Optical Express

The procedure itself was pretty scary I thought, but I had worked myself up a bit. The staff at Southampton branch were all brilliant, very professional. The 15 mins after the procedure were fine, the 1/2 hour journey home was fine (sunglasses, eyes closed), but the following 6 hours were horrible. Any light at all was excruciating and even lights off, curtains closed, sunglasses on and eyes closed didn't help. Advice I'd read to sleep it off was impossible, I didn't know what to do with myself. My mouth was incredibly dry (due to the anaesthetic drops maybe?) so I was constantly drinking water for the 6 hours and the numerous trips upstairs to the bathroom on hands and knees with eyes closed were at least a distraction from feeling so awful. The frequent eye drops during the first day were problematic due to my eyes streaming and wanting to clamp shut as soon as they opened. If I'd been given the option a couple of hours in to take the pain away and not have had it done I would have grabbed it with both hands. BUT.......... 6 months on I'm so incredibly pleased to have had it done I wish I'd gone for it years ago. My vision was better than 20/20 after a week and it's amazing to not have to bother with glasses/contacts after 35 years and I'd recommend it to anyone, but just be aware it might not be quite so pain free as it appears to be for most people.

I had the treatment two days ago at the Trafford Centre in Manchester and now I can see perfectly! Many thanks to Andre the surgeon and all the staff there. The staff were very friendly and reassured me as I was looking quite nervous beforehand! No pain/eye dryness involved during the procedure, I was kept well informed during the procedure (like what I would see e.g. "it'll go a bit dark now" ... not all the actual details, that might have freaked me out a bit!) I had to change my 24 hour check up appointment to the Bolton branch because of the snow, this was easy to do and the Bolton staff were just as friendly and helpful. Overall I'd recommend Optical Express to anyone.

antastic service - very well looked after all the way through my treatment. I had my first surgery in Jan '09 - I had been -7.5 in both eyes. At first I though the surgery had worked perfectly but after a month I noticed my vision was not perfect especially at night. At my monthly check-up I found that I was back to -1 in each eye! I was very disappointed but assured by my optician that when my prescription was stable I would be able to have an enhancement. In Sept '09 I had my enhancement and have recently passed my 3 month check-up with 20:20 vision - Brilliant! I was first treated at Cribbs Causeway and the retreatment was at Cabot's Circus - both great, no complaints. My check-ups have been at Torquay and Plymouth - again no complaints! Honestly recommend - especially my lovely surgeon Mr. Dimitri Kazakos.

The optical express staff in dundee were very professional and look after you very well. a little 'hard sell' but they took very good care of me and the other patients who had the procedure on the same day. nothing can prepare you for how uncomfortable the surgery is and how strange it feels (i couldnt stop shaking) but it is over before you know it and is not painful in any way! i was in the clinic for 2 hours but the procedure took half an hour maximum including a talk about aftercare. the staff explained what would happen every step of the way and really put me at ease. i had wavefront intralase in both eyes done two days ago, my vision is still a bit blurry but i had a high perscription (-7) beforehand. an hour or so after your surgery expect to feel uncomfortable, like a contact lense is stuck in your eye, and very light sensitive. it helps if you go straight home to a dark room and rest your eyes, sleep if you can but you will feel so much better after a rest. make sure you follow your aftercare regime religiously and go to the next day appointment. i found out i had bad bruising in my left eye as it bled a little during the surgery but all i had to do was increase my drops to one every hour and it feels better now.

First class service and brilliant follow up care. Friendly staff who know what they are talking about

Pre operative assessments very thorough - I had to have several repeat scans to ensure prescription stability. Lots of information given at every stage and all questions answered. At the clinic on the day of the op, not as much waiting around as predicted but did feel very nervous. Staff were friendly but felt a little like a conveyor belt. Surgeon was very good, and surgical team tried hard to make me feel relaxed as I was quite obviously shaking with nerves! Actually procedure uncomfortable but painless and very quick. I had a very high prescription and steep astigmatism so had a lot of laser. Sore for about 2 hours afterwards then amazing! Had treatment at 5pm, by 11am the next morning at post op check, had better than 20/20 and eyes felt absolutely fine. Occassional grittiness felt (day 2 now)but really nothing worse than wearing contacts. Eyes quite red and bruised on white area but vision still brilliant. I'm absolutely over the moon with the whole thing!

I cannot fault the customer service it was first class but what they don't tell you is that you could struggle with your eyes for weeks on end. I also think it depends on your age too. My daughter who is in her 30's had no problem whatsoever and could see properly within 24 hours. I am in my early 50's and had mine done the week after her and I really struggled with my vision it was all over the place and made me feel very dizzy. After several weeks my left eye was still very fuzzy and I lost my near vision completely. It was explained to me that I would lose my near vision and that I would need glasses for reading as I wouldn't be able to see within arms length. I actually couldn't see clearly any middle ground either and glasses couldn't help. It took quite some weeks before my eyes settled down and my left eye is still blurred. I was told that I had dry eye syndrome and it would clear in time. It is now 6 months since my op and it's still blurred. I am now going to ask for a correction to this eye. I have been told that I cannot have the same op so I will wait and see what the next step is.

I was treated at Optical Express, Hull. Initially seen by the counsellor Dawn Uney who was very informative and conducted a very comprehensive interview. I was then seen by Catherine Adamson the optomatrist whom I found to be a very pleasant and informative professional. At this point I was now completely aware of the procedure and the treatment required and the expected outcome. Making a decision to proceed was easy as the staff are all so pleasant and they provide all the information you require without any "hard sell", in fact it was apparrent that unless you were 100% suitable for treatment they would not proceed. The surgeon was Mr K Khan, whom everybody has a very high regard for, has done a fantastic job,he again was very thorough during the pre-op and was brilliant during the relatively short procedure which was conducted in a very professional manner. I cannot find any criticism with the whole experience and my only regret is I should have had it done much sooner.

I was very well examined and advised as to the best treatment for my vision. The surgeon Mr K Khan did a fantastic job, I now have excellent vision. Its difficult to crystallise just how amazing the transformation is.

I have to say I was terrified and could have quite easily got up and left but Carol the nurse kept me calm, explaining everything, it was totally painless and very quick. Mr Matterman was extremely thorough and professional and the results are beyond expectation. I would recommend this to anybody thinking about undertaking this treatment.