Optimax

Of all the reviews I’ve read about Optimax / LASEK, I’ve yet to read about a patient that suffered hazing. I was one of the unfortunates, but it wasn’t all that bad. Like many, my experience with Optimax / LASEK was an excellent one. The consultation was informative, and everything was professional. As I had read about other people’s experiences, I was prepared for the procedure. I’m not going to go into the details about the procedure, as others have described it better, but for your information I chose to have both eyes done at once. In the week that followed, my left eye was slightly overcorrected, and my right was 20/20. About two weeks following my aftercare treatment I noticed that my eyes were feeling dry in the mornings and what I can only describe as fogginess wherever I looked. It always went away during the course of the day and I just attributed this to the weather in England as it rains often. But it was on the clearest days that got me concerned, when I could see the fog when there obviously was none. I called Optimax with my concerns and was informed that at this time of the year (winter) it was quite normal to have dry eyes and she recommended that I purchased some Clear Eye drops. Unfortunately it didn’t work. The week after I found it difficult to read and see objects very clearly from afar. I decided to call Optimax with my new concerns and they arranged an appointment ASAP. It was after they examined my eyes that they found severe amount of hazing on my eyes and prescribed eye drops for treatment. 8 weeks later, I have no symptoms of hazing and I’ve been officially released from care. I suffer from no ill effects of vision and in general have been very happy with how Optimax has handled my aftercare. In hindsight I don’t think I would have done anything differently. I love my new-found freedom with contacts or glasses. Items I found Informative:  Hazing is caused by an allergic reaction to the lasers or over exposure to sunlight like tanning on the beach. Although your doctor can give you more information on this.  If I had chosen to do LASEK on each eye separately I would have had to have LASIK treatment on the other eye.  The majority of patients that suffer hazing were treated successfully using these eye drops. The others usually recover naturally within a year. Feel free to contact me if you want more information about my experience. Like I said before, I have no regrets.

Hi there, I have just attended the Aberdeen clinic for an emergency check up as my baby daughter accidently scratched the front of my eye (!) I must admit, I was really worried that so soon after the LASIK - which went perfectly - that some permanent damage had been caused by an innocent accident. I phoned the clinic immediately after the damage was done and the girl I spoke to quickly eased my fears, but suggested that I go to the clinic for a check up.I was seen that day and the optician I saw was quick to put my mind at rest that I had only superficial damage which would heal quickly and the LASIK 'flap' was ok. Phew! Again all the staff at the clinic were reassuring and friendly - I really can't fault them!

The service from the Manchester Clinic was superb. From Gill Clegg and the ladies on reception to Dr Hynes and his staff. I went for my consultation on March 31st intending to have Lasik treatment at a cost of £1,850 however after a thorough consultation by Dr Hynes he recommended that I should opt for the Epi-Lasik treatment at £1,080, due to the thickness of my cornea. This option made me feel more comfortable with both Dr Hynes and Optimax as he had considered my eyes 1st and not just the income he could generate for the company. I then had treatment on both eyes, right -8 and left -7.5, on April 7th and the results to date are fantastic. As you can probably imagine, with my prescription I needed glasses/contacts for everything !! and the shock of seeing various things straight after the treatment was amazing. The treatment was pain free and as I walked away from the clinic I could even see number plates on the other side of the road. I was that ecstatic, my wife thought they had given me some illegal drugs !! The worst part of the whole experience was to come during the journey home where my eyes were streaming and painful for at least 1.5hrs. Once i had arrived home closed the curtains and slept for about 4hrs, on awakening the pain/streaming eyes had gone. From then until now my distance vision has been superb and my close up vision has improved day by day. I even felt comfortable to drive 4days after treatment. I've an appointment in a couple of weeks to see if all is ok but to date I'd recommend the treatment to anyone.

Firstly, many thanks to everyone on this forum for their information and advice. Having done a lot of research, I finally had bilateral epi-lasek with Dr Almasri at Finchley Rd on 24 April. The consultation, treatment and immediate aftermath were exactly as described by a number of people on here. My partner wasn't able to accompany me, so I had to get a taxi home and look after myself. The clinic recommended that I didn't, but actually I was fine as I was in bed and asleep almost before the anaesthetic wore off. The next day or so was uncomfortable, but bearable - just sleeping and listning to radio plays. I had the bandage lenses removed on the tuesday which I was thankful for as they had started to get very irritating. The removal of one of the lenses disturbed the surface of the eye a little and caused some blurriness, but that cleared the next day. In the next few days I started getting impatient as my vision wasn't improving as quickly as I wanted, but by the 7th day I had to drive and was (just about!) ok. I've now had the first sight test since treatment and I was pleasantly surprised to find I could read the bottom line fairly easily. I still have some astigmatism in both eyes, but not enough to bother me especially as I wore contacts that didn't correct it anyway. I haven't yet had any of the other side effects that I was worried about such as halo-ing night vision (my pupils aren't large enough for this to be likely) or hazing. All in all, a very positive experience so far - my only comment to anyone would be don't be impatient - in my experience, after the first few days, vision improves steadily and noticably day by day. My prescription prior to treatment was -3.25L -3.5R with some astig in both (I cant remember the exact figure) steve

I had bilateral LASIK at the Belfast branch of Advanced Laser Eye Clinic on the 29th april.My prescription was:right eye sphere-1.25, cyl-1.00, axis 27.5 Left eye:sphere-1.25, cyl-0.50, axis 165. I was in the clinic for a total of 1 hour and everything went fine. It was scarry but you just have to grit your teeth and carry on. I sound like a wimp but my eyes are very important to me. My eyes were sore for a few hours afterwards but then started to settle down. The next day i went for my checkup and was told my sight was good enough to drive home. It took a couple of weeks after that before my eyes really settled down and i could see all the fine details, but you have to expect this. I've just had my 6 week checkup and i have 20/20 vision.If your thinking of having this done, then don't wait any longer just go for it.It cost me £895 per eye or £1790 in total.Well worth it to get rid of those glasses.

Visited the Birmingham branch last April for an open day after being recommened from a work friend. I chose LASIK after long discussions with the staff. Had my full consulatation last Thursday which was very thorough and surgery Friday pm which lasted about 20 minutes. Friday night I had 20/20 vision. Saturday morning drove back for my check up, went shopping at Bull Ring, went to golf range and went out for a meal and drink on the night. No haze no halos, no pain, no worries. Best £1200 I think I will ever spend.

I had lens implants by Professor Ventor in London yesterday afternoon. No pain, and totally professional service from the consultation to treatment. I am so impressed by Optimax and the obvious skill of Prof V. My eyesight today is almost as good as it was with my normal contact lens - just a bit blurred, but I am told that this will gradually improve. Wow!!! I now have no qualms about the next eye which will be done in 10 or so days time - in fact, I can't wait as I know how easy this procedure is for the patient, and so far, how wonderful the results. Not bad for day one!!

I had epi-LASIK at Birmingham in March. The treatment was pain free. Afterwards I was slightly uncomfortable until the bandage lenses came out three days later. The people at the clinic were very hlepful and reasssuring. I was originally sent away in February to have soemthing checked by my own hospital so the examination they do is very thorough. I can now read the bottom line on a chart with no problems at all.

Me & my friend Jo went to Optimax Bristol on Sat 24th July to have Epi-Lasek. I am sure Jo will be writing her review on here in due course but heres mine. procedure painless (except for the 1hr 50min delay). Right eye was slightly watery the same evening but no real discomfort...guess I was just lucky. had the bandages lens out yesterday and after 4 days of wearing them I was certainly glad to have them out. It felt like a bit of glass in my eye but again nothing too unbearable. all in all the whole procedure was fine. I have already reached driving standard!! I certainly recommend it to anyone. WORD of WARNING the receptionist was one of the most miserable people I have had the pleasure to meet she would certainly put a nervous person off before they even got to see the Doctor!, DR Mundasad on the other hand was one of the nicest, made me feel very relaxed. great bloke fantastic sense of humour.

I had Lasik Surgery on both eyes on Thursday 29th July 2004, at Optical Express Shaftsbury Ave London. I was not at all nervous, but was worried that I should be! The procedure was unpleasant and I was thinking about telling them not to do the 2nd eye but by the time I’d made up my mind my eye was taped up and I was back under the machine! I went off to the recovery room feeling a little strange. I couldn't see much as everything was very blurry. There were other patients in there and they all said they felt great. I must be a drama queen! I had a problem keeping my eyes open, it was much more comfortable keeping them shut. My eyes were streaming and very sore. Not a pain as such more like being constantly blinded by the sun, that feeling when you can't open your eyes but you keep fighting to try. I was given some extra drops and this helped temporarily. I went home and had a sleep as I was instructed. The streaming came and went at intervals for the rest of that night. I went to bed early and when I got up I could see as well as if I had my glasses on (except of course I didn't). I had no discharge or eye straining. I went for my aftercare appointment and I'm pleased to say that my vision is better than 20/20 (I never believed it would even work!). I am overjoyed with the results and I can't wait to go on holiday with just my designer sunglasses!! I would highly recommend this to anyone that is suitable. All that was 4 days ago and I have no dry eyes or any other problems so far (touch wood!). The only time I think about my glasses is when I keep trying to put them on in the mornings. Good luck to everyone that bites the bullet and goes for it. If I were asked if I would do it again, my answer would definitely be YES, it’s worth every penny.