Optimax

I had LASIK carried out at the Optimax clinic in Glasgow last Monday (30th April) by Dr Anwar. My prescription was -3.75 and -5 with slight astigmatism in both eyes. I checked this forum before I went and was slightly worried by the lack of info on the Glasgow clinic. I went ahead anyway (maybe not too sensible!) and it was all fine. The worst thing about the whole thing was the wait. I had my consultation at 9am and then the surgery at about 3pm which meant a lot of time to worry in between. When it came to it Dr Anwar and the assistants made me feel at ease. He talked all the way through and explained exactly what was going on. It took about 20 mins I think, which passed really quickly. I had read that people find it 'uncomfortable' which I thought meant it was painful. It wasn't at all painful and the discomfort was really just that it felt a bit weird to have people prodding at your eyeballs! Even in on the day of the surgery I felt no pain but was certainly light sensitive. I could see fairly well within about 2hrs. By the time I got up the next morning, the light sensitivity was gone and I could see - it was amazing. At the moment my eyesight is well above driving standard and slightly less than 20:20 vision but after years of glasses and contact lenses, if it stayed like this I'd be over the moon. For me, it was worth the money and worry ( although it wasn't really worth worrying about!)

I had Epi-Lasik at the Glasgow clinic 5 days ago and am delighted so far with the results. I had been considering getting laser treatment for the last 4 years and finally decided to do it. I previously had a consultation with Optical Express but was not impressed at all and was quoted almost £3,000. I felt Optical Express was all about making money. I did not feel like that about Optimax at all. I was treated by Dr Anwar who I was really impressed with. As he is not an employee of Optimax he is not interested in the money side of things, he recommends the best procedure for your eyes. I was not suitable for Lasik as my corneas were too thin and Dr Anwar did not think I would benefit from Wavefront. I bargained on the price as I knew someone who had the op 2 years ago and it cost them £690. I was dellighted with £790 I ended up paying, especially after the price I was quoted from Optical Express! I had the surgery on the same day as my consultation as I knew what was in store and nothing was a surprise. The procedure was much easier than I anticipated. It was not sore at all, it was just like an extension of the eye exam. The smell from the laser burning flesh was really pungent though and haunted me for a couple of days! I could see when I came out which I hadn't expected. What I did expect though was the pain and it didn't let me down! Again though I was fully prepared for it. I had booked a week and a half off work. My kids went to stay with their granny for a few nights to let me recover which I really needed. The pain kicked in about 4 hours later when my painkillers from the op wore off. It was only really bad for about 2 hours and when I woke up next morning I was pain free. I couldn't open my eyes and it was a real struggle to get the drops in however 2 days after the op I was up and about and seeing quite well. It is 5 days since I had the procedure and my vision hasn't settled down totally yet although I am confident it will as everything I have experienced has been pretty text book. I would recommend Optimax and Dr Anwar without a shadow of a doubt and all the pain and suffering so far has been totally worth. Even if my vision was to stay the way it is at the moment it would have been worth it.

Had Lasik Wavefront at Optimax, Aberdeen 3 weeks ago. Even though clinic is not the most modern, the staff were excellent. Dr Osman was very professional and reassured me throughout the procedure. My sight is very good although my left eye is still a bit unsettled but Dr Osman assures me this will settle. I so wish I'd taken the plunge years ago!

Had my Consultation at the Glasgow clinic yesterday 16th May with Dr Anwar who is absolutely superb. My prescription is -9.25 and -8.50 with astigmatism but it turns out that my Cornea is too thin (513 and 515)this making the procedure too risky so I will not be able to have 20/20 vision but my prescription will be improved by 6D on the 5th of June with Epi Lasek which sounds great to me. It also turns out that Dr Anwar treated my grandmother in 1996 for 2 years on the NHS due to various vision problems and both my Grandmother and Mother have nothing but praise for the man and they say I am in very very good hands with a Dr who has treated over 8000 eyes. Very friendly staff who take time to explain everything who advised me to visit my GP to get some Tramezepam/n for the pain/sleeping after the procedure which i never thought of. If your visiting the Glasgow clinic soon then dont worry, Dr Anwar puts you at ease, injects humour into the situation and invites your friend/partner into the consultation with you and also explains that your consultation lasts for 6 months and there is no pressure to go ahead with the surgery( I actually wanted to go ahead with the surgery that day but was advised to re-book and have a think about it so no pressure by the staff). Looking forward to the 5th June( but not looking forward to the after effects!) Oh and Also remember to book with the Ebay deal - go to ebay and search on Laser eye surgery and all the details/contact numbers are there as its £400 cheaper!

Had Lasik Wavefront on Friday 13th April (yes I know!) at Bristol with Dr Saeed. Consultation went well Dr Saeed is very pleasant and went through the produce with me and confirmed what treatment he thought best, he didn’t try to sell me anything I didn’t need and answered all my questions and reassured me. I previously went for a consultation at Optical Express and this was a totally different story, didn’t see the doctor who would perform the operation and the chap I did see was very hard sell and made me feel very uneasy about the whole thing. Had the operation at 7.15pm on the same day as the consultation was supposed to be three hours earlier but things were running late (this is my only real complaint). Was very nervous by the time I went in for the operation and it was freezing in the operating room – one of the nurses kindly covered my legs up with a blanket! The operation was not painful and the worst bit was definitely having the dreaded eye clamps and the flaps cut. There is a slight burning smell when they use the laser but it’s not really a problem. All in all the procedure was uncomfortable but not painful. That was six weeks ago now and my vision is now +1 in my left eye and +0.25 in my right, pre-surgery I was -3.50 in my left and -4.75 in my right. Am told it is quite normal to be longsighted for a while after surgery and it can take up to 3-6 months to settle down but all in all it’s pretty good, amazing not having to wear glasses anymore, although I still catch myself trying to push them up my nose! Good luck to anyone out there who is going for surgery, definitely glad I had it done and looking forward to continued improvement. Can definitely recommend Optimax in Bristol – give them a go.

I had epi-lasek in March pain for 5 hours would recommend this to anyone.Folow up appointment now better than 20/20 vision in both eyes PERFECT

I had lasik done a couple of months ago and whole-heartedly recomment dr osman at optimax aberdeen clinic. I went for their limited half price special offer. They were very upfront with me and honest and I felt confident in putting all my trust in their capable hands. Everything was laid back, done at my own pace and very informative. I was impressed with the reassurance and suitability of treatment. I felt very comfortable when I was advised that they had turned people away because they were unsuitable. "Girls have begged dr osman to do the surgery and cried when he said no" I knew of the risks, dry eyes, surgical complications but when I thought about it; going on a plane has it's risks - it could crash, even though highly unlikely, it still has the tiniest possibility of happening. The ceiling could fall down in the surgery. It all sounds far fetched and it is, all though these things are possible they are highly unlikely. Dr Osman said "nothing will go wrong" and I believed him, I put myself into his hands and I'm glad I did. He talked me through the whole procedure and saw I was nervous. The only real thing that did scare me was the noise of the machine, it was quite loud and unexpected, I wish I had known it all beforehand but I guess it has to make sound and it's comforting to think that it has a back up generator incase there's a power cut. I was -1.25 in both eyes with astigmatism and now 0 with better than 20/20 vision. I could read every line on the eye chart the day after treatment and before, I could only see half of it without glasses. I was in tears with happiness. I remember all the fear and doubt I had beforehand. Thinking there's no going back if something goes wrong but that's my imagination for you. The consent form is scary which you have to sign but it's merely a matter of formalities, crossing the t's and dotting the i's and does outline all the risks which are all really non appropriate. My opinion after reading all the literature from a collection of websites is that if you have major eye problems then dont get it done! I'm so grateful to my mother who told me to get it done after she had hers corrected. Good luck and best wishes. David, Greenock, UK

I had Lasik and wavefront in both eyes in Aberdeen on 30th May. I was -3.00 and -3.25 with astigmatism. My left eye is not quite 20/20 but my right is. I have been told it takes a few months to settle down, but combined they are 20/20. All the staff were friendly and helpful. Dr Osman was very informative. The procedure was pain free. The procedure is just slighlty uncomfortable but so quick. The eye clamps are the strangest things. No pain afterwards. Was out and about the next day for flight back to London. My recommendation, if you are suitable then have it done. I am typing at the moment without glasses. It is brilliant to be able to drive without glasses or to be able to look in to a cooking pot without glasses steaming up!! Its nice to be be able to see your face without having to wear glasses!

I had the Epi-lasek surgery due to taking part in contact sport. Dr Malissanami (Birmingham) did mine and I found him very honest about everything from the very start, if a little laid back! In my opinion the reason this clinic has a lower average rating than the other market leaders in because they are the only one to offer Epi- lasek cheaper than Lasek. Obviously Lasek is more painful so people give lower scores in view of that. I won't lie about the recovery - its not so much the intensity of the pain as the fact that it won't go away, and none of the medication seems to help that much. You WILL need someone to look after you for the first 24 hours to cook your food and put your drops in! However, after three days when you have the contactbandages removed, i felt pretty good and could see ok. My vision pleasingly improved over the next few weeks and I am now about two months post op and with 20/20 or better in both eyes at last check. A big thank you to the opthals who have really put me at ease and been very honest about the recovery procedure over the last few weeks.

I had the implant in my right eye July 2003 and my left Spetember 2003. Both procedures were done by Prof/Dr Ventor (where is he now? also Debbie from the Finchley clinic) who was brilliant as was all the aftercare check-ups. I had one small problem, about three/four weeks after the procedure on my right eye it started weeping, thought i had an infection. I telephoned the Croydon clinic and explained what was wrong, i was advised that they would get in touch with Prof/Dr Ventor (who was in South Africa at the time doing a lecture) and call me back which they did within the hour. I went to the Croydon clinic the next day to pick up some different eye drops and had an appointment with Prof/Dr Ventor four days later. The cause of the weepy eye was one stitch that hadn't dissolved, within 2 minutes he had removed the stitch and no more weepy eye. I have just had my second two year check up and am still glases free, this was money well spent in my case. Also my brother had Lasik the same year and he is still glasses free too.