Optical Express

i'm very pleased with the results of the surgery and also with care given by the staff at the clinic. i was very nervous on the day of the surgery but everybody was very good with me and really looked after me. i would definitely do it again and would not hesitate to recommend it to others.

From someone who has worn glasses for more than 40 years, this has made a real difference to quality of my eyesight since treatment was carried out. I would like to thank the all the staff at the Kirkcaldy Branch of Optical Express from the beginning to see if I would be suitable to the after-care treatment received was just wonderful, as was the treatment in Edinburgh, as all the staff members that I came into contact with where very helpful and reassuring to know that I was in capable hands and there was no pressure put upon me at any time to decide what was the best way forward for me. Thanks for the new lease of life. Kind Regards to all Ronnie

I had my initial consultation back in December, knowing that my prescription was very likely to be too high for laser surgery (I was about minus 10.5 in both eyes). I attended the Harley Street clinic in London, and was seen promptly by one of the counsellors, Tanya. (Tanyas great, whenever I called to enquire, she'd recognise my voice and seemed to genuinely care about my concerns). She put me through loads of tests, explaining each one thoroughly and putting my mind at ease. As expected, I wasn't suitable for laser treatment, but I could be considered for Lens implants. I then spoke to an Ophthalmologist, who confirmed that I was suitable for Phakic lens implants. He was great to the point that, he even pointed out a few things about my eyes that would need to be treated - recommending better contacts for my eyes if I didn't chose to go ahead with surgery etc. I decided to go ahead with the treatment and booked in for the 7th January. I had a pre-surgery consultation with the surgeon, who went into further detail and did a few more tests - I was really concerned at one point when the surgeon wanted more tests done, as she wasn't happy with one aspect of my left eye. but after repeat tests, she was happy - she was just checking, which I actually found reassuring. In relation to the srgery itself - your eye is basically paralysed - no pain, no movement,very limited vision. doubled with the sedative, its a breeze. 10 minutes on a table, eye patch on and away you go! After the first eye, I cant deny, it was quite painful. I seemed to have a lot of pressure in my eye, and like it was full of glass. I took pain killers, went to sleep and woke up 5 hours later to put eye drops in and hey presto, i could see and the pain had gone! The second eye was much the same, only this time, no pain at all. I went for my follow up appointment with the surgeon the day after the second eye was treated. I had my eye looked at, the lens was perfectly in place and more importantly...I had better than 20/20 vision! 20/10! Daily, my vision improves. Minor niggles I have disappear, and i wake up with clear vision, go to bed with clear vision, sit in a hot heated room without dry eyes, and no longer worry about losing a lens! i would defo recommend Optical Express!

My surgeon was Stefan Klopper who was excellent. I had initial problems with excessive inflammation which required a "flap lift" operation 2 days after the operation which was a bit unsettling. Apparently this was unusual and due to a strong immune system. I had the all clear from the inflammation 10 days after the operation, but the only continuing problem was quite bad light sensitivity for around 6 weeks which made driving to work (20 miles each way) very trying. I have a desk job but if I had to rely on driving for a living then this could have been quite a problem. The light sensitivity cleared up after one of the Optical Express staff (Trveor Pillay) suggested that I use the PRED40 (eye drops) once a day for a week and after that the sensitivity really settled down. After 2 months I had no sensitivity issues at all. I am 50 years old and had quite bad short sightedness, i.e. around minus 6.00 and I needed varifocals to read (old age!). The varifocals were one of the reasons why I had the operation. Now, my eyesight is 6/4 which is excellent (better than the old 20/20). My left eye is the best for distance vision. My right eye is minus 0.25 (very slight shortsightedness) but the unexpected bonus is that because of this I can read without glasses unless the light is very poor and the letters very small. It seems therefore as if I now have the best of both worlds. If I do need help with reading I use "readers" from Boots. Even though I read all day as part of my job, I rarely need to use them. The staff and support at Optical Express are excellent in my experience. If there has been a problem they have dealt with it promptly and have always been available on the phone to discuss any concerns. The treatment isn't cheap but then £600 for new glasses every 2 years isn't cheap either! Mike

Was really apprehensive and the recovery was a little difficult for the first few days (Lasek) but very much worth it now. Was offered the £395 per eye treatment due to low prescription. Opted to pay extra for wavefront (extra £400 per eye) as wanted the best possible outcome. I've written a detailed blow by blow with pictures at: http://www.benfrain.com/notepad/2009/01/lasek-eye-laser-treatment-recovery-and.html (Cut and Paste into you browser) For me, I feel it was worth every penny. Always hated wearing glasses and lenses and can now swim, play football, mountain bike etc without taking a lens case and spare glasses etc.

I used Optical Express at Cabot Circus Bristol, which initially seemed ok, and was referred for surgery to Bristol's Cribb's Causeway. The Cabot Circus branch initially seemed good; new store so quick getting seen. Due to having strong myopia and astigmatism, and the fact that Wavefront offered a better correction (whereas glasses and contacts measurements use lenses measured in 0.25 diopter increments, wavefront sensors work in 0.01 diopter increments), I was sold Wavefront Intralase LASIK at over £3K. There was initially a minor mix up with admin - Cribbs called to say that their Cabot Circus colleagues should have taken the fees already, and made comments that they ought to know better and hadn't returned calls. On the day of the surgery Cribbs had more patients on the conveyor-belt than they could deal with. It took nearly four hours whilst a tv blurted out childrens' programs to a room full of adults. Staff rushed about looking harassed. When the Cribbs Wavefront machine was used pre-op, it didn't seem to be properly calibrated and the red light didn't focus in the way it had done at Cabot. The surgeon confirmed this when he noticed there was a difference in the Wavefront charts and said less astigmatism was showing than had been measured previously at the Cabot Circus branch, but he didn't investigate the difference or complete further checks. I found the surgery was painful and I had to mention they were hurting me, but they just said I must have "sensitive eyes". After surgery my eyes were bloodshot for a couple of weeks. The operation didn't fully correct my astigmatism, especially in the right eye, so everything I see now, near or far, is now blurry on a vertical axis. The optometrist at Cabot has confirmed astigmatism in both eyes, by around 0.25 dioptres. Which means somehow the wavefront machine was out by a factor of around x25. I can't currently read the laptop easily (my work is all computer-based), or bus numbers, subtitles etc, and I am also now getting regular headaches due to eye-strain. I had *far* better vision using contact lenses. It would seem the Cribbs' Wavefront machine wasn't showing the correct measurements, in which case the majority of patients that day would have remaining problems with their sight after surgery. In both the 24 hour and 1 week follow-ups at Cabot Circus I have been frustrated that the opthalmologist isn't acknowledging a problem with the surgery. The 24-hour check was a perfunctory check at the eye surface and a wall-chart test, and I had to specifically push to get astigmatism tests included during the second post-op appointment a week later. I mentionned the astigmatism and the opthalmologist said there was some but that it wasn't something he'd have recommend surgery on, had I come in off the street (but I hadn't). When pushed, I was told I "might" need correction only in one eye, even though the correction was incomplete in both eyes (evident looking at the conflicting Wavefront charts they'd have on file). He even said that I was part of the myopic "fussy customer" group of people (as opposed to long-sighted people who generally were pleased with surgery). No explanation or apology has been offered for the inaccurate surgery. I have been told that problems are common and to be expected and a lot of people's sight gets worse. I wish I'd been told this before surgery since I would have thought twice about spending so much money. Overall I'm shocked at their casual approach to people's vision. I can't decide whether the company has institutional problems coping when things don't go according to plan, or whether this is a specific case of an age-old problem; clever people with technical knowledge rarely have good customer skills.

Am delighted by the quality of of the ophthalmic care received throughout and by the high standard of professionalism shown by all the specialist staff. The lens replacement was really easy, relaxed and totally pain-free. The aftercare was no problem. I hated the laser treatment and found it much more difficult to handle. It was unpleasant being so aware of what was happening and the feeling of pressure was very uncomfortable. I am so pleased I opted for the lens replacement op instead! My only negative comments concern the appointments process at MK which I found difficult, totally unreliable and fraught. The staff are very friendly but very poor at informing customers what is happening and every time I have been there has been an unacceptable wait - three hours for the laser op which did nothing to calm my tense nerves, compounded by the fact that they did not have a loo in operation so I daren't have a drink. Reka, Trevor Pillay's , Prof. Venter and Stefan all deserve mention as being extremely good at their jobs!

Had mine done about 7 years ago at Boots (before they sold to Optical Express) Still brilliant

Hi guys, I have just had my consultation and have booked in for treatment. I am told that if one of you recommends me by giving me your name and the date of your surgery then I will get a £50 discount and you will receive a £50 cheque in the post. Seems win win to me. Thanks

wow, what can I say? I had my treatment done at Optical Express in Dundee. The Lasik part of things was uncomfortable for a short period ( it took about ten minutes to do both eyes!) and the three hours I spent in bed with stinging eyes afterwards wasn't the best use of a day off...........however. everyone there has been absolutely fantastic - really supportive and not pushy. on the day of my treatment, everyone was brilliant and put me instantly at ease. Aftercare has been brilliant too - they've really looked after me. A month on, and I can now say IT'S THE BEST THING EVER! Honestly cannot begin to tell you how brilliant it is after 17years of dodgy specs, blurry vision and constantly sticking contacts in and out - would I have it again? absolutely! will I be doing it again once my eyes start deteriorationg due to middle age? definately! Having searched the whole of Scotland (and I've been to every company you can think of that offer this) Optical Express in Dundee were easily the best. if you are considering this treatment - definately consider them first!