Optical Express

Being 62 years old I was originally disappointed to learn, after my original assessment, that I would need reading glasses afterwards - swapping distance glasses for reading ones didn't seem like such a good deal.However, some months later I decided to go ahead - after all, reading glasses are a lot cheaper and wearing glasses indoors less hassle than out and about. My surgery was with Mrs Mcgraw in Southampton. The procedure was painless and straightforward, although somewhat stressful, not least trying to keep ones eyes totally still. The staff were generally helpful although on arrival I was parked in front of a television for half an hour with no further information - not good when you're apprehensive prior to the procedure. Also, during my pre-op discussion with Mrs Mcgraw she went into the benefits of alternative procedures such as corneal implants, Wavefront, etc. - but at that stage it's really much too late to be reconsidering one's decision - the discussion would have been much more helpful at an earlier consultation. (I was also told by an ophthalmologist who I had to see pre-op to eliminate a retinal patch which Optical Express had found that the benefit would be dubious at my age as cataracts increase after age 60, but again I had not been warned of this in previous consultations, and feel I should have.) Immediately post-op I had almost no after-effects such as pain, stinging, watering or photophobia, so consider myself fortunate there. My post-op course was also very straightforward and I didn't need to use the drops at all after a couple of weeks. I'm now over 3 months post-op, with vision in one eye down to the bottom line of the chart and in the other to the line above. I'm told one eye is often better than the other although I would have thought that after laser surgery they might usually be the same! So generally the result is very good, with excellent daytime vision. However, halos and starbursts at night are rather more pronounced, which I was not warned about (I know Wavefront eliminates these, but I thought that related to pre-existing ones). Fortunately I do not drive at night very often. I'm told they may yet improve, but I will be surprised if they do. Follow-up was good, although on Day One the optomotrist seemed unclear as to what procedure I'd had and at another they weren't sure when I'd had my surgery. So record-keeping could be better. All in all, speaking as a doctor, I'm well pleased with the result and have no regrets, and wish I'd had the surgery sooner. It remains to be seen if the residual halos will resolve and how long I will retain the benefits of surgery before cataracts eliminate them.

In April of this year I went up to Bristol from Torquay for my treatment. I had Tom Matterman as my surgeon and I can't praise him enough. I did a lot of research before and after deciding to go ahead. I even watched youtube videos - I wouldn't recommend that, lol. Anyhow, it took just over 10 mins to do both eyes and was a breeze, I was slightly nervous, but having broken down on the way up , got rid of the majority of nerves while waiting for the AA. You are explained everything and the drops are so good you don't feel anything. When you have had the treatment, your eyes feel sensitive to light, so you will need sunglasses. But there is no pain, just a bit of discomfort for a couple of hours. If you do the drops and as you are told - you will be fine. 6 months on and my eyes are perfect. I couldn't be any happier.

I had laser surgery at optical express 2 weeks ago and I am very happy with it. I was very short-sighted, was -10 and -10.5, plus I had astigmatism as well. And now I can see perfect! The surgery didn´t hurt at all and only lasted 15 minutes, although I have to admit it was a bit weird to be wide awake and completely consious of what was going on. Anyway, the impontant part is the results, and I am very glad I don´t need to use glasses or contact lenses any more. I still can´t believe it when I wake up in the mornings and don´t need to look for my glasses any more! It´s amazing!

Ok... well first a little background on me. I'm 21 years old and have had poor eyesight (short-sighted)since I was about 10, aged 16 I first started attempting to wear contact lenses, I am the most squemish person in the world and I couldn't do it 5 years of appointments with all the major opticians and I couldn't get the hang of it - there were so many tears and frustrations. I was nervous about my laser eye consultation as I don't like people/things near my eyes and if something touched my eyes I would go mental but the consultation was great- no one touching your eyes or anything invasive (in fact i found my consultation easier than a normal eye exam!!) I think it was good that I only had a short window of availability for the surgery so instead of having too long to think about it I had booked the surgery within the next 48 hours. The day before the surgery I was really nervous and a little bit stroppy (altho i'm putting that down to nerves) but on the day of the surgery I was a bit apprehensive but not even as nervous as my boyfriend who was looking after me that day! Dr. Manek Patel was my surgeon and he was wonderful as was the whole team at Shaftesbury Avenue London clinic. The clinic looked lovely very professional with the laser eye work all on a separate floor and (very importantly) extremely clean. I still wasn't sure if I could go through with it but before I knew it I was in the operating room with a nurse distracting me by talking about 'Glee'. You do feel pressure with the eye-holders in place but nothing uncomfortable ( a weird feeling to describe but not horrible/scary at all) he tells you to look at the flashing orange light which is like looking at a hazard light through severe fog and your so focused on that that you don't notice anything else! Something I was really scared about was the 'lifting of the flap'- remember how I said i was squemish - but the surgeon delicately nudges it to one side and then you can't see anything (apart from the orange light) so its no prob at all! The surgery is so quick and so easy - i never thought i would ever have something like this done or be able to see without glasses i 100% recommend the surgery, optical express, the o. e. team and dr. manek patel (he really is lovely!) My top tips though: - Take someone organised with you to be responsible for you after surgery. ( They explain all the drops and any other info really thoroughly so it's good to have someone there with you and for moral support and to put in the eyedrops in the first 24 hours). - Make sure this person has parked there car close (remember you can't drive yet) or organised a taxi to pick you up from outside the clinic. - Take sunglasses - the larger the darker the better and it'll help you feel like a celeb for the day! -Take paracetomol/ ibruprofen in a bag with you and take it as soon as you come out of the surgery and sit in the dark room - i didn't and i wish i had it's not painful afterwards but when i took paracetomol it eased the discomfort and made it easier for me to sleep. - Sleep - i couldn't i was too excited but the great thing about sleeping over the next week means every time you open your eyes after a sleep they feel better and you can see more! You start to see after you come out of surgery but best to keep your eyes closed if possible (even tho its exciting) Anyway if you want to earm £150 off your surgery contact me at scamp_simmz@hotmail.com . I can't recommend it highly enough i've been swimming a couple of days ago (its amazing seeing under water!) and its improved my quality of life (no more steaming up from opening the oven door) and has increased my confidence. My eyesight is better than 20 20 and i only had it done just over 1 month ago Best of luck if your considering it Chloe x x

I had surgery carried out in April 2008 on both eyes by Optical Express in Inverness. Following surgery my right eye cornea displaced, so I contacted Optical Express and arranged an appointment. My plane was delayed and I was told I could not be seen, and would need to make another appointment. By the time I was seen for corrective treatment my cornea had been displaced for a week. Following this I was experiencing severe ghosting in my right eye. I reported this in August 2008 and an Optical Express optometrist recommended me for surgeon review for an enhancement procedure in my left eye. The surgeon review declared there was nothing to treat in either eye. In frustration I turned to the NHS as my sight was so bad I was unable to work. On proof of NHS referral, Optical Express agreed to re-scan my eyes in March 2009. This scan confirmed that I was suffering with high order aberrations which was very pronounced in my right eye, but that my eyes were too dry to operate. I had been left without lubricating drops since August 2008 as there were none in stock and staff failed to provide any as agreed despite many reminders. Over the next few months members of staff failed to organise an operation date for me, again, despite reminders. I finally wrote to the Chief Executive to express my lack of confidence and requested that Optical Express pay for my treatment at the Centre for Sight. This was finally agreed and the Centre for Sight have now operated on both my eyes with the utmost care and excellence (see my review). Over two years later my eyes are now OK and I have finally been discharged. In conclusion whilst my eyes are now good, thanks to the Centre for Sight, the appalling "after care" provided by Optical Express comprised delays in treating a displaced cornea; a continued failure to provide eye-drops; failure to diagnose & several conflicting diagnoses of problems; & a failure to organise operation dates. I would strongly not recommend their services.

I spent two hours in the store having my consultation, David the store Manager was very polite and helpful while he carried out various scans of my eyes. Ed the optician then saw me for about half an hour, he put me at ease and explained everything. I was unsure if I would want to go ahead, however David helped me through this explained the '+' & '-' that this would have on my life. Some of the laser staff were a little rude, but Tom and Ruin were great.

Very through and professional. From the first day of consutation in High Wycombe till the treatment in Harley Street everything was througly explained and the staff was very friendly and professional.

I have now been discharged as a patient just 4.5 months after having surgery. My consultant does not want to see me again unless there are any problems which he does not envisage. This has been such a life changing experience for me as I have had to wear glasses for the last 25 years every day. Now that is a thing of the past even though I still get 'ghost glasses syndrome' now and again!! The staff in the Inverness branch were superb I could not fault their dedication to the job.From my initial consolation to see if I was suitable for the procedure, to last check up, they were so welcoming and friendly.Prior to making inquiries I was not aware that you could have lazer eye surgery done in Inverness, let alone at Optical Express.I thought that I would have to go to either, Edinburgh or Aberdeen for the treatment.This made things a lot easier for me as I stay in Invergordon, half and hours drive away. The procedure was so fast I had to ask the surgeon who was so nice to me if that was it!! There was a little discomfort but nothing worse than getting dust in your eye. On the way home my eyes were sore though, like I had been peeling and chopping very strong onions. Unfortunately we were delayed due to an accident on the A9 and had to make a long detour home. On arriving home I was able to put the eye drops in and go and lie down as instructed in a darkened room for an hour or so and that helped.Over a few days my eyes were almost back to normal. I really recommend that you use the eye drops as instructed and as often as needed as this helps with the healing. I still use the eye gel on a morning and the drops at night. Initially being in a air conditioned car dried my eyes out and I had to use the drops but now it does not affect me.If my eyes get a bit dry I just put a drop in each and everything is crystal clear again. Lazer eye surgery changed my life, make it change yours. You will never regret it. You may think that it is a lot of money to pay out in the beginning but we went for the pay over 10 months option, so it didn't seem so bad. All I can say is, thank you to all the staff at Optical Express, Inverness you are doing a great job. See you in a years time for a normal eye check up.

Then told I could have another type of treatment,but they would be unable to carry out the new process until another date, which I felt was another type of hard selling to get more money out of me. Then bells started ringing were they just after my money. Thats when the whole process became a nightmare for me.When I asked why the last minute change i was told this would be down to the surgeon, and they could not comment.

I had Lasik eye treatment, then told I could have another type of treatment, but they would be unable to carry out the new process until another date, which I felt was another type of hard selling to get more money out of me. Then bells started ringing were they just after my money. Thats when the whole process became a nightmare for me.When I asked why the last minute change i was told this would be down to the surgeon, and they could not comment.