Ultralase

I had my treatment over 2 weeks ago at Chester, unfortunately, my eyes bled somewhat causing my corneas to be swollen & inflammed (in particular the left). my prescription before hand was -3 and -1.75. Dr Koehler was very good and saw me for the 2 consecutive days after the treatment when the vision in my right eye was good but not the left, I was assured that this would improve but take a little longer due to the bleeding. However, a week later my vision had not improved but had deteriorated, worried I rang Ultralase who fitted me for later that day. The optometrist who saw me although pleasant and answered many of my questions failed to advise me of what was happening just that I was still short sighted and required spectacles, she wouldn’t give me a prescription as my sight was still fluctuating.
A few days later still worried as my sight was regressing further I contacted them again, this time I saw another optometrist Vicky Price, who was a dream, very thorough, very professional she said she was not unduly worried and that the tests showed I had severe dry eye which can cause short sightedness of 1- 2 dioptre and she did give me a prescription for spectacles for driving.
I have another appointment to see Dr Koehler next week and hopefully he can offer further advice as to my long term prognosis.
I feel my vision is there, as first thing in a morning my vision is clearer although not perfect, but then deteriorates as the day goes on.

I do feel as if I have worried unnecessarily for 2-3 days because of someones insensitiveness. All sorts of thoughts were going through my mind – Had I an infection, had the flaps moved, There was no reason given, just I needed spectacles.

Other things that bothered me were that after I had the procedure, children were playing in the recovery room throwing toys etc – having had a friend recovering from the procedure who had his sight damaged by a child jumping up at him I was very concerned.
Also, there was no surgeon available for nearly 2 weeks to discuss my case with. Although as I said Vicky was very reassuring.

I am still concerned at how long it will take for my eyes to recover form this dry eye syndrome – if anyone else has similar experiences I would like to hear from them.

I had thought of having laser eye surgery some years ago, but tales of severe pain for up to a week afterwards put me off. This was of coarse the old PRK treatment. On reading about the LASIK treatment just before Christmas I thought I’ll have to investigate.
I found the information on this website extremely helpful and decided that Ultralase were undoubtedly the best in the business. I contacted the call-centre on a Tuesday and was able to have a consultation at the Cardiff centre on the Friday. I was impressed by the thoroughness of the tests and full explanation of the procedure as well as the potential risks involved. I was able to book an appointment for the following Monday for surgery under Mr Paul Cherry.
Mr Cherry was extremely professional and I was further reassured by learning that he had performed over 5000 treatments (a claim I doubt many surgeons from Ultralase competitors could make).
The surgery was painless and though my vision was slightly blurry at first, the following day I had 20/20 vision (Fantastic!!!). I still had difficulty reading small text but was assured that over the next few weeks this would improve.
It is now just over a month since surgery and my eyesight is near perfect. I would, and have, strongly recommend Ultralase to anyone. Why anyone would want to continue to wear glasses or contact lenses when a quick, painless procedure could restore their sight is baffling.
Many thanks to all the staff at the Cardiff centre (Friendly, helpful and professional).

I had laser eye surgery at the Manchester clinic approximately 2 weeks ago performed by Mr Koehler.

I was very short-sighted with a prescription of -7.5 in my left eye and -6.5 in my right eye. I also had an astigmatism. After my initial consultation with the optometrist and a secondary follow-up appointment with the surgeon it was deemed that my corneas were thick enough to be operated on (even though Boots said my prescription was too severe for treatment).

I then went ahead with the treatment. The procedure was practically painless with only minor discomfort in the few hours after the treatment. However life after the operation can be a bit of a chore for a couple of weeks, with drops, protective glasses and eye shields at night-time, and a constant fear of getting anything in your eye; I would definitely suggest to people considering the treatment to get a couple of days off work particularly if you use a computer heavily.

2 weeks after the treatment my vision has improved considerably. The vision in my right eye is perfect. I have had some complications with my left eye. Basically there are some cells on the surface of my eye which haven’t rejoined properly making my vision from this eye slightly blurry, although I have been told that this should only be temporary. I do suffer from minor glare when driving at night, particularly when my eyes are tired. However, given my prescription prior to treatment I am very happy the results at this stage.

My impression of the Manchester Ultralase team has been good. They all seem very professional. I was not pressured into the treatment and the dangers of the treatment were also fully explained to me by the surgeon. I found the surgeon who performed my treatment, Mr Koehler, to be extremely professional and indeed an expert in this field.

The only thing I would say negatively is that the clinic can seem a little short-staffed at times; from my visits it seems that there are only 2 optometrists and one surgeon (Mr Koehler) who only works at the Manchester clinic on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and at the Chester clinic the rest of the time. For instance on my last appointment I was unable to see the optometrist who has been dealing with me from the start (Paul) as he was too busy. I therefore had to see another optometrist who knew nothing about me or the complications I had had so far.

I will post another update in a couple of weeks with regards to my left eye.

Feel free to email me.

I was due to have surgery at the Birmingham clinic under Matthew Starr. Unfortunately we did not go ahead due to a possible complication in my medical history, hopefully after obtaining previous records I will be able to go ahead.

Despite not being able to proceed, I would like to promote Ultralase, the staff at the Birmingham clinic and Matthew Starr himself. I felt that the staff were very helpful, particularly Barbara Adams (patient advisor) and have every confidence in Matthew Starr. He was not there just to take my money, he was there to give me the best possible result without causing any further medical complications. Although very upset at being turned away on my surgery day, it gave me all the confidence in the world for him.

I hope to be able to obtain further information and continue, and if so, I will certainly be booking in with Matthew.

I am so surprised that I couldn’t find any info on Matthew when doing my research. With this in mind I thought this would be helpful to anyone who has been booked in with him.

Good luck to all (I am so jealous on those who have been able to have treatment)

Jeanette

best thing i’ve had done in a long time. Could see from the moment i sat up on the theatre table and life has just got better.

The staff at Ultralase, Cardiff were excellent and extremely helpful. They made me feel relaxed throughout the whole process; from my assessment visit right through to my check-up visits. I would recommend them to anyone who wanted this pain-free surgery done.

I was driving my car the next day, how cool is that.