad and it felt like chopping very strong onions - more discomfort than pain. After another 1/2 hour I just wanted to go to bed and sleep, so I took my sleeping pills and tried to sleep (surprisingly easy!). Couldn't open my eyes for the next two days (which made putting the ointment in pretty difficult), and like Jane Barnes, I found that a gel eye mask helped soothe things. I was excited when I could open my eyes on Tuesday, had no more discomfort and could see fairly well, and things have just got better ever since. The only downside was the horrible greasy ointment which I had to use for 7 day as it blurred my vision. Stopped using the ointment two days ago, drove to work today and feel great! Would recommend laser surgery, Optimax and Dr Ayoubi to anyone!

I had Lasek treatment, both eyes 14/02/03, 2.25/2.50 at Leeds by Dr.Samuals. During pre-op assessment risks mentioned included dry eyes, I already experienced slight dryness & expressed concern, was informed may have to use eye drops afterwards. Afterwards my eyes felt unbearably dry for 6 months, improving monthly rather than daily. I work parttime using P.C.in dry artificial lit atmosphere, had to wear sunglasses for weeks to ease discomfort(using 2 bottles of eyedrops preserve free a week). Diagnosed with blepharo-conjunctivitis at local hospital 13/07/03. Given 3 weeks antibiotics,1 week sterioddrops etc. Although problems subsided now still got pink lower lid margins, slight affected lash growth on right eye. The long term discomfort and worry of permenant problems has taken its toll on my mental health. Get glare when driving at night(but did before op). On a positive note- my general eyesight is very good!

I have searched this site with interest and its great to see all of the feedback from all those who have had good and bad experiences. What i cannot find and have been trying to enquire about is weather someone with high blood pressure and also HIV positive ( but not on mediction) would be suitable for ANY type of corrective surgery. I get the impression that many HIV positive people would like the corrective surgery, but think they would be refused because of any aftercare problems. Any feedback would be appreciated.

Laser surgery for HIV patients is probably not recommended. The grounds for this is not that treatment or follow up is not possible or prone to complication, but rather that occasionally HIV positive patients can develop other eye or retinal disorders (unrelated to laser surgery!). If significant haze or complication were to develop from having laser surgery, it would make monitoring or treatment of these other conditions difficult. This would also be the case for other diseases, such as diabetes etc. Hence, Laser surgery is generally not recommended for disorders such as this. I wouldn't have thought that high blood pressure alone would be a contrindication to laser surgery.Hope this helps.....

I had my bilateral Epiflap surgery on 13th Sep at the Optimax Finchley Rd clinic (-1.5 (L), -1.25 (R) plus astigmatism in both eyes). So far my experiences are very positive, exactly what I was expecting. It offers one of the cheapest options in the market so don't expect a red carpet treatment but in my case there were no delays, I was dealt with quickly and efficiently. If anything they are a little short on the information front so ensure you research everything properly beforehand and have your questions ready and I would advice to have visited at least one more clinic for a consultation (the expensive ones offer it free) as a comparison. Optimax is a perfect option for people who want an in and out service (whatever you do do NOT be late there) ideally with no complex medical history. The consultation with Dr Almasari who treated me was, like everything else, quick and efficient. The treatment was pain free and lasted around 15min (the actual timing of the laser was 23 sec for each eye!) Once the anaestetic drops wore off (ab. 1 hr) the pain really started to kick in and lasted until the next morning. Despite all the odds try to have a few hours sleep as in my case it helped enourmously. I opted to have the bandage contact lenses as apparently the eyes heal more evenly then. The removal of the lenses 3 days later was not painful at all as stated in a few sources. After four days I have almost 20/20 vision if slightly longsighted still. I notice a slight improvement every day although it does take time. The other thing I noticed was that the pain and visual sensations are different in both eyes, eg. my left eye was much more painful than the right and I think it is healing more slowly as well (don't know why). I have another checkup in a weeks time so will send another update. Generally thumbs up for Optimax, the lower price has nothing to do with the quality of the actual treatment I don't think, maybe just the aftercare but then again you do get what you pay for!

Had my consultation at the Edinburgh branch 2 months ago. Was told my eyes were -8 and recommended i choose the lasik surgery. Has anyone had this treatment done with a prescription similar to mine? I have read some of the other (good&bad)comments left and remain unconvinced with such a high prescription. Anybody help?

sean and steven-have you looked at other clinics? accuvision and london vision clinic appear to have good records re higher prescritions/thinner corneas. If i proceed i will go to london vision clinic. check out their websites

I had a consultation at edinburgh clinic last year. After the examination I was told that my cornea's were too thin for LASIK, but I was a canidate for LASEK. I had no problem with this, but a few weeks later received a phone call telling me that a second doctor had reviewed my results and decided I was a canidate for LASIK. Didnt quite feel me with confidence, so I decided to do some more research. I'm now at the point where I would like to look into surgery again, but the comments on this site are so mixed, that I have my doubts. Which Doctors have had the most negative reviews? Which clinic is the best? Quite frankly, my eyes are too valuable - unless I can get some positive information I will go the US for surgery.

Can anyone advise about haveing same-day treatment on both eyes. I suspect i'll need Lasik. I ws going to have one eye done at a time, but with my high perscription i can see problems being able to get on until i have the other eye done. So, please give me your comments on Lasik - one at a time.......or both together?? Also, anyone out there......can you give me a blow by blow of AFTER the surgery........