Optimax

Went back for my 2nd check up on 20th Jan. Saw another optician, who was much more thorough. Said I'm only +25 now in the corrected eye (was +1.50 at last check-up). She also said it can take circa 3/6 months for the vision to be perfect. It's now been circa 2 months since I had one eye corrected and overall I'm very happy with the outcome. I am looking at getting my other eye done in April.

At my initial consultation it was recommended that due to corneal thinness that one eye be treated by Lasek at Glasgow and the other, which was described as borderline, be treated by Lasik at the Edinburgh clinic. Imagine my consternation however, after travelling to Edinburgh, that the surgeon Dr. Boytha was unwilling, after looking at my notes, to perform Lasik on that eye and instead recommended Lasek because she thought the corneal safety margin after treatment would be insufficient. I don't know about other peoples opinion of Dr. Boytha but I was impressed that she was willing to recommend, despite the loss to the clinic, the cheaper and safer option. I went ahead with the Lasek op in Edinburgh and then a few weeks later in Glasgow. I have no complaints of my treatment at either clinic where I found the staff helpful and considerate. As to my recovery the first few days were quite uncomfortable and my vision remained blurred for about a week. Distance vision returned in the second week and by the third to fourth week my near vision had settled. I have no regrets about having had Lasek rather than Lasik. If you don't require immediate results Lasek may be the safer less invasive option. My prescription has gone from -4.75 and -7.50 to virtually zero and the pleasure even after nearly six months in not having to bother with glasses is immense.

I had Bi-Lateral Lasek (PRK) at the Glasgow Clinic on 1st February 2003 by Dr. Anwar. (-2.5 Left + -3.25 Right). I was obviously pretty stressed out on the morning of the treatment but after my consultation with Dr. Anwar I felt much more relaxed as he explained what the treatment involved and answered all my questions. The treatment itself was totally painless and Dr. Anwar talked to me all the way through it which helped immensely. My recovery was relatively painless (watery eyes the first night and bright lights proved a problem for the first few days). My right eye appeared to recover quicker however by the following Sunday my vision was excellent in both eyes. I had my check-up today and discovered that I was now slightly long sighted although this was normal and should settle down in the next few weeks. Next appointment 28 April 2003. I had worn glasses and contact lenses for over 20 years and what a difference to see clearly unaided after that length of time. I was highly impressed by Dr. Anwar and would recommend him to anyone. He has lots of experience (over 4000 eyes). I will write again after my next check-up in April. Overall I am one Happy Chappy. Happy to answer any questions.

I had Epiflap PRK (LASEK) on both eyes on 31st Jan 03 at the London Optimax Clinic. The op was strange and a bit scary, but not in any way painful. I was -3.25, and -3.5 with a degree of astigmatim in both eyes. I believe the astigmatism in my left eye was worse. After treatment, for a week, clear vision was not an option! It was like looking underwater with your eyes open. Any light just caused a haze effect, and I found it hard to focus on anything. Now after 12 days, my right eye has 100% sharp vision, for distance and closeup. My left eye, I am starting to worry about. Currently, I have a light ghost image below anything I look at, and sight is no where near as sharp as my right, around 70%. This seconday image is causing havoc with my brain! This seems to be much worse indoors under false lighting. I have had my first aftercare appointment recently, but the person checking seemed rather disinterested, even when I expressed my concerns. The only thing I managed to get out of the lady before being ejected was that I was slightly long sited, but this should improve. Optimax get docked a few points here, and so do I for not pushing it harder at the time! I have a secondary check booked for 1 months time, but my conclusion is rapidly being formed that my left eye is far from a success. Does anyone know if my issues are down to the healing process being different in each eye? Or the astigmatism being greater in my problem eye? Has this occured to anyone else? Any reassurance/experiences/advice will be gratefully received! I am hoping the average rating will go up given time. I will post again with the results. Thanks.

I'm due to have Lasek at the Finchley Rd clinic on 21st March for a -3.00 in both eyes. Has anyone had this procedure at this clinic and had both eyes done at the same time? If so, who was your surgeon; was it a success and how long was your recovery period? I'd also be interested to know if you were satifisfied with the results. Thanks alot.

I am planning to have a consultation and Lasik treatment, on both eyes, on 28th February at the Birmingham Optimax Clinic. If anyone has any comments or experiences, good or bad, of this particular clinic please e mail me. With the present bad publicity I am having second thoughts about the treatment.

I am having my consultation and both eyes done all on the same day 8th March 2003. I am going to the Glasgow Clinic to have Lasek. Has anyone been to the Glasgow clinic and had both eyes done on the same day? Please e-mail me and let me know? When will I be able to go back to work (I work on a computer 8 hours per day)

It seems everyone is having both their eyes done at the same time due to Optimax special offer. I've been given the same deal at their Birmingham office, part of me thinks, great, get it over with in one day, but the other part is nervous & questioning. Anyone had Lasek at the Birmingham office, both eyes done at the same time, please e-mail me & let me know how it all went.

For information only I had my eyes corrected at the London Clinic in November 2000. One of the reasons I decided to go ahead was the fact that I could look up my surgeons details on their website and check his details and the amount of experience. Also the fact that my initial appointment was with the surgeon to see if my eyes were suitable for this type of treatment and I would see him if I had any particular problems post-treatment which I felt to be a comfort. From a price point of view they offered good value for money and I would still recommend them as the following comments I will make would apply to any clinic - I would also stress that your surgeon is the one using the equipment and he is more important in the choice of clinic you make re experience. My vision was only suitable to be corrected with Lasik. What I didn't realise going into this was that your vision can fluctuate a lot over quite a period of time and even though I am now pleased I had it done I would advise other people to think of their jobs and consider whether they are better having it done in the summer months especially if you are a driver (re night driving) or office worker and looking at screens. The winter months when it gets dark at 3.00 pm and working in artificial light. Obviously I had it done in November - I wish I had had it done when the clocks had changed in the Spring so that by the winter I hopefully would have known what type of vision I would be left with. I have night vision glasses which I only need to wear when I am driving on unlighted roads i.e. minor B roads and some motorways - town driving is fine etc. So I need to have a pair of glasses just in case but I left it 8 months so that I could be sure that hopefully my vision had settled. When they talk about re-treatment like you can have it done just like that what you have to remember is it depends on how much cutting room they have left with regards to the eye and I was told that they didn't like to do it before six months post-op to allow the eyes plenty of time to settle down.

Allison, if you look at the Optimax website they use Nidek 5000 and the Technolas 217. I think most of them are Nidek. Boots seem to be using the LADARVISION. Most people would probably say that the Boots machine is more modern, fancy tracker and so on. The laser is only one part of the final result, though. An experienced surgeon might be worth an awful lot (would you want a good tradesman with ok tools or someone who had little idea what they were doing and the latest kit?) At -4 why LASIK? (Indeed, why LASIK period?)