Optical Express

Really impressed. Surgery went smooth, and the aftercare was brilliant. Had my 1 day and 1 week appointments at the White-City branch with the same Optometrist Pete who was very thorough as he guided me through all the do's and dont's. The actual surgery is only 30 seconds per eye, and the first day was painful. But after a good night sleep I woke the next morning with my eyesight better then 20/20. My eyes were set we're for the first two weeks, but this went away gradually after about a month. Would highly reccomend.

Went for my laser eye in jan and I have to say its worth all the pain and pennies. My eyesight were -2.25 both eyes and stay the same number for about 14 years since i started wearing glasses. My surgery went smoothly. I dont need to wear glasses anymore and my lyf is much better as you dont have to worry about them during holidays, sunglasses is much easier to wear as i can see clearly unlike before where I could not wear sunglasses unless i wear contact lenses. I pay about £46 per week and it is a two year interest free payment. Surgery took about 6 minutes and the laser took 30 sec per eye. You get a bit of discomfort but after a good sleep, it goes away leaving you with the amasing feeling. Ed - Thank you.

I had surgery 5 days ago at the Reading branch. The results are amazing. Immediately after the surgery, I could see that everything was in focus, despite the white 'cloud' that was there. Once the aneasthetic had worn off, my eyes were quite uncomfortable, bordering on painful, but a rest and some strong painkillers sorted me out, and by the evening they just felt gritty. You're told to keep your eyes closed as much as possible straight afterwards - I didn't have much choice - my eyes were so heavy, I seemed to lose the ability to control my eyelids. This passed within about 3 hours. The next day, things were still slightly cloudy but I was able to focus well - the first check up confirmed much better than 20/20 vision and I was able to read the bottom line of the chart. 5 days on - I have perfect vision (still have halo's at night, but that's expected for a while), any swelling has gone along with most of the bruising on the eye. As for Optical Express - I'm going to split the review into 2 parts, the consultaion and surgery, because the experiences were quite different. The consultation - they kept me waiting for over 45 minutes without explanation. Only when I asked what was going on did I get told they were running behind..... I'd already worked that one out so I wasn't over happy with the pathetic explanation. I was ready to walk out, when they realised I was getting quite annoyed and they suddenly managed to find someone to see me. The consultant was lovely and very thorough throughout all the checks. She confirmed I was suitable and gave me the price. I was then shown to another room where you see your 'counciler' who goes through the procedure with you, but in reality, their main objective is to get you to sign up and pay your deposit. As I was not prepared to make a decision there and then - I was asked if price was the problem as they could do something! I still didn't agree on the day as I wanted to think about it and discuss it with my family. I called back a few days later, and when I said that price was an issue, they immedately took 10% off the price. At this point I booked the procedure. The Procedure - as soon as I arrived, someone was waiting for me and whisked me off for the first set of checks and tests. Once they were complete, I was taken to the surgery suite, which is a much nicer environment than the consultation rooms. There were 2 others ahead of me waiting to be done. I then saw a nurse who went through the aftercare with me, she was a lovely, bubbly character who made me feel at ease. I then met the surgeon, who did some more tests and went through any questions I had - again, she was really nice. next up was the procedure, which from start to finish, took approx 10 minutes for both eyes. Not painful at all, but the 'flap creation' I found quite uncomfortable. All done, I could see and I'm led into a dark room to relax for while before going home. In total, I was in and out within 1 and a half hours. So, in a nutshell - Optical Express are really good for the surgery, but you need to get past the 'sales pitch' first. Make sure you push for a discount, and try and find someone who's had it done before who can give you a money off voucher.

My husband and I both had laser eye surgery at Optical Express on 13th March 2012 and are very pleased with the results. I had intralease- Lasik and my husband had Wavefront - Lasik. We both only need glasses for reading which is a +1.50, so we are now able to just buy our reading glasses over the counter like at BHS or Boots instead of going to the opticians which is great and cheaper!!!

I am very happy with my outcome after my surgery . I felt very well looked after throughout the process and I am so glad to be free of my glasses. A big thank you to Mr.Teenan and his team at Silverburn.

Myself and my husband both had laser eye surgery at Optical Express on 13th March 2012 and are very pleased with the results. I had intralease - Lasik and my husband had Wavefront - Lasik. We have both been given !!! £150.00 money off vouchers !!! to give to anyone wishing to have laser eye surgery at Optical Express. Please just contact me at Jackie.briley@virgin.net and I will send one in the post to you. The vouchers are valid for three months and all you have to do is when you go for your consultation take the voucher with you so that Optical Express know that you have one. Even if you have already had your consultation you can still take the voucher to the store you are having your surgery as long as it is before your surgery date and Optical Express will honour it We both I only need glasses for reading which is a +1.50, so we are now able to just buy our reading glasses over the counter like at BHS or Boots instead of going to the opticians which is great and cheaper!!!

The entire process from initial telephone contact right through to my being able to see without glasses and all the follow up visits/checks was painless, and handled with extreme courtesy and professionalism. For the first time in over 18 years I have 20/20 vision and cannot thank all the people involved enough. I would recommend this procedure and Optical Express to anyone who is thinking of having corrective eye surgery.

had my eye surgery done in December 2010, at the Leeds Optical Express. My experience with the Leeds team was amazingly positive, I was seen quickly, though the waiting area is a little dingy ... but the staff were outstanding, I had to have one hold my hand because I kept twitching out of nervousness and she really helped to calm me down. I was kept about 30-40 minutes after my surgery to make sure everything went okay, and was given explicit instructions on aftercare (which was useful, as I actually live in York). I was a minus 12 prescription so you can possibly imagine how expensive my own surgery was! A year later I'm still amazed that I can wake up and not fumble for glasses, nor do I have to worry about accidentally falling down my stairs on a night! It's a life-changing treatment, seriously!

I had my LASEK procedure on 29th Feb 2012. I had been thinking about laser eye surgery for a while- not only to give me the freedom from contact lens' but also to enable me to pursue a police career (my standard of vision unaided did not meet their minimum requirements-this would have meant I failed my medical and therefore would not get in). My prescription was -4.25 in my left; and -3.75 in my right eye with a -1.25 astigmatism. I attended a consultation at the Preston branch in January ad was told I'd be suitable-I chose to opt for the LASEK procedure as it results in a better-healed eye-the eye is stronger - this is important to me as I am sporty including contact sports such as kick boxing, I also enjoy horse riding (and therefore fall off on occasion!) and in the police I would risk possibly getting knocked about a bit-the risk of receiving a knock to my eyes is not worth it. Hence my choice. LASEK involves a longer healing period-I had read that you don't get the 'wow' factor immediately after the procedure-this was not true for me-my vision was amazing. The surgery itself was brilliant-I was made to feel welcome and at ease from the moment I arrived at the clinic (I went to the Trafford Centre Clinic). Within an hour I was in the chair having my surgery. I am a bit of a whimp and I thought I'd be terrified but I was surprisingly calm. The procedure was pain free and quick. I was very relieved and throughout the surgery I had a nice lady holding my hand :) Immediately after I was taken into a rest room and had my drops explained to me. My sister then drove us back home, she put in my drops, I put my goggles on and went to bed. My eyes felt like I was chopping onions for about 2 days. As a result they watered a lot. It wasn't painful though, and felt a lot like just having contacts in that had dried up. The day after I attended a post op check at Preston and the optometrist checked my eyes for signs of infection and checked the bandage lens' were in place. All was fine and I went home (sunglasses firmly in place-I was qute light sensitive). 3 days after surgery I returned to the Preston clinic to have my bandage lens' removed. This was quick and pain-free. I am now on day 5 since surgery. My eyes feel completely normal and have done since day 3. My eyesight isn't 100% but will improve with time, it is certainly a lot better than it was originally. So far so good :)

I had my treatment at the Optical Express store in Milton Keynes on Tuesday 6th December 2011. The reason I had to have LASEK rather than LASIK is because I have had 2 ulcers on my right eye and 1 on my left and they have left scarring. My vision before the op was -2.25 and -2.5 and it is now 20/20 Everyone was really friendly and kind, they didn't put any pressure on me to have the surgery and answered all of my questions. No question was too silly and I felt like I was the only person they had to see that day. The surgey itself lasted roughly 3 minutes per eye. I had a quick check over by the surgeon to make sure nothing had changed with my eyes since my consultation, when he agreed I was good to go I sat in the waiting room for about 5-10 mintues and was called through. The nurse took my glasses for me and told me to lie down, she made sure I was comfortable before anything else. The surgeon talked me through everything he was doing so I wasn't startled in anyway. First of all he out some drops in my eyes to numb them and then used a clamp to hold my eye open, I didn't feel the clamp at all but I could see it just out the corner of my eye. He then placed some more drops in my eyes and rubbed a swab over them (again I did not feel anything but I could see the swab) I was then asked to focus on the red dot and heard a clicking noise whichwas the machine doing its stuff. My vision went blurry for about a minute and then the surgeon put cold water in my eye and some more drops and moved onto the next eye. I really didn't feel anything other than the excess from the cold water and the drops as they ran down the side of my face. I saw a difference straight away as the nurse explained to me how the different drops worked and when to use them, I was also given a pair of goggles to wear to bed for the 1st week to stop me rubbing my eyes in my sleep. About 15-20 minutes later the drops started to wear off and my eyes started to water (as I was told they would) When I got home I went to bed for the rest of the evening/night. I then returned to the clinic the following morning for my first check up and they said everything looked good. I had booked the rest of the week off work so was at home for the recovery. I would highly recommend not going to work for a few days. Now I will be honest, the 3 days that followed were rather unpleasent. My eyes felt like I had shampoo in them and stung constantly. I was very, very sensitive to light, I couldn't even look at my mobile as it was so bright. I spent those 3 days in bed and in the dark. On the Thursday night I was in so much pain that I had to use the drops that are kept in the fridge. (It is recommended that you only use these as a last resort as they slow down the healing but they do numb your eyes almost instantly, so use them if you are in pain, thats what they are for) I remember one evening that my husband and I had to eat dinner in the dark with only the TV for light and I even had to have my back to the TV with my sunglasses on. Please don't let what you've just read put you off because I woke up Saturday and all the pain/stinging sensations were completely gone. I was still sensitive to the light but no where near as much as before. I had my four day check up on the Sunday and had my protective contact lenses removed. After this I was able to drive and my eyes were feeling much better. I had another check up the following Sunday and they were very pleased with my vision. I've just had my month check up and I could read every line they asked me to. I've got another appointment booked for my 3 month check. I cannot believe how amazing it is! I only wish I had it done sooner (and I'm only 26). I know it seems like alot of money but personally I think its worth every penny! All of the staff were so friendly and helpful, they treated me like a complete individual and I felt as though I was the only person that mattered. Watch out for the 'phantom glasses' I keep trying to push mine up but then remember they aren't there lol I still used the moisterising drops occassionally, but I work at a computer all day and many of the other people in the office who have never worn glasses before use drops too so its nothing unusal. I would recommend laser eye surgery to anyone! Plus shopping for sunglasses was great! (The women in 'The Sunglasses Hut' in Milton Keynes were wonderfully helpful!)