Accuvision Laser Eye Clinic

(posted on the listings lab blog; http://blog.listingslab.com) Miraculous! That’s the only word to describe lasik laser eye surgery. Actually, uncomfortable also describes it pretty well. I didn’t go blind. Far from it. Less than 24 hour after the procedure and I have better than 20/20 vision. OK, my vision is a little hazy and my eyes hurt a little bit because essentially they are still recovering from injury, but I no longer need to wear glasses. I met Phil at the clinic in Parson’s Green at 2:30pm. We had to have a quick eye test to make sure that our eyes hadn’t changed in the 6 months since our initial consultation. If you have an image of the clinic as a hospital ward, it’s nothing like that. A stylish, well appointed waiting room. Comfy chairs, big screen plasma TV with rolling news and good tea and coffee on tap. It is a little bit of a production line and all the staff are slick and professional. So while Phil and I got on with chatting about Meagan’s party in Kingston at the weekend, we were whisked off here and there to meet the surgeon, be briefed on aftercare, sign our consent forms, and then finally into the treatment room for the procedure itself. Which is not very nice. Have no illusions. This is Laser. Eye. Surgery. You are awake and there is no way to do this without staring up at the laser beam. If I ever make a film about alien abduction, it will look like the experience of having lasik. So I’m lying there, trying to stay as calm as I can and relax as much as possible. Not easy when the surgeons are clamping your eye open and you’re seeing it all coming. Then comes the aesthetic and something very weird. A scalpel thingy on some kind of runner comes down and skrr skrr, you KNOW that they’ve just cut a flap right through your cornea. Then the weirdest bit. Some tweezers come down and you actually see the flap of your cornea being peeled back and your vision suddenly goes completely blurred. 2 more minutes. The laser is positioned and then zzzt zzzt. There’s a slight smell of burnt pork as human tissue is burned away, but it’s done in a split second. Then the flap is closed, a contact lens put over the wound is cleaned and bosh. Job done. On to the other eye. That’s it, you’re done. Like I say. Not nice. But you can live with it. Next step is to go back out to the waiting room and hang about for 15 mins with your eyes closed. All the better if you’ve got a mate there you can chat to. Another quick check up and some eye drops and you’re good to go. We were both finished by 4pm. I’d booked a B&B just up the road to make things easier. You need to be back in the clinic for a check-up the next morning and you don’t want to be buggering around on the tube. It was cold outside and my eyes hurt. When the aesthetic wore off later in the afternoon they hurt more, but the antibiotic eye drops you need to put in every hour soothed & helped a lot. A couple of hours of recovery and Phil and I were well enough to go out for dinner. After a nice bottle of wine at Strada in Parson’s Green it didn’t hurt at all and we both started to notice how well we could see. Like we used to see with our glasses. So yes. This morning my eyes hurt a bit, but I’d had contacts in over night and I’ve never worn them before, but having the optician check my prescription again and tell me I had better than 20/20 vision. Well, quite frankly it’s well worth a little bit of discomfort. A thousand pounds well spent too. All of a sudden I’m thinking about what other kinds of elective surgery I can have. Maybe I’ll put my name down for a liquid titanium double ‘ard exo-skeleton so I’m first in the queue when they get invented.

I've just had my 6 month check up, having the surgery done in July 2005. Not only are the results above my expectations, but every visit was an example of professional approach to post surgery care. I can only give the highest marks to every aspect of Accuvision - from the inital consultation,surgery itself and all check ups. I have been recomending Accuvision to all my friends.

I like most people did a lot of research before going ahead with my surgery, I opted to go and see Accuvision and Ultralase who from this site seemed to me the best bets. My first appointment was at Accuvision and Vik took me through all of the complex test - he was really nice and obviously new his stuff, and really made me feel at ease, and also kept me well informed of all the tests he was doing and the outcomes he observed, the tests took 1 hour in total, and at all times, all of the staff in Fulham were really friendly and professional. He noted that I had a very minute cataract and printed out a picture of it for me but stressed that the cataract was very small and looked congenital, and was nothing to worry about. I was advised that as my eyes were well within all of the parameters and that they recommended the normal Lasik at a cost of £1398 for both eyes. My second appointment was at Ultralase on Tottenham Court Road, the expression “poles apart” comes to mind when trying to compare it with Ultralase. Where do I start – well the initial tests were carried out by the ‘receptionist’ who seemed to me to have no idea what she was doing, she had to re-do 2 of the test 2-3 times as she wasn’t getting correct results. She never said one word to me whilst carrying out these tests which even though I knew what was going on as I had had similar tests at Accuvision still made me feel really uneasy. Once these initial tests had been carried out I was sent outside to wait to see the Optometrist for 40 mins! After the optometrist who I thought was not much better qualified than the ‘Receptionist’ I was sent in to see the ‘Sales person’, who proceeded to tell me that my optometrist had advised I go for the Custom Procedure at a cost of £3000 (the most expensive), without any real explanation as to why I they thought I warranted this particular procedure other than trying to infer that if I didn’t go for the custom I would “probably” have night Halos!! They then proceeded to try and get a surgery date from me there and then, no “well, go away and think about it and get back to us with your decision”, and seemed quite shocked when I said I would not be making any appointment at this stage. To be honest there was absolutely no way I would ever let them near my eyes. In total the whole experience took just over 2 hours, but most of this time was spent in the waiting room! I obviously opted to go ahead with my surgery with Accuvision, who were and have been absolutely brilliant, the surgery in November, aftercare, information provided has all been second to none. My prescription was -2.5 and -2.75 and I had 20/15 vision @ my 1 month check-up, which is absolutely and scarily accurate, even and in fact more noticeable at night. The surgery was I thought absolutely painless, although the smell of your eyeballs burning was a little weird! And took in total no longer than 3 minutes; afterwards and for about 8 weeks my eyes were extremely dry and scratchy, like having your eyeball covered in salt and vinegar!!! But the drops sort out this problem instantly. In summary I would highly recommend Accuvision in Fulham if you are considering this procedure.

Had wavefront laser eye surgery a week ago after several years of thinking about it. The results have been absolutely amazing - it's like a miracle and I am so so pleased with my new eyesight. The team at Accuvision have been brilliant - very professional, thorough and supportive. Would recommend them to anyone. If you are debating whether or not to have it done - GO FOR IT!!!! Totally amazing!

I have just been for my monthly check-up (it's actually about 6 weeks since I had the procedure) and am very pleased to say everything is fine & I now have better than 20/20 vision! I can honestly say this is one of the best things I have ever done & is money very well spent. The staff in the Fulham clinic are extremely friendly & professional & put you completely at ease. I was very nervous on the actual day of the procedure but they were very kind & even offered for someone to hold my hand during the process! In the end I didn't need it as it was over so quickly & was so utterly painless that I soon realised I had had nothing whatsoever to worry about. The worst thing of all was not being able to wear eye make-up for 2 weeks! But I got over it! I now wake up every day & can see better than I ever could with contact lenses, I can shower & see what I am doing & am really looking forward to going on holiday & swimming & sunbathing without a second thought. I cannot thank the staff enough for their kindness & helpfulness - they are always on the end of the phone if want to ask anything. I would also like to thank my mate Ben who took the plunge before me & pushed me into finally getting it done myself - I wish I had done it 10 years ago!!

My journey to excellent vision took a little longer than I expected. This was due to having a very high prescription (nearly -11 in both eyes) and in conjunction with this I opted for monovision as I was approaching my mid-forties. Monovision deliberately undercorrects one eye, enabling you to focus close up without reading glasses as you grow older whilst the other eye is corrected to full vision for distance purposes. I first underwent the procedure in December 2004 and would agree with others that it is not painful, although not exactly pleasant and I was glad to get it over with! As the months went by it was apparent that my distance eye had not achieved perfect vision and ended up at around -1. With the deliberately undercorrected other eye, this meant that although my vision was vastly improved, things were still not perfect and I was obliged to wear glasses to drive and watch TV. Daryus at Accuvision felt that this outcome was the result of a) the very high initial prescription and b) having worn contact lenses for so many years, such that my eyes were still 'relaxing' after the long term pressure which in turn affected the shape of the cornea as it healed. It was therefore recommended that I wait a year to check how my eyes stabilised before going for 'enhancement', i.e. undergoing the procedure again. With so much time to think over the year, I was full of doubts as the enhancement date approached. I was worried that the distance eye would still not come up to scratch and simply concerned about 'pushing my luck' by having the procedure done again. When I went back for the second procedure, I expressed a desire to go for full vision in both eyes to give me the best possible chance of distance vision. Both Daryus and Chad Rostron the surgeon counselled against this, as it would just mean swapping one pair of visual aids for another (i.e. reading glasses) as I grew older. So we left the undercorrected eye as it was and re-corrected the distance vision. I am happy to say that a few weeks on, things are great. I can see very sharply with my distance eye and although I am still getting used to monovision (where the brain has to learn to make the transition from one eye to another depending on what you are looking at) I am feeling very confident about the outcome and in fact quite smug as I see friends and relatives of a similar age resorting to reading glasses!! Furthermore apart from a little initial dryness I had no side effects at all. Thank you everyone at Accuvision for allaying my fears and encouraging me to stick it out to the end. It is an indescribable freedom to be without contacts or glasses for the first time in 35 years! So for anyone reading this and considering the procedure, I would urge you to go for it. Accuvision are an extremely competent and compassionate team who despite the large numbers of people they treat every year, retain a very personal touch.

I had the laser treatment last August and have just completed my final check up. I am amazed that, for 37 years of my life, I woke every morning with very blurred vision and now I find myself taking for granted the fact that I now have better than 20/20 vision all the time! I know what it's like when you first decide to go for this procedure and how nervous you will be. Please be assured that the staff at Accuvision made me feel confident from the outset both through their professionalism and the way they explained exactly how each step would go in as much graphic detail as you fancy! The actual operation itself, yes of course I was a bit nervous and the experience itself was a bit freaky but utterly painless. It was over in no time and I had total confidence in the surgeon and his staff. The aftercare has been great and I would recommend Accuvision to anyone considering this treatment.

The process of examination and surgery was very professional and friendly,every process was explained clearly prior to happening.I have recommended it to many of my friends already

I was treated on 10 November and I'm writing this just after an 8 week check. I have been very impressed with Accuvision and their laser technology. Everyone at the Fulham clinic has been so friendly and helpful. I have really felt like part of the family. I will actually miss going there when all the aftercare visits are done. Regarding the technology, I did a lot of reading about different lasers. It can be quite confusing but at the end of the day it was all about results. Accuvision's success rates are some of the best that I have seen. My eyes were -4.5 and -5.0. Accuvision's 20/20 rate for this prescription range is over 95%. Check that against your friendly local competitor who charges more because they offer "the best technology". I was shivering in the waiting room before treatment but I needn't have worried. The procedure was an absolute doddle. It didn't hurt a bit and wasn't even uncomfortable. I would almost go as far as to say that I enjoyed the experience. It was certainly fascinating. The nicest surprise was that I had absolutely no discomfort afterwards - not even the gritty, watery eyes that I was expecting. Accuvision advise you to keep your eyes shut as much as possible for the rest of the day and I think that must really help. My vision is now 20/20 with both eyes together (although my right eye is 20/30) and I can do things like cycle in the rain and see my kids in the swimming pool. I'm looking forward to snowboarding in February without the hassle of my clumsy glasses/goggles combo, or the pain of trying to arrange contact lenses for just one week. On top of all this, both eyes were done for £1,398 and I really feel that I had some of the best treatment available - not "cheap surgery" at all. I really cannot understand why people pay more. The absolute icing on the cake was when I received a Christmas card from Accuvision with a picture of a snow covered mountain with fresh snowboard tracks. Now this may be coincidence, but I had told Vikash that one of my reasons for having this done was snowboarding. Coincidence or not, it was a beautiful experience to receive the card and to picture myself out there on the snow enjoying life without visual aids. The only (very minor) annoyance was when I was told that they don't recommed tube travel after surgery. It was a bit late as I had travelled in by train/tube and I wasn't about to pay about £150 for a taxi home. I just shut my eyes and hung on to my wife's arm. Nothing to worry about. I could go on all day about how excellent the Fulham clinic is but I suppose I should let someone else have a turn!

I had wavefront LASIK on both eyes at Accuvision in July 2005, performed by Mr Chad Rostron and his team. Prior to this, my prescription was -4.25/-5.00, and I had been wearing glasses/contact lenses for about 15 years since my late teens. Without them, I couldn't even watch TV, let alone drive. The operation was a textbook success: I had mild discomfort (grittiness/sensitivity to light) for the rest of the day, but the next morning woke up feeling fine and able to see almost perfectly. By day 3, I could easily have gone back to work, but had chosen to take the whole week off just in case. Now, 6 months later, I've been discharged from Accuvision's aftercare programme, as my eyes have fully healed and I've suffered no problems whatsoever in the meantime. My vision has stabilised at better than 20/20 in both eyes. I really can't fault Accuvision at all. Their initial consultation is free, genuinely no-obligation and very detailed, the treatment is fully explained, quick and painless, and the aftercare programme is spot-on, including a 24-hour helpline in the unlikely event of any urgent problems. Accuvision aren't the cheapest, but knowing a friend who went to one of the bargain-basement laser eye clinics and suffered quite bad complications, the words "false economy" spring to mind...