Optical Express

Optical Express - Southampton Had to wait about an hour for the consultation - even someone who turned up nearly two hours late for their appointment was seen first! It was a real conveyor-belt system with one person doing tests and another doing the consultation and back to the first for post-consultation stuff...of course you had to wait each time before being seen. The whole process is an excuse for a two-hour hard sell, including statements that their machines are better than other leading clinics. When I complained about the pricing (well over £3,000, not the £395 advertised) I was told that they couldn't discuss discounts because their phone system was down - I might have believed it if I hadn't seen one of the staff on the phone during the numerous waiting periods. I asked for evidence of people getting surgery for £395 by emailing their customer services. They refused on the basis it was "proprietory information". If you like hard sell/cattle market treatment then optical express is the one for you.

I would say to any one who is unsure about this treatment that they should not hesitate in getting it done. It was completely painless and something I should have done a long time ago. The results were brilliant and I noticed the difference immediately. I can't thank Optical Express enough.

I had laser surgery 2 weeks ago in London and everything went very well. I had been wearing contact lenses for 10 years and fed up of them! The vision is good but it gets at least a month to become perfect. I would recommend them, they've been fast as well in terms of waiting times. SM

Had it done 3 1/2 months ago - and really wished i had not had it done. eyes still really tired and sore. Dry eyes as well. Still putting in drops . I have had lot of friends that have had it done and said best thing ever !! Sad of me I am not one of them.

I had been wearing contact lenses for about 20 years with no problems when one day my left eye got an ulcer caused by the contact lenses. I booked up with Optical Express in Lakeside Essex for my surgery in November 2010. I found Optical Express very thorough and there customer services was excellent. I had the consultation then a few weeks later on 9th November i had the surgery done, i was a bit apprehensive but the surgeon and staff made me feel at ease. From start to finish i was in the shop at Lakeside for just over 1 hour. After the surgery i had to wear sun glasses for my journey home and when i went to sleep i had to wear goggles for 7 days. I had to use 2 different type of eye drops for a week then just one eye drops for the next few weeks. My eyesight is now 20/20 and is fantastic as before my prescription was -2.50 in both eyes. I would highly recommend Optical express.

Had eye surgery at Optical Express Blue water 7 months ago, two hours after the procedure eyes very sore, next day had eyes checked unable to focus at distance,had to wear glasses and will require further operation.i read lots of reviews before surgery and found no negative ones and since my surgery 2 of my friends have had the same procedure with the same results as myself requiring another operation makes you wonder who writes these reviews

I had been wearing contact lenses for about 20 years when out of the blue i got a ulcer in my left eye. After this i decided to have my eyes lasered so i went to Optical Express. I found Optical Express in Lakeside very thorough and there customer services was excellent. I had the consultation then a few weeks later on 9th November i had the surgery done, i was a bit apprehensive but the surgeon and staff made me feel at ease. From start to finish i was in the shop at Lakeside for just over 1 hour. After the surgery i had to wear sun glasses for my journey home and when i went to sleep i had to wear goggles for 7 days. I had to use 2 different type of eye drops for a week then just one eye drops for the next few weeks. My eyesight is now 20/20 and is fantastic as before my prescription was -2.50 in both eyes. I would highly recommend Optical express. I paid just over £2500 for this service.

Prescription: -4.75 and -5 with -0.25 astygmatism both eyes. I paid £2961 after my 10% NHS discount (total price was £3290). I had always fancied doing it, but was too scared, and wanted them to practice on other people and develop new technologies. So I waited and then more and more people did it and I thought, why not. Didn't find Optical Express a hard sell at all, but perhaps that was cos I was clearly up for it at my consultation. I read up loads about everything (just my way) and most people say it's the best thing they've done and wish it had been sooner. I very nearly cancelled it, well I would have done if the laser counsellor and optom hadn't talked me out of it. I was annoyed at the time but now very grateful to them for stopping me from cancelling it. On treatment day I wasn't waiting around at all which was fab as I was feeling sick with nerves. Surgeon Joanna McGraw was brilliant, confident, cool, calm and collected. Perfect. The whole process was surreal and I still can't believe I did it. The actual op was painless. Vision immediately afterwards was noticeably better than without specs but still blurred. I was incredibly shaky and white after but the nurses sorted me out. When the anaesthetic drops wore off I would say it was more than mild discomfort. It felt like I'd chopped millions of onions and had eyelashes in my eyes. I had to have a second lot of anaesthetic drops put in which meant I could race to the car. Every time I opened my eyes (kept them closed to prevent the searing pain) my vision was better, I could read shop signs just about. A couple of hours after surgery I could read the clock on my mum's car dashboard from the back seat. Impressive. Tried to sleep but couldn't, goggles not comfy and was still light, but i rested and maybe got half an hour to an hour. By the evening my vision was near perfect. Today, the day after, I have just about 20/20 vision in my right and 20/10 in my left I think! Amazing, together, both eyes read bottom line like a dream. I can't believe how amazing it is. My eyes feel a bit scratchy and are a little swollen, but my vision is superb. Less so in the right, but together it's perfect. I can't wait til I stop thinking about it though. Definitely glad I went for it!

Almost two years has now passed since my procedure. I can honestly say that my sight is excellent, no halo's, blurring or lack of focus. The last check up showed my eyes were better than 20/20. This is pretty amazing seeing that my eyesight was very, very poor and I also carried a pretty bad astigmatism. For those of you who are contemplating using optical Express my experience was very positive. The nerves were handled very well by the staff and the procedure for both eyes was over in less that 20 minutes. No pain but slightly uncomfortable after. the drops helped a great deal. Its a bit like peeling a load of onions one after another. Your eyes cant stop streaming. Nothing to worry about just a little annoying. This soon stops and you can then start to enjoy your new vision :-) Please do not hesitate to contact me by clicking on the name at the top of this posting. I would be happy to answer and questions or concerns before you make the decision to book your procedure. Good luck Paul

I was left waiting in the waiting room on the day of surgery for nearly 1 hour before someone came to me. My surgery has not been a success as I was told I wouldnt regress and I am regressing quickly. If I had known I would regress I would NEVER have had it done. I was
-6 before surgery and now -2.25 and 1.75 and I havnt stopped regressing.I have glasses again and cannot see to drive, see the tv clearly and everyting is blurry. Knowone call tell me if i will regress again if I had enhancement and I do not know if I can go through it again as it took guts. I am extermely unhappy as I wanted to be free of glasses and I am not! I had to pay all my life to get them thinner so I could stand the weight of the glasses on my nose. I am not happy as this procedure hasnt worked for me and I havnt stopped regressing and the whole point was to be glasses free. A VERY UNHAPPY CUSTOMER and upset