Optimax

I had Femtosecond Wavefront LASIK on both eyes on 1st August 2006. MY pretreatment prescription was -5.5 in my R eye, and -4.75 in my L eye. I did loads of research prior to committing myself and decided that Optimax provided the best value for money and the most advanced technology. Dr Patel was my surgeon and I can't fault him. He is lovely, and I feel that he actually takes a personal interest in every person he treats. I experienced no pain at all, went home and went to bed. The following morning I had my first aftercare appt - I was still short-sighted with -1.5 in my R eye and -1 in my L. This upset my no end. I thought given that I had undergone the 'top of the range' procedure I was still going to need retreatment! Another week passed and my vision improved slightly over time. I went to my 1 week aftercare appt only to find that there was a crease in the corneal flap of my L eye. My prescription had changed to -0.5 in L and -1 in R. Due to the complication Dr Patel recommended that I have the L flap lifted and the crease removed at the same time he would apply the laser again and correct the relatively small myopia that remained. That was a week ago - 11-8-06. My R eye will be retreated in a further 2-3 months. For the first half of the week I couldn't believe how amazing the vision in my L eye was and often closed my R eye just to gaze into the distance and read street signs etc. For the past 2 days however the vision in my L eye has deteriorated to a point where the vision is worse than in my R. I also have slight double vision. My main concern is that the crease has returned in the L flap. Fingers crossed this is just a normal part of the healing process - as I don't particularly want the flap to be lifted again - it's not very pleasant!! I have another aftercare appt tomorrow and will post more details of my journey to perfect vision - lets hope it's positive!

I had Epi-Lasek treatment at Optimax Birmingham in August this year after going to see one of their competitors. Oddly enough, I bought my treatment through Ebay of all places, and saved myself an absoulte packet! My wife had her eyes done at Optimax three years ago and I wish I'd done it back then as well. It is, as they all say, a miracle - after an initial period of 18 hrs I was pain free, and most of that I spent asleep overnight. I had my treatment on a Tuesday, was using my computer briefly on thr Friday, and by the Monday I was back at work. In the intervening weekend I had the bandage lenses out and a quick eyetest proved my vision was at least 20/20. My eye test was performed by the surgeon, the quality and quantity of testing was superb, and the support staff at the facility were courteous and helpful. You're given all the medicines you need to take away with you, and the follow up treatment is excellent. If you were thinking about getting your eyes laser treated but you weren't sure, get yourself to Optimax and get tested for suitability. You owe your eyes a new lease of life, and my personal experience of it has been nothing but brilliant.

I had femtosecond wavefront lasik treatment( also known as Intralase I believe ) on the 24/7 at Birmingham Optimax, surgeon Mr Madhusudhan. My pre treat prescription was L-6.1 /R-5.75 with mild astigmatism. I thought I would put a post on here to tell you about my experience. As I guess if you are reading this you are looking for information pre-treatment, I think I read all 600 reviews before finally committing myself. I had both eyes treated on the same day. In this particular treatment a laser is used to create the flap, the eye is lasered and the laser creates bubbles allowing the surgeon push the flap aside. This part of the operation was uncomfortable but this is mainly because of the use of two clamps on the eye, I have quite small eyes and it was quite uncomfortable with a feeling of pressure. After a few seconds under the laser the clamps are removed and you sit in a darkened room to allow the flap to create. This feels like you have put the wrong contact lens fluid in your eyes with a smarting sensation, certainly bearable if a little alarming as I wasn't sure what to expect. Mr Madhusudhan administered more anthesthetic drops on my return for the second half of the treatment. Which I can say hand on heart was completely painless and only needed one clamp per eye. Once the laser had completed it's job a bandage lense was place on each eye to protect it. I was able to see immediately although my eyes were watering profusely. For the rest of the afternoon I took it easy( I did read a few number plates on the way home ... I couldn't resist), took a paracetamol and slept for a couple of hours. By 8pm I was feeling 100% better my sight was clearing and I had little discomfort, I wore sunglasses which seemed to eliminate any light sensitivity. The next day I went back to Optimax had the bandage lenses removed and passed an eyesight test with flying colours. My sight is a little over corrected but I have been assured this will adjust over the next couple of weeks. I have been able to work from Day 3 on my laptop with no problems. I have faithfully administered the refresh drops, the anti inflamatory drops and the anti biotic drops - yes its a little inconvenient in the small hours but a small price to pay. On of my concerns before the operation was the halo/glare effect at night that i had read about and I was worried I may not be able to drive at night. On day 1 it was quite strange being driven in the dark the headlights were like brilliants stars coming towards me and I resorted to sunglasses in the dark. However Day 5 and I have no problems driving at night. This has been a wonderful experience for me and I can only sing the praises on Mr Madhusudhan's skill. I am happy to answer any questions you may have - just drop me an email.

Although I had my consultation at Leicester, as I was -8 short sighted and +2 Long sighted, the consultant Mr Oberholster recommended Wavefront, and after reading Optimax's literature (plus others) I had already decided that I also wanted Femtosecond, Optimax has 5 of the 7 Lasers to cut the flap for Lasik treatment, but they didn't have one at Leicester, so I went to Birmingham. It was still Mr Oberholster that did the procedure at Birmingham, this made me feel much more confident. I went for my consultation on Tuesday 18th July 2006, went to Biringham for the treatment on Wednesday 19th and back to Leicester on the 20th for a check up. Although I was absolutely petrified, everything possible was done to make me feel at ease (for example my sister went with me, and after the flap has been cut you have to wait 5 minutes before they laser your eyes, but they fetched my sister to sit with me). I just knew that everything was going to be ok. I must admit when I read all the things that can go wrong, I had my doubts, but have you every read the leaflet in a packet of parecetamol. I felt safe in the hands of Mr Oberholster. The optician that tested my eyes prior to having the treatment done, was the best I have ever had test my eyes. He checked and checked again to ensure that the prescription was correct. The procedure was completely pain free. You feel a little pressure when they put the clamps on your eyelids, but it was nothing. After it was all over and my sister was driving me hone, although you are supposed to rest your eyes as much as possible, I kept having a little peek and could not believe that after 40 years of not being able to read a numberplate without glasses or contact lenses I could actually see clearly straight away. I laid on the sofa all evening,listening to the radio and putting in the drops as prescribed, still no pain, if you have worn contact lenses and they get a little gritty towards the end of the day, that is all I felt.During the last week my eyes have been a little dryer than usual, but I was provided with refresher drops to use as and when so I hardly noticed. Now 10 days later, I am still marvelling at how I can get up during the night and see clearly. The optician set my eyes at -7.75 and this has worked out great, before when I wore contact lenses I had to have reading glasses as well. Now, if I am reading a book, then I use my reading glasses, but at work where I do a lot of computer and bookwork, I can easily manage without, I know this may change as I get older, but that's life anyway. Well enough of my babbling, if you are thinking of having laser treatment, go for it, it has changed my life already - I FEEL GREAT - Thanks to the team at Leicester and Birmingham they are all fantastic. Julie Sheldon

I am hoping to have laser surgery at the Bristol clinic. Can anyone recommend a surgeon there? Thanks Helen

I have just flown to USA - I didn't bring any eye drops on the plane with me and not long into the flight noticed how dry my eyes were with the air on board. It took at least a week for my eyes to stop being blurred and to be able to drive. Just a word to the wise - pack some eye drops in your flight bag!

My overall opinion from the consultation through to the after care was excellent. Obviously when the treatment is booked nerves then set in and on the day of the treatment I was a nervous wreck. I have not got a very high pain threshold but can honestly say that if I had to go through the experience again I would have no second thoughts, I would not hesitate in recommending this to anyone thinking about it. I only wish I had done it years ago!

Hi, I have now canceled my surgery with Optical Express and have now taken the opportunity with Optimax for the price of £1590 Wavefront via Ebay. This is £900 cheaper!!! I have booked my consultation for early August and if found to be suitable I am able to have surgery the very next day! I am still very panicky, does anyone know or has had surgery with Optimax surgeon Dr André Oberholster, Leicester? Any information good or bad would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance for your helps ... and for the previous replies. Will keep you posted on any updates. Wish me luck and good luck to you!!!

I am booked in for epi-LASEK at the Ipswich clinic with surgeon, T Materman. I can't find any information about this surgeon, including on Optimax's own website! I f any one has had surgery done by him or knows anything about him,I would be really grateful for some information. Thank you.

Had Lasik 2 days ago and it's a miracle! Had a consultation with Optical Express first who were very poor. I wouldn't get to see the surgeon until the day of the operation and only then would I find out whether I was having Lasek or Lasik. With 3 small children, I didn't want Lasek because of the recovery time. Still waiting 28 days later for return of £400 deposit!! Booked with Optimax in Peterborough for 27/6. They did lots more diagnostic tests and you see the surgeon who will operate. Dr Hill was excellent. He has a very reassuring manner and answered all my questions very fully. My prescription was L -5.0 R -6.75 and I had 7mm pupils which are larger than normal so I was worried I wasn't going to be straightforward. However he felt I would be a good candidate and I was booked for operation on 30/6 at 4pm. I was extremely anxious and almost cancelled on the morning of the op. Once I got there everything happened very quickly. I went into the operating theatre at 4.40 and was out and in the car ny 5.15. The procedure itself IS painless. The only nasty thing was the smell of burning - just breathe through your mouth and you'll be fine! Dr Hill talks you through it all as he is doing it and he is very calming. My left eye took 56 seconds and my right 58 seconds. When I got off the bed I could see better straightaway ( I had to be helped in without my glasses!) and could read a sign in the car park about 30 feet away. That night was a bit uncomfortable a bit like when you are tired and you have grit or an eyelash under your lens. I just took 2 paracetamol and have taken nothing else since. At my first after care on 1/7 in the morning everything seems to be going fine. I'm healing well and could read the bottom line with my right eye and third from bottom with my left. I'm easily at driving standard. My sight should continue to improve over the next month. It truly is great!! I know if you are reading this you are trying to make your mind up like I was last week. All I can say is do your research, meet the surgeon, and go for it! Opening your eyes and being able to see withoout reaching for glasses is brilliant!! Thank you to all the team at Peterborough who have made it so easy! ps I booked all my appointents and then saw the ebay offer. It isn't a scam and all you do is ring customer services and say you want the ebay price. I got £ 400 off so it's worth it!!