Optical Express

On 25th March i had LASEK surgery. I have wanted surgery since i was 17 and i finally plucked up the courage to go for it and i can honestly say it is brilliant! The consultation was extremely thorough and i wasnt given the hard sell as i was at other clinics. My counsellor Marie from the Nottingham branch explained everything clearly and answered all of my questions. On the day of the surgery i was very nervous but thanks to Mr George and his fantastic team i was put at ease (with particular thanks to a lovely lady called Ankh who was very kind when i was shaking like a leaf!) The surgery was a success and after 12 years of wearing glasses i can see perfectly - i still now keep going to take my glasses off!! I had no after effects a little bit of grittiness when the lenses were due to come off and that was it which was a relief as i was expecting the worse! The only down side is the Admin side i had been booked for two appts and they got my address wrong so a debit card receipt (with all my card details on) nearly went to the wrong house. But thats all i can find fault with everything else was pefect! So to anyone thinking about it GO FOR IT!!

I had lasik treatment on 14/03 at Birmingham.Had a long wait day of surgery from 14:30-15:45 hrs.Went in for surgery at 17:45 ,very simple only slight discomfort trying to focus at the orange flashing light during surgery.Couldn't believe the lazering was for only 35 seconds per eye-all done! Watery eyes for the evening -went to bed at 21:30 hrs after applying drops. Woke up at 6am completely recovered only slight grittiness until about 10am. So this was a breeze! Very odd to wash & shave in morning being able to see myself properly-not a good thing really! I loved the experience of dumping my glasses in the re-cycle bin upstairs. Good staff . Thanks.

I have had my eye surgery at Newcastle branch of Optical Express on 7th April and all I can say is "Fantastic". They were very specific and checked all kinds of things before advising me if i could actually have the surgery in the first place. I was fully explained every procedure and what would happen on the day of surgery. The day of surgery my appointment was at 11.30am I have numerous tests again to check my eyes were still ok and 10 mins in the theatre I was done!! I could see staright away just my eyes were watering a bit but we came out of the opticians and went for lunch!!!! My eyes got a bit tyred a little later but 2 hours of shut eye and I was as good as new!!! I went back the following day for chekcup all ok and then 1 week later and my vision was 20-20!! I was nervous before having this done but the staff put me at ease and answered all my questions. If you are thinking about it go with Optical Express they are the best!

Mt treatment was as pain-free and unintimidating as you can imagine. The after effects of the surgery was a feeling not disimilar to having a very long swim in a chlorinated swimming pool. Grittiness sounds a bit severe. I have had a heart attack two years ago that ended up with me having stents implanted under local anasthetic (me wide awake during the whole procedure!!) So the laser treatment did not bother me in the slightest. It's all over in a few minutes anyway so don't bother getting worked up about it! For me personally, the consultation was worse than the surgery, so if you didn't mind that, and don't mind eye-drops, proceed with confidence. Oh yeah, the vision afterwards really does defy belief, its like looking through a clean window in perfect focus. FANTASTIC!!!!

I had lasek treatment on Saturday February 11th at Birmingham after having a consultation in Nottingham. Believe it or not I wasn't remotely nervous about having laser eye surgery because I had wanted it so desperately for a few years. And as it turned out I was proved right as the procedure was totally painless and over in what seemed like a few minutes. The only problem was waiting so long - my appointment was 2:30 but the surgery eventually started at 6:15. But to make up for this the staff were incredibly friendly, reassuring and kept me informed during the procedure. I originally choose to have the Lasik procedure due to the quicker recovery time and what appeared to be less hassle involved. But Mr George recommended Lasek so I went with his better judgement. For the next few days my vision was blurred and eyes felt uncomfortable at times (though never painful). The worst thing was having to wear these horrendous goggles at night (to stop you rubbing your eyes). They were uncomfortable and left marks around my eyes but fortunately I only had to wear them for one week. It was also annoying having to put eye drops in every few hours but soon got used to doing it. I had the whole week off work but my Wednesday my vision suddenly improved dramatically (particularly Long distance) though I couldn't read anything close up. I had my contact lenses removed and by the end of the first week my long distance vision was brilliant. I could also read close up again. If anything the thing that took the longest time was that in-between distance (not far away but not close up). For about 4 weeks I struggled focusing - particularly on writing eg digital clocks and teletext from across the room appeared blurred. Watching TV was sometimes difficult and in my first few days back at work I struggled seeing the computer screen. But I was reassured at Nottingham that this was perfectly normal and within 4 weeks of surgery it would disappear. And sure enough almost to the day that's exactly what happened. My vision is now nearly perfect and still improving and at my last check up they were delighted with my progress. I do not need glasses anymore and can function without them perfectly. I would recommend having laser eye surgery to anyone. It has certainly been life changing for me as I often didn't wear my glasses when I was out of the house or work (I hated them that much). I can now see things much clearer and even things in the distance I have never seen before. Though I must emphasise that with Lasek in particular you have to be patient with the results. Don't expect your vision to be perfect overnight - it may take several weeks. There were times when I was worried that it wasn't working. But as it as turned out I had nothing to worry about.

Just wanted to add a different slant to the other reviews posted. I went to the Birmingham clinic a couple of weeks ago for my consultation, armed with a fair few questions that I'd learned to ask from other reviewers on here. Lovely staff, very friendly and only had about 10 minutes to wait till I saw the consultant. Half an hour later and he said "I'm afraid you're not going to like what I'm about to tell you". Terrified, I thought he was about to tell me that I was going to go blind in a week, but instead he said "Your eyes aren't that bad that I can guarantee your vision will improve that much. I recommend you save your money and try and get more comfortable contact lenses". With that, he gives me a couple of free samples, tells me to contact them if I want to use them on a pay-monthly scheme and bids me good day. This might not seem much, but I found it to be very honest. He essentially passed up the opportunity to get over a thousand pound and instead gave me some very good, and free, advice. Top notch company - even though I'm disappointed not to be sorting my eyes out once and for all, but I'm consoled by the knowledge that they're actually not that bad.

I has Lasik on 8th April. My main concern was that as I had a high presciption (-8.25 in both eyes) the surgery would improve my sight but i may still need glasses. The surgery itself was painless- the only uncomfortable bit was when they put some kind of suction on which puts pressure on the eye but it's only approx 5-10 seconds and is not painful- after that you just need to relax and let the surgeon do his stuff. In all I was in the surgery room for around 20 minutes and afterwards you sit in a dark room for around 15 mins and your eyes water a lot. I then had a quick test and was told I was already at driving standard !! For the rest of the day I just went to bed as your eyes do smart a bit but again it is not painful-just like when you've left your contact lenses in for too long. I was watching TV that night and had better vision than when I wore my glasses. Hope this is useful- especially if you have a high prescription, best thing I ever did !

i had my eyes done on 4th march at manchester the service was excellent.in and out within two hours. but still had everything explained in full again, with checks on the machines to see if anything had changed.i have been back twice on the arranged appointments,(cant fault them there either. two wishes in life have come true,been to australia in 03, now had my eyesight fixed, and can read without glasses as well.thanks optical express and all their staff. p.s. go on dont be frightened it's the best thing you could do.

SURGERY DATE: 17th November 2005 SURGERY LOCATION: READING OPTICAL EXPRESS This is so amazing! I can see when I wake up in the morning. No more waking up in the morning fumbling around for a pair of glasses so I can see what time it is..FANTASTIC! Its now 6 months since my surgery and I have just come back from my 6 month check-up and the results are fantastic. Its been confirmed that my vision is better than 20-20, so basically the smallest line on the reading chart I can now read without glasses and being -3.00 in both eyes this is a massive thing for me and am proud. As for the whole thing. Well I was seen on the day by a very friendly and professional laser specialist who congratulated me on being suitable for the procedure. I then went through to a laser counsellor who went through every part of the surgery, what to expect, what would happen if there were any problems..of which there were none. I booked my surgery for the following week. The price was pretty much what I expected I'd looked around a lot before and already know they offered the best prices. Came in on the day and was taken down straight away to the laser department where there was a very professional surgery team. I had my wavefront scan done to get what prescription they were going to correct me to and I was showed the results, which were explained to me by the surgeon before I went in. I was then taken into the laser suite and sat down in the chair, the surgeon introduced his team to me and explained what was going to happen. Throughout the entire procedure there was no pain and no surprises everything has been explained to me before as well as detailed documents confirming what the optometrist had said. It seriously was a piece of cake. The whole thing lasted about ten to fifteen minutes and then I was taken into a separate room where I rested for a while. A nurse then came in and explained all the aftercare to me, also giving me a contact number available 24hrs a day 7 days a week. The surgeon then saw me to check his work which was brilliant and I left with just a pair of sunglasses on to protect my eyes from bright light. I went home had a quick sleep and woke up feeling fantastic, that’s when I looked at the clock and it hit home what an amazing thing had just happened.!! I know I sound dramatic but it really was a life changing experience for me. I have so much more confidence and the freedom to do anything I want. I took great pleasure in going home and throwing away all those contact lens solution bottles, contact lenses and glasses that were lying about..dont need them anymore!! Anyway! I went back the following day for a routine check-up which was fine I was told I could drive the following day. I then went back a week later and the news just got better. My vision was better than compared to when I wore specs so as I'm sure you can imagine I was over the moon. My advice to all you people out there that are thinking about where you should go or even if you should do it? Optical Express is the best out there by far the staff are very friendly, the surgeon is very professional and knowledgeable, the premises are always clean and tidy and its a joy to go back there and continue to be told the good news. Well done optical express and thank you very much.

I had quite a bad astigmatism and they were honest and said there was a slight chance my worst eye wouldnt work but i can say i had the lasik treatment at newcastle and my vision is 20 20 the staff there from day one of my free consultation was second to none and as for the treatment im six month on and i have had not one day of discomfort but im sure if i did the staff would have helped without question if you are thinking of treatment im sure you be subject to the same professionalism thank to them i can see great......