Optimax

This clinic is now in liquidation, I was due an appointment today at 10am but when I turned up, there was a notice on the door informing me that the clinic was closed and to check back for further details. I'm a bit concerned as I'm not quite finished with my check ups, only having had my treatment a little over 2 weeks ago! No letter, no phone call, not good!

I had Epi-Lasik done on both eyes last Friday. Four days on from surgery and my right eye is still a tad blurry, but the left eye is healing great. I’m still slightly anxious about my blurry right eye but I’ve been told it’s normal for the eyes to heal differently. My right eye does seem to be getting clearer each day, and I have to keep in mind I’m only on the forth day of recovery. The operation was carried out at the Opitmax clinic in Manchester by a female doctor (I know it sounds ridiculous but I never got her name). She was pleasant but seemed to focus on if I knew entirely what the risks where, that made me a little uneasy. She was pleasant though, although a little quiet throughout my operation, which again made me uneasy. The operation was pain free but a bizarre experience. I expected to see a straight laser beam hit my eye; instead it looked like someone was holding a sparkler in the distance. The burning smell didn’t bother me, and honestly the whole experience was really quiet easy. As soon as I got in the car I noticed a slight improvement in my eyesight (I could see car number plates, which I’d of never be able to do without my contact lenses/glasses). Before I knew it I became extremely light sensitive, so it was lucky I remembered to bring a pair of sunglasses. I found the sunglasses didn’t help enough in the end though, and resorted to putting my dads jacket over my head! I must have looked such a diva ;) The weekend with bandage lenses was a little uncomfortable, hardly felt any pain though. I just hated the fact I had to sleep in lenses for three nights, I was so relieved when they where taken out Monday. So far I’m pleased with the results, but I’m obviously waiting for my right eye to stabilize before I say ‘it was worth the money’. In fact it’ll take me at least five years with clear vision until I’ll be able to say ‘it was worth the money’ seen as it would of cost me near the price I paid (£990) on contact lenses by then. I’d say if you where considering the operation, think carefully about if you’re the right candidate for the operation first. I suffer from anxiety more than the normal person, so this weekend brought a lot of unnecessary worry to me (i.e. am I going to be ultra sensitive to light for life? What if my right eye never repairs itself? etc) All I can say is I’m pretty sure my right eye will repair itself by the end of the week, because like I said it’s getting better each day. My left eye is pretty much like how my vision was with contact lenses in. I’m happy with the choice I made and currently have no regrets. Oh and I was minus 2 in both eyes before the operation. I’m hoping to give an update soon, but if I don’t feel free to contact me and I’ll fill you in on my progress and any question I might be able to help you with. Ryan

I had Lasik in Southampton on 28th October with Mr Ayoubi. My prescription was -6.75 and -7.00 with astigmatism. Mr Ayoubi was brilliant, very professional and confident. The operation didn't hurt a bit and straight afterwards I was delighted that I could see the Exit sign, and people at the other end of the room. By the middle of the following morning though I was quite alarmed that my vision had gone blurry although speaking to some friends who had the same experience reassured me a bit. At my aftercare appointment a week later my eyesight had improved a bit. It is now nearly 2 weeks later and I am pleased to say my eyesight seems to be improving every day. I have been told I have driving vision although it takes some time getting used to driving with a bit of a blurry edge. My vision goes up and down a bit at the moment, sometimes it is great, sometimes it is blurry especially when I am tired or have been on the computer. On the whole I am glad I have had the operation.

I am a 60 year old male living near Alton, Hants who has been promising himself laser eye surgey to correct poor(ish) long distance vision (-3.25 thingies in each eye) for years. Finally, with my 60th just behind me and armed with a personal recommendation from a recent acquaintance, I started the ball rolling. I searched the web site, phoned the call centre and got a consultation for the Southampton office on 15 Nov 05. From the supplied literature I was a bit confused as to what I should be aiming for. I really felt that correcting both eyes was a logical route and that Lasik would be the best treatment. Why? To be honest I'm not entirely sure. Anyway, late Tuesday afternoon I met with Dr Ayoubi after having a simple on site test. He is a charming fellow and explained what he thought was best for me taking into account my age and prescription. It now seems likely that instead of Lasik for both eyes I will be going for Epi-Lasek in just the one eye. That in itself is a personal advice based decision but a factor that impressed me is that Dr Ayoubi's recommendations will reduce my anticipated bill by almost two thirds. To me, that clearly indicates good advice rather than good sales patter. I am now testing out the mono vision route via a single contact in one eye which is quite an experience. Because I am going skiing over Christmas and early Feb, the most likely date for my operation is late Feb 2006. But, the ball is rolling and I will have something done soon.

Had Epi-Lasek (not to be confused with Lasik - same laser and results but a very different method) laser eye surgery on 10th February 2006 at the Birmingham Optimax clinic. Commenced at 13.45 and was done by 13.59! I am writing exactly one week and one day after the surgery (yes - I can see the computer). Surgeon was a Dr Masilamani. An earlier poster wanted some feedback on this guy. He is a young looking chap but very helpful, patient and professional. You will have no problems with this guy. I was a little worried to find him wearing glasses though! He says his prescription does not warrant surgery. Op was a little strange but painless (you could actually smell the burning). 'Bandage' contact lenses were fitted by the doctor to keep discomfort to a minimum. Was on the way home by five past two as the anesthetic wore off. Then the pain kicked in. The first twenty four hours were the worst. Like two forks being pressed into the open eyes and there was nothing you could do to ease the pain. The Ibuprofen painkillers and sleeping tablets provided were as good as useless. I would describe the pain as 'severe' and I have a pretty good tolerance level. Also, eyes very watery and light sensitive - did not open then for the first 24 hours (apart from to administer drops) and then only for a few seconds. Spent virtually the first two and a half days in bed in the dark unable to read or watch TV. Quite a scary experience. Returned to the clinic on day 3 to have the bandage lenses removed. This was a very welcome huge relief. Pain now gone completely and sight returning slowly. Vision still a little blurred but improving daily. Left eye was -5 and right -2. Stragely though, left eye vision much better the right eye so far. All glasses and contact lenses owned now in the bin. I'm now fully into the recovery period and noticing improving vision on a daily basis. Vision good enough to drive (especially the left) but I'll give it more time before declaring it a complete success. I'm told each person recovers at a different rate so will now just have to be patient. Got to give exercise, swimming and the like a miss for 6 weeks. I'm looking forward to life without specs and lenses now. Entered into this after a lot of research and fully aware of the risks. Pretty much pleased with the results after a week and glad I had the courage to go ahead. Remember, if you are considering surgery yourself fully research the matter. IT IS NOT RISK FREE. The internet is a great source. I'll gladly provide feedback to anyone wanting more info.

Had LASIK (flap cut) on 9th March at Southampton by Dr Ayoubi. Not a pleasant procedure but over in about 20 minutes with 4 hours of discomfort afterwards, like being poked in the eye, or grit under a contact lens. At the next day consultation, was better than 20:20 in the right eye but the left was still a little blurry, but as I am right eye dominant, not a problem, easily at the driving standard less than 24 hours after the op. Was -6.25 in the left and -5.5 in the right previously with some astigmatism. At the one week checkup all OK, right still better than 20:20, left had improved a bit but apparently still has some astigmatism, this may improve over the next 2 months, but both eyes together are excellent, a huge improvement and a definite WOW factor, having worn glasses since 8 years old. Luckily I had thicker than average corneas and average pupil size. Using the moisturising eye drops every 3 hours or so. Got a bad dose of the flu 4 days after the op. Was concerned that the violent sneezing may dislodge the flap but all OK, apparently violent sneezing within 2 days of the op could cause a problem!!! according to the optometrist. Dr Ayoubi, the surgeon, is very competent and reasssuring, talks you through the procedure. Had mine in the afternoon on time, apparently the morning ops oftern run rather late so an afternoon appointment is probabaly preferable as the laser is all set up and calibrated by then. Will post again after the 2 month check up, will hopefully not need a minor adjustment in the left eye, fairly happy with my sight at the moment computer work is fine. Dr Ayoubi did my full consultation and unlike OPtical Express told me that as my aberrations in both eyes were under 0.3 there was no statistical reason that Wavefront would have better results than regular LASIK, saving me £300. + Wavefront ablates more tissue and takes longer. Paid £1400 to Optimax, consultation was free, a special offer. Will pay for itself in 4 years as I forked out for daily disposable contacts before. Optical Express at West quay wanted £2600 and recommended I had wavefront, but their consulation was with an optimetrist, NOT the actual surgeon who performs the op. Would definitely recommend you have the initial measurement consultation with the surgeon who operates on you so you can judge if you trust him or not and discuss all the information with him to make an informed choice about the possible risks/benefits. Most important aspect is your corneal thickness and pupil size and you must have healthy eyes and no cold sores. 36 years of age.

I had epi-lasek at the Glasgow branch of Optimax on Tuesday, 11th April. My prescription was -2.25 L and -2.0 R beforehand. I went back for my check up on Saturday and I am now 20:20. I am really delighted with the results and the quality of my vision. I had some fairly severe pain for the first day once the anaesthetic wore off, but I was fine from the following day. I would recommend that you have someone there to help you for the first couple of days with eye drops and that you purchase in advance a blackout eye mask, similar to the ones used on planes, as your eyes are very sensitive to light initially. All in all, less than a week on I am delighted with the outcome and would recommend Optimax and Dr Esselar, who performed the procedure.

This is an update from when I had my surgery 30.03.06, eyesight is fantastic still very pleased with the result, I had my aftercare appointment booked today and I am very unhappy with the customer service received from the clinic manager in Bristol(tracey), my appointment was booked today at 2.15pm, I had a message on my mobile at 1pm saying the optometrist due to see me had gone home due to sickenss and they were cancelling my appointment, I live in Cardiff and was half way there at this time! anyway sickness cant be helped but I chose optimax as they were one of the largest companies and you would think a company of their size would have another optometrist available, I phoned the clinic to rebook and asked if I could see someone closer to home next time as I have a full diary over the next fornight, they said I would have to pay for this (even though they cancelled very late in the day and wasted my time by driving all that way and booking an afernoon out of my working week), Tracey in optimax said I could make a complaint to head office and she would send me a complaint form, she then gave me the number of the optician I was to ring, the number I rang was incorrect, I rang her back and she said to look it up myself in the directory!! she was very rude and unhelpful and could not careless about how I was inconvenienced, she actually agreed with me when I stated that, as you can tell I am fuming and I am taking the complaint further as I still have no appointment booked for aftercare for laser eye surgery!! I hope no other clients have been messed around like this, it has put a dampner on such a good thing that I have had done.

Update on previous posting 20/3/06 Southampton branch, Dr Ayoubi, see below. Had my third aftercare appointment with the Optimetrist on 5th May, 8 weeks postop. Right eye is 20:15, bottom line of chart, an excellent result for my dominant eye. The left eye is -0.5 prescription, a huge improvement on -6.25 though! All the astigmatism has been corrected apparently. Still using the moisturising drops 4-5 times a day, especially after computer/close focus work. A little bit annoying but not too bad, will hopefully improve. So overall a good result. I was advised its not worth attempting to relaser the -0.5 left eye as the margin of error of the laser was also 0.5!! The possible marginal benefit did not outweigh the potential risks. I fully concurred with this assessment. I am pretty happy with my eyesight at present, as using both eyes I could easily read the bottom line of the chart. Also the -0.5 would hopefully delay the need for reading glasses in the future, though I am only 36, so hopefully 15 years or more away. I was "discharged" by the optimetrist and told I did not need to return for more aftercare checks. Was a little surprised by this as Optimax literature states discharging is after 3 months postop, if all goes well. The optimax literature states all aftercare checkups are free for the first year, but I was told I would have to pay if I wanted to return for a further checkup!! Hopefully will not need to, and will resist paying as it clearly states the first year is free. Perhaps optimax can confirm this if their customer care bods read this posting? Would have preferred to have been checked by the surgeon at one of the aftercare checks, he was in the building at the time of my visits, saw him at the reception desk. Had LASIK (flap cut) on 9th March at Southampton by Dr Ayoubi. Not a pleasant procedure but over in about 20 minutes with 4 hours of discomfort afterwards, like being poked in the eye, or grit under a contact lens. At the next day consultation, was better than 20:20 in the right eye but the left was still a little blurry, but as I am right eye dominant, not a problem, easily at the driving standard less than 24 hours after the op. Was -6.25 in the left and -5.5 in the right previously with some astigmatism. At the one week checkup all OK, right still better than 20:20, left had improved a bit but apparently still has some astigmatism, this may improve over the next 2 months, but both eyes together are excellent, a huge improvement and a definite WOW factor, having worn glasses since 8 years old. Luckily I had thicker than average corneas and average pupil size. Using the moisturising eye drops every 3 hours or so. Got a bad dose of the flu 4 days after the op. Was concerned that the violent sneezing may dislodge the flap but all OK, apparently violent sneezing within 2 days of the op could cause a problem!!! according to the optometrist. Dr Ayoubi, the surgeon, is very competent and reasssuring, talks you through the procedure. Had mine in the afternoon on time, apparently the morning ops often run rather late so an afternoon appointment is probably preferable as the laser is all set up and calibrated by then. Will post again after the 2 month check up, will hopefully not need a minor adjustment in the left eye, fairly happy with my sight at the moment computer work is fine. Dr Ayoubi did my full consultation and unlike OPtical Express told me that as my aberrations in both eyes were under 0.3 there was no statistical reason that Wavefront would have better results than regular LASIK, saving me £300. + Wavefront ablates more tissue and takes longer. Paid £1400 to Optimax, consultation was free, a special offer. Will pay for itself in 4 years as I forked out for daily disposable contacts before. Optical Express at West quay wanted £2600 and recommended I had wavefront, but their consulation was with an optimetrist, NOT the actual surgeon who performs the op. Would definitely recommend you have the initial measurement consultation with the surgeon who operates on you so you can judge if you trust him or not and discuss all the information with him to make an informed choice about the possible risks/benefits. Most important aspect is your corneal thickness and pupil size and you must have healthy eyes and no cold sores. 36 years of age.

I had epi laser at Birmingham in January. Cost wise I paid £830 for both eyes and nothing for the consultation because I work for the police. Always ask if you can get a discount and quote every organisation you belong to! The actual operation took 20, I repeat twenty minutes from leaving the reception to getting back!! I couldnt believe how easy it was. I experienced a lot of pain for two days but then pretty much nothing since then. I found it excruciatingly boring laying in a dark room listening to the radio for two days but its worth it, dont strain yourself trying to live normally. Go to bed and stay there with your eyes closed! I occasionally had sore eyes and had to take one day off work because, as they explained, sometimes the eyelid sticks to the eye tearing off some cells. Ouch. However it was only for a couple of hours and keep using the eye drops for months afterwards. Now my vision is as good as it was with glasses and it may even get better. I read a lot and use computer screens all day and I have not experienced any problems with bluring or strain. I would recommend taking at least 10-14 days off work after the operation. I took 7 days off and needed more to feel completely comfortable. I cannot stress how much it changes your life! Decent sunglasses, no more tangled clothing and walking into hot/cold areas doesnt leave you fogged up!