Optical Express

i had both eyes corrected by lasik it is the best thing i have ever done. the staff at the milton keynes branch were all very friendly and proffesional, every thing was made so easy,the after care has been absolutley brilliant and i dont need to wear glasses or contact lenses “freedom”!!!

Had consultation @ Meadowhall with Kelly and treatment @ Leeds clinic with Dr Khalid Khan. Very happy with the service provided and i would recommend to anyone thinking about having treatment to JUST GO FOR IT!! Just been discharged from clinic with 6/4 vision!

I had lasek wavefront surgery done in both eyes just over two weeks ago. I was very nervous (well I do only have one pair of eyeballs) but all the comments i read had been positive, so I went for it.
The staff were very friendly and did there best to make me feel at ease.

Whilst I found the surgery painless I found it a slightly uncomfortable experience. The bandage lenses did not cause as much trouble as I thought they were going to do but I was glad when they came out.

I had my 2 week check up a few days ago and my eye sight is better than 20/20 so i’m really happy. Everything I see is now more defined.

I think the best advise I could give would be to rest your eyes as much as possible until the lenses come out.

I’m glad I have had it done and would recommend it to anyone.

I thoroughly researched the types of laser treatment available before considering surgery. Following my initial consultation I also looked into the experience of my surgeon which I recommend everyone considering eye surgery does.
I am very pleased with the surgery, I was extremely nervous but the knowledge of general staff put me at ease as well as the detailed discussion with the surgeon beforehand. The laser was applied for 29 seconds in one eye and 34 seconds for the other the total time in the theatre is about 15 minutes whilst they take measurements to track your eye (in case you move) and create the flap, after the laser they smooth the flap and put anti inflammatory and anti biotic drops in.

The anaesthetic wears off after about 30 mins from when it was put in. When it does wear off it feels like you have been peeling very keen onions and I kept my eyes closed and listened to audiobooks for the rest of the day!

There is always a chance of complications but if you are considering surgery discuss these with your surgeon. You can still change your mind at any point right up until you have the surgery!!

I had quite a high prescription beforehand and my measured vision is actually better than before with my glasses, so I am super pleased with the results.

I have a small amount of bruising in my Left eye which is from the clamp, but that is the only thing that is not perfect!!

Mr Luka Antico the surgeon, at Southampton Optical Express.

Brilliant, the only slight fly in the ointment being a late and hence overly long initial consultation.

To those narked by the sales pitch, well they arent doing it for charity, so anyone contemplating it, go in with your, ahem, eyes open and play the long game. Bit like buying a new car.

My initial quote for eyes that were -5/-4.75 was £4600 and it is prescription dependent. I said nothing and they talked themselves down to £3800 within 2 minutes. I walked out saying I’ll think about it, and waited. They called me 5 days later on a bank holiday. I told them it was too expensive and knew others who had got it cheaper. They offered it for £3000 if I went in for an empty slot within the next 10 days, which I was happy to do. I even got 10 months interest free. From speaking to a couple of friends who’ve been through it, 1/3rd off the original quote is the minimum ‘discount’ you should expect to achieve. Just play it cool.

As to the treatment itself, well it was amazing. I was only in the place for 45 minutes and in the theatre for less than 10. Under the machine for a maximum of about 6-7 minutes. No pain whatsoever, just very very mild discomfort (and that’s almost too strong a word for it) for a few seconds when the flap is cut. It really was beyond a doddle. A comforting number of staff in the theatre, lots of soft cooing words of encouragement from Mr Antico, who I cant fault, and a reassuringly large and space age looking machine.

As for the after effects, I suffered no pain, no itchiness and no dryness at all. Slept well the first night and by my check up the following day I was already 20/20 in the left eye and driving legal in the right eye. I have been very lucky in that respect. I know others do suffer an evening of soreness and discomfort but they have told me by morning it was all over.

Really, it’s so easy, if you think your prescription is stable, dont wait, just get it done, so much safer overall than contacts.

Good luck everyone.

Pressure Sellers & Withold Important Information – Bham Branch

I went in on a Saturday in August 2014, after a couple of hours of tests i was offered the top treatment, i asked for a written quote on the lower – cheaper treatment i was told it was just £300 difference and to go with the top treatment @ £2995, they did not explain the difference between the treatments, just said i am better to go with their Idesign Laser treatment.

They discounted me to £2795 and advised i would not get this offer again and that i could leave a deposit of £395 and the rest i can pay on an 18 interest free period.

I decided to pay and then one week later wanted to cancel as Optimax offered their top treatment at £2495 saving me over £200 and on 24 month interest free.

Tried to get my refund back from Optical Express over the telephone to their call centre and they refused and said “sorry you feel that way but we do not refund” as i had a cooling of period of 72HOURS ONLY!!!! I could not believe this and i even wrote into them regarding my refund and asked them to write back to me within 7 working days- it has now been 9 workings days and no response.

Whatever you do, DO NOT EVER go to this company they charge high prices to get their commission and do not tell you important information you need to know before making the decisions and then when the normal cooling off period for most companies if 14 days, they REFUSE to give you a good chunk of the deposit back.

I have told everyone i know from family, friends and work and spread the word of Facebook of how this company has treated me. I find it quite disgusting that they also cannot justify of taking £395 even for a couple of tests for my consultation appointment.

I REPEAT—- DO NOT, DO NOT go with this fraudulent and pressure selling company, they only want your money and do not care about you. Better to go with Optimax who treated me with respect and even gave me quotes in WRITING for both lower and higher treatments (difference between the treatments is the healing times) something Optimax told me clearly and Optical Express failed to advise me on. Optical Express left me to watch a video and did not explain the difference between both treatments.

Optimax asked me to leave a deposit of £100 which was totally refundable 3 days before my treatment. All i can say is Optical Express is the worst company i have EVER dealt with.

The consultation staff in Leicester were helpful, and the Optometrist Pretti Khakhar was very thorough and professional. When I arrived at the clinic in Nottingham for surgery the staff seemed to be doing nothing whilst I had a 2 hour wait ? not knowing what I was waiting for, just sat wit other patients. However once the scans had been completed and I had gone up to theatre, the theatre staff and nurses were very helpful. The gentleman that gave me all the medication advice (and held my hands throughout surgery) was fantastic!! Very good at his job and made me feel comfortable. The Surgeon was very 'straight laced' and told me to the point, however again very quick and re-assuring. He talked general chit-chat throughout all of the 8-10 mins I was in the chair !! Leicester aftercare staff and again Pretti, were honest and truthful throughout. Pain & Recovery: Not one bit of pain throughout the operation itself. First 24 Hrs was uncomfortable as I couldn't open my eyes due to the running and almost like a constant hard wind in my eyes. 24 check at Leicester the staff were honest and advised it will get worse! Mortified!!! The next 48 hours was the worst, burning, irritable and I constantly had to use the numbing drops given. I was climbing the walls. However no sooner was it so bad, it just gradually throughout the day eased off, and then the next day (day 4) no pain at all. A little dry and blurry, but this was expected. Now it is almost 4 weeks on and I have 'better than' 20/20 vision, no blur and no pain!! I work as a VDU operator, I had he op on the Thursday and returned to work on the following Tuesday. Struggled a little with focus but within a couple of days this got better. Still having my regular checks at Leicester and up to now, the clinic has been fab. Hope this continues. A little bit concerned as people say they may deteriorate again, but this is the chance I have to take. But for now I will enjoy having perfect vision !!!

I went to the Shaftesbury Avenue clinic last November. The results are pretty good - I've gone from -6 in both eyes to having near perfect vision. The downside is that I suffer from very dry eyes, and can sometimes have trouble focusing. Eyedrops (when I feel the need) and eye exercises (five mins a day) help with both. My top tip - rest before the surgery, and get your eyes used to accepting eyedrops. Optical Express themselves have several things going for them - they are cheaper than many others, more flexible with appointment times and offer unlimited follow up consultations for the first year after surgery. The downside is that they are very impersonal, and you often feel like you're on a production line. In 8 appointments I've seen 7 opticians. On the day of my surgery all the test were done by different people, and none bothered to explain what they were doing. However, they got there in the end. The one tip I'd give anyone contemplating surgery is to not underestimate the surgery itself. The staff are always very keen to downplay the seriousness of it, and to explain how you can go back to work the next day etc, but actually it is a major operation. Taking a day or two off work before surgery is highly advisable, as you are then rested and everything is easier. I didn't do this, and was very tired on the day. I also wasn't used to eye drops, so my eyes scrunched up when they tried to put the anaesthetic eye drops in, and I'm not sure they were quite as effective as they could have been. This meant that my eyes were very uncomfortable during surgery (though not painful), and I also struggled to keep my eyes still and focused during surgery. The surgeon had to keep stopping and starting again, which lengthened the whole procedure significantly. The surgeon coped really well with this, but I think had I been rested and used to eye drops I might have felt less and found it easier to hold still, and would have been easier and quicker. I might even have avoided the dry eyes. The most important thing though, is that it worked! Despite the niggles, my vision has gone from -6 to -0. The dry eyes are manageable, and definitely a price worth paying for being free from glasses and lenses. Oh - and go for all the extras like wavefront etc. It may up the price, but it also improves your chances of good results.

All went as described great service from al staff

Optical Express were simply brilliant. Everything from the warm welcome of the counselling staff (shreeya Mistry), consultation with Pretti Khakhar to the treatment with the surgeon was seamless. Throughout the process I felt totally comfortable and in control - thanks to the staff and their attention to detail and care. I would recommend the treatment and Optical Express without any hesitation to anyone!