Optimax

In response mainly to Tony Winter's review and Carol White - I was similar to Tony and had Lasik at Leeds in March. The surgeon was good - and that's the most important thing. My right eye wasn't so good after, and they said it might improve. I didn't think it would, but it seems okay now, so you do have to give it time. If my eyes stay like this, I'll be very happy - though they do get tired after close work. I go for further aftercare app on Wed.

I had PRK LASEK surgery performed by Dr Islam at Finchley Road clinic in early May 2003. I went for my three month aftercare appointment yesterday and was told that I had developed significant corneal haze. I have an appointment this Saturday with Dr Islam to discuss my options. Having researched on the web I've found a lot of material suggesting that corneal haze is not uncommon and usually clears up after 6-12 months, so I'm hopeful of a good outcome in the long term. The main effect of the haze seems to be that I still have quite pronounced ghosting 3 months after surgery. It's not a major problem but it does cause some difficulty when driving at night. I'll add another update after my discussion with Dr Islam detailing what course of action she advises.

I had LASEK on !2th April 2003 at Finchley Rd clinic. A "saturday guy" performed my painless treatment and I could see the results immediatly! To be succinct my right eye healed perfectly within 2 days...my left one took more like 2 months. I truly panicked at the blur, haze, double vision, and lack of ability to read even the top line of the chart, without my dominant right eye to help out. I had a topography at 10 days post op at which the optician said "your cornea is badly distorted" and ran for the doctor! I'd developed hyperplasia (extra scar tissue) and was assured it would heal in about 6 weeks. IT DID! 4 months post op I have BETTER than 20/20 vision, with only a little starbursting at night, not too distracting. My previously dim night vision has become far better! ( I understand that this is unusual). My one piece of advice would be to ask to see the same optician each time (Barry comes highly recommended; he is wonderful and very honest.) I do feel that the literature prepares us to expect an almost instant result and I panicked unnecessarily when this was not the case. To anyone out there...please give it time and good luck!

Had PRK epiflap with Dr Mathen at the Manchester Clinic on Sat 26th Agust. Tretament went very well, it is a little disturbing being so aware of things but you just need to relax. The discomfort kicked in about 15mins after treatment just about enough time to get to the car. I couldnt open my eyes for 48 hours but three days on pain has gone and I am starting to see the improvements already. I will write more after my 10day check up

Left eye - Sph -2.50 Right eye - Sph -2.50 Had LASEK (EPIFLAP) treatment done to both eyes at Croydon last Wednesday (20th Aug) by Dr Ho. As expected I was nervous but Dr Ho made me feel very reassured. The actual operation was over in no time at all and was completely painless. As soon as the first drops go in, everything goes blurred. I couldn't feel the Epithelium being removed just saw it, but Dr Ho was very good in explaining what was happening. Don't worry if you move your eye, I did, and the laser stopped as promised! The Epithelium was replaced and a bandage lense put in place and that was it. I agree with Michelle about afterwards with the nurse. She told me a few times what to take and when but it just wasn’t going in! In the end she wrote it down for me! . I didn't have any patches and could see reasonably well enough to walk around. After a couple of hours though, the eyes do get very uncomfortable. I can't call it pain exactly, just very gritty and constantly streaming with tears. I was extremely sensitive to light and had to be indoors, curtains pulled with sunglasses on! I lasted for 5 hours before taking the sleeping tablet and I simply slept through the pain! The next morning the grittiness had subsided considerably and my vision was almost the same as when I used to wear contacts. The bandage lenses make everything misty but not bad enough not prevent you seeing. I was still sensitive to light the next day, but nowhere near as bad as the previous day. I had my check up last Saturday and had the bandage lenses removed. The grittiness went instantly and the vision became totally clear. I now have 20/20 vision but this does slightly fluctuate every day at the moment. I still can’t believe how good my vision is without contacts. The halo effect at nighttime is no worse than with contacts, in fact it appears to be slightly better. I know everyone says it, but it really does change your life.

Original Eyes: Left -1.75 Right -2.5 8mm pupils I had LASEK performed by Dr. Anwar at the Glasgow branch. My overall impression of Optimax and Dr. Anwar was that they are very capable and professional. However i did get the feeling of a `conveyor belt`. Of course, since Optimax are probably the cheapest surgery, i`m not suprised things were slightly `too efficient`. As for the surgery itself, it was a bit nerve-wracking, and certainly more serious than a trip to the dentists (i`ve seen some people equate the two). About 20 mins after leaving the surgery the pain started to kick in...proper pain - teeth clenching stuff! It lasted all evening, until the sleeping pills knocked me out. My eyes were gritty and watery for the next couple of days. I was also VERY light sensitive. Any chinks of light made me squeal like Gizmo from The Gremlins (Bright light, bright light!) :-) Dr. Anwar didn`t used bandage contact lenses on me (some docs prefer not to), so that may be why i had a lot of pain (then again, im might just be a wimp!) Anyway, 3 months on and i now have 20/20 vision. I don`t have any haloes or nightvision problems. In fact, glare and starbursts have improved 1000% compared to my glasses. Even though i`m very happy, and have had a great outcome, i`d never recommend Laser Eye Surgery to just anyone. That`s because it`s not suited to just everyone. I have large pupils, and therefore ran the risk of having night-vision problems. I weighed up the risks, took measures to stack the odds in my favour, gambled, and won. My advice is research this thoroughly, and really educate yourself about the factors involved. Good places to start would be www.usaeyes.org and alt.lasik-eyes on usenet. Good luck!

Had lasek at Newcastle on 1st september feeling a bit low today as I have a considerable amount of "haze" good job I only got right eye done or I wouldnt have been able to see. Staff and surgeon were very professional although I didnt expect to be still in pain today and I honestly thought I would have been able to see! anyway seee what tomorrow brings!

I had lasek done on both eyes in manchester a week and a half ago with Dr Shay. The results are great. I am from Ireland and made the appt over the phone. They did give me some wrong information - told me i could travel home on the same day wheras the dr said i should stay at least 1 night. I was also unable to get the bandage contact lenses because they gave me wrong info on an optician here in Ireland (told me that she could take the lenses out but she could not). So i went without and it was very uncomfortable for the first two days. After all that i still think it was well worth it and anyone considering it should go for it......no more glasses.....yippee!!!!!!!

Had Lasik at the Edinburgh clinic last week. I initially went to the Glasgow clinic but they do not offer the advanced Wafefront laser technology so I travelled to Edinburgh for the treatment. I found the Edinburgh lot less friendly than the Glasgow clinic, they seemed more keen to get me to hand over my deposit than to explain the procedure or side effects. There was no oppurtunity to see the consultant before the procedure, you only see him five minutes before you actually undergo the op. He didn't introduce himself and seemed pretty brusque. I week after the op I have excellent vision in my right eye, but my vision in my left eye is just above driving standard (6/9); disappointing as my eyesight with glasses was actually better than normal (6/5) in that eye before the op. On the other hand, it is such a change to be able to see clearly and not be dependent on spectacles. Also I have not had any of the side effects like haloes or night blindness that sometimes occur; just the inevitable dry eyes, which I hope will improve over the next few months. Overall I would rate them 4/5, poor customer service but they do use the latest technology and their results are good; also they are among the cheapest clinics offering the latest (and best) wavefront technology, only charging between 750 and 900 per eye, wheras clinic like Boots which have older outdated lasers charge upto £1500 per eye just because of their name. One important point to note - unlike most other reputable clinics, they do not offer free re-treatments, so if they under or over-correct you, you will have to shell out another £300 per eye to get it put right. Pretty steep, considering the original operation was only £750 per eye.

Hello sir I m going to tell you my whole history from my childhood (actually unfortunately I have got an accident in my child hood which resulted in damage of my eye) which is prepared by the local doctor which is in medical language BY: Dr. Nadeem Riaz I saw the patient with the compliment of decrease in vision left eye more than the right eye. He gives history of blunt ocular trauma to his left eye at the age of 5 years and was operated twice on that eye.on examination his best corrected vision in right eye is 618 and left eye Hand movement appreciation only. I O P in each is normal and eyes are essentially quit. Fundus examination shows bilateral posterior staphylomata with left opticatrophy. Peripheral retina appears stable. He is high myope and his refraction is R E: --18.00/-1.00at20 LE: --16.00D.S Now when u are familiar with my problem then I would like to know the situation of my this problem I don’t want to use glasses or contact lenses any more so kindly reply me with its best solution I will be very thankful to you