Optimax

I've just undergone bilateral treatment via lasik with Optimax at the Leeds branch. I was -8 in both eyes and my main worry was that i would still have to wear glasses after treatment but now 3 days after my operation i'm -0.25 and -0.75. I am so impressed i can not recommend the treatment enough! Although the operation was one that i never wish to experience again it was well worth it and it really was pain free. The only slight discomfort i experienced was dry eyes when trying to sleep. If anyone is reading this (like i was a few weeks ago) wondering if it's the right thing to do then my advice would be to go for it, it's definitely worth it!

I had Lasik surgery last week @ the Birmingham clinic with Dr Madhusudhan and am very happy with the results! After a bad, off-putting hard sell consultation at Optical express the professionalism & opportunity to meet the surgeon before the day of operation was a breath of fresh air. Although a guy of little words the Dr obviously knew what he was talking about and seemed very honest. He encouraged me not to waste my money on adding Wavefront as it wouldn't help my particular prescription (he also showed me how & why on the wavefront mapping scans that are taken as part of the course). Operation day was nerve racking, and if I'm honest the actual surgery was quite an unpleasant experience (although painless). However can't fault the clinic. The day of the surgery & day after is uncomfortable but this gets better by the end of he second day. I was expecting to be bright & bouncy by the second, but realistically even with Lasik surgery it takes a week for things to settle (or at least it did for me). You can't get any water in your eyes, and therefore have to be careful in the shower and have to have someone else wash your hair. You can't cook or do any housework for at least the first 3 days. And you have to sleep with very attractive eye patches! However any unpleasantness has already paled into the dim distant past, as 8 days on i have 20:20 vision and am exploring a world through new eyes! Not to be taken as lightly as some of these companies would like you to... but definitely worth it in the end! By all means get in touch if you'd like more info ;o)

I had my treatment done in August, at Optimax in Newcastle with Dr Esselaar, he was so lovely and explained everything as he went along, from start to finish. He totally put me at ease. The difference it has made has been amazing, especially on holiday when I could wear ordinary sunglasses instead of having to take different prescription specs with me. My only regret is not having it done years ago. still have to wear glasses for reading, but even this has improved, as I can read some texts up close without them. I would definately recommend it to anyone. Only downside, a cup of tea would have been appreciated.

I had Lasik with Wavefront & Femtosecond on 09/11/06 and I am very happy so far. As said Dr Madu... doesnt say too much, but is very professional, and answers any questions. The operation went fine, no pain at all - quite enjoyed the excitement really. That evening was quite uncomfortable, once the anaesthetic wore off, but by the next morning there was no discomfort. My vision was still a bit hazy, but that got better through the day. My check up the day after the op went well, and I had 20:20 vision. My prescription before was -7.25 & -5.75. Less than 48hrs after the op I was back at work, with no problems at all. Even the day after the op I had no probs cooking or anything - although TV was unfortunately uncomfortable still, so as advised I had to refrain! My only critism was the waiting times, I was early for each appointment, but was kept waiting a long time, 2 hrs on the day of the op. I would have no hesitation in recommending a consultation with Optimax.

It's now 18 months since I received corrective eye surgery, and can honestly say that it is one of the most gratifying things I have ever done. From the first consultancy to the completion of the work I was looked after extremely professionally and was made to feel at ease throughout. My eyesight is absolutely superb and is better than 2020. I can't praise the staff at Optimax in Croydon highly enough. Paul Childs, Rainham Kent

Epi-lasek at Bristol on 22nd November, procedure was painless much easier than expected.(Prescription was -2.75 + astigmatism in both eyes) Had fairly severe pain from the bandage lenses and was glad to have them removed on the 25th. Nearly touched the ceiling with pain when I awoke in that night, as my right eye had stuck to my eyelid. Should have been offered eye gel to prevent this. Just visited clinic for first check up and am slightly long sighted with astigmatism but told this is normal and can take upto three months for best vision. Slower recovery than expected but no regrets.

I had fetmo lasik at the Bristol clinic yesterday with Dr Materton Apart from a few minor problems I am now over the moon! The staff at Bristol were very courteous but some of them seemed to be very new. I suppose everyone has to start somewhere! I was booked in after the normal consultation in the morning for 2.30pm for bi-lateral treatment. Dr Materton is spot on and I would recommend him to anybody. He even saved me money by not recommending that I had wavefront done! I eventually got in the treatment room at 4.05 pm. The clinic had been struck down with a computer problem and the printer cartridge ran out and so they couldn't print any lables! My prescription was -3.75 and -3.75 with some sort of minor astigmatism. Everyone else seems to have explained the unpleasant and uncormfortable procedure (with no pain I admit) so I wont and if you type 'lasik' or 'fetmosecond lasik" into google video you will see what happens!. For 3 hours after the main event I couldn't really open my eyes and couldn't even bear any sort of light. Luckily I had my brother to drive me home (1 hrs drive)with my shades on in the dark. I got home with my shades on and spent the next 2 and a bit hours pacing around in the dark taking the odd peak out the window to see if I could see anything. At about 8pm I was able to watch telly and by 9pm I could watch the telly with all the lights on and the brightness turned up! I know they don't recommend this but I didn't have a problem. I wass even able to check my e-mails. I made made the odd few phone calls to relatives ( I live on my own to reassure them I was not blind!) Stuck the drops in as prescribed stuck the old eye pads on (hilarious but essential) and went to bed. At 6am I woke and the world took on a new perspective - I knew I had made the right decision. I could see almost perfectly and was well chuffed. I had to go back to Bristol at mid-day today (19 hours after treatment)and have the first follow up. Apart from a bit of bloodshotting and inflamation I am fine, and it will evidently get better. I could read the bottom line of the chart with my left eye and the 2nd from bottom with my right. If anyone wants to e-mail me ref. Bristol clinic I will be happy to go throgh my experience in more detail with them. It is now 27hrs after op and I am going to the pub for a well earned drink (LUCKILY PUB IS NO-SMOKING) but even though I smoke I know it won't be. In my honest opinion if you are thinking about having laser tratment go for fetmo lasik if you can afford it (if you can't get a bank loan as you only have one set of eyes!). You will not regret it - unless you have a problem (mostly all problems can be rectified in some way or another). If you do want it as I have said speak with Dr Materton and he will put the facts to you in a courteous and diplomatic way. If I had to have it done again I would even though I now know how mildly unconfortable it was(again no pain whatsoever). Please don't think I have been a bit "blazei" with this - I did a hell of a lot of research (which is why you are on here?) before I decided I was going to have this done. But now it is done I feel a great relief and look forward to a focused (un-aided) future Cheers, John

I had Epi-Lasek with Wavefront at the Finchley Rd clinic with Dr Patel on 1st Dec 2006. I was expecting to have Lasik so I was surprised and pleased when the dr recommended the cheaper one for me. The treatment was almost painless, but uncomfortable. It took me a little over half an hour to get home, by which time the anaesthetic was wearing off and I was in some degree of pain in my left eye. An hour later I was in agony. My left eye swelled up, was bright red, weeping constantly, and was so painful I had to sit in the dark with every light in the house off, no TV, blackout curtains drawn, AND sunglasses on, and it was still too bright. I had to take the sleeping tablet they gave me on saturday night just to drop off to sleep. On sunday I was no better at all and so phoned the helpline. They said I couldnt bring my appointment forward as there were no spaces and didn't count pain as an emergency as Epi-Lasek did carry some amount of pain for some people. All they could do for me was to bring the appt forward from 5pm to 11am on the tuesday. I spent the rest of the time in so much pain, I have never cried so much in my life. I couldnt do anything and lived in the dark, listening to talk radio :o( I had to use the anaesthetic drops to relieve some of the pain I was in, but it wouldnt go away. On Tuesday I got all the way to the Finchley Road clinic (I was having the bandage contact lenses removed) only to be told that the dr was off sick and they would have to reschedule my appt. Bearing in mind that I looked such a state and was still in agony, I just couldnt believe what they were saying!!! My boyfriend was just about to kick off, luckily the other receptionist saw my eye and asked one of the other dr's to take a look. I was very relieved!!! The dr asked how I felt and I told him that it was the most painful thing I had ever gone through in my life. I explained that my right eye appeared to be fine and wasnt painful at all, but told him of the problems and pain with the left eye. He took a look at my eye through the microscope thing and said I had a bit of infiltrate on my left eye. He put an anaesthetic drop into each eye and slowly slid the bandage lens off. Immediately when he had done this I felt such a sense of relief, and the pain disappeared right away! He inspected the lens and told me that there had been a particle of dirt trapped between my eye and the lens and every single time I had blinked over the last 4 days it had been cutting into my eye. No wonder it hurt so damn much!!!!! I then had the eye test and was absolutely gutted. My left eye was still short sighted. I cried all the way home I was so disappointed with the whole thing. I was really angry that what was supposed to be a sterile environment had somehow done this to my eye. How had the dirt got underneath the lens? I can only assume it was done during the surgery. Anyway, it took a few days for the runny eye to stop, meanwhile I was still taking the drops exactly as instructed, and any time I went out I wore my sunglasses. I wasn’t going to take any chances! It took three weeks, but overnight (quite literally) my left eye healed itself and when I went back to the clinic the dr confirmed that I have 20/20 vision. I still have to wear my sunglasses whenever I go out, even when its not sunny (which is a bit embarrassing but I can handle that!!!), and I have another check up on 3rd feb to see if the haze has gone. My overview of my treatment and results: I was disappointed that I had so much trouble at the start, but like with childbirth, you soon forget about the pain and concentrate on the end result. And now my eyesight is restored to “normal” I am extremely happy that I had it done. I am pleased with Optimax, and just have to put my experience down as bad luck. Their aftercare has been excellent. It is the most liberating thing to now be able to see, and is quite hard to get used to, but I get realisations on a daily basis of what I can now do that I couldn’t do before without glasses!!! I would definitely recommend having it done.

I had bi-lateral epi-lasek treatment at Birmingham Optimax in March 2006. I was about -1.75 in each eye with a bad astigmatism. I was seen and treated by Andre Obersholster. Andre was helpful and honest during the consultation, agreeing that he was able to achieve 20/20 vision with epi-lasek rather than lasik. Treatment wasn’t as bad as expected, except he didn’t put enough anaesthetic in the first eye so I felt them scraping off the surface. The second eye was fine because I’d piped up and asked for more as it hurt. An unpleasant operation, but it was only 15 minutes start to finish. Very satisfying to smell your eyes burning. It felt like getting good value for money… The three day recovery time was agonising. I was in constant, searing pain for two days, and fair to reasonable discomfort for the third. Having the bandage lenses was one of the best experiences in my adult life. The relief was unbelievable. My vision took about two weeks to come back to a reasonable standard. Using a PC was fine, but I recommend taking breaks every 30 minutes or so. I was driving four days after the operation. At my after care appointments I was told that my vision was slowly getting better. At about eight weeks after treatment, I started to feel my eyesight deteriorate. This gradually got worse until, by six months, Optimax had agreed that I had regressed to a worse standard of sight than before. I wasn’t so happy about the whole thing, but I had to wait a further four weeks for another consultation. The optometrist who saw me the second time round casually steered me away from Dr Oberholster toward Dr Madhusudhan. I kept asking why, but they were fairly evasive. This time my consultation lasted the best part of three hours and I was seen by two optometrists and by Dr Madhusudhan. It was decided that I would have been better off all along with lasik, rather than epi-lasek. I was understandably annoyed that I wasn’t told that in the first place, but carried on regardless. My main gripe was being asked to pay extra for the re-treatment. After a decent sized row with the staff at Birmingham, they agreed that I shouldn’t have to pay extra for treatment that I didn’t even want. I was never keen of the flap idea and the eye being weakened. Lasik surgery was a tad more unpleasant then epi-lasek. But still over in fifteen minutes. I watched Dr Madhusudhan place the flap back down three times on one eye, so he could get it to seal perfectly. Surreal. The pain that night was 75% of the pain on epi-lasek. People who have no pain with lasik are lucky, as mine was fairly bad. I slept well. The next morning I had no pain. Just a little discomfort as Dr Madhusudhan had used bandage lenses. When I had them out the day after treatment, I was nearly 20/20. Three months after the lasik, I have finally been discharged. With a confirmed bi-lateral 20/20. As everyone says in this forum – it is truly life changing to have the surgery. Despite the re-treatment, I’d recommend it to anyone. I have recommended three people to Optimax using their referral process. Be wary that you have to really chase them for the £25. Months for one of my referrals………. Staff at Birmingham are polite and efficient. The manager never did ring me back to finally agree to re-treat me for free. Instead, choosing to make me wait for the day o f my treatment to let me find out the good news. I never had a straight answer to my question – “Did Dr Obersholster mess up my treatment?” I did have plenty of inferences and hints to confirm that, though. Don’t pay more than £895. Just ring them and tell them that you saw it on eBay. Enter into the process with an open mind, and be mindful that it can be a surgical process as opposed to a one hit wonder.

I had Lasik performed on Friday 26th January at the Optimax Southampton clinic. I have been short sighted for 15 years and now wore contact lenses all the time. My prescription was right eye was -6.50 with an astigmatism of -0.25 and my left -6.25. It wasnt until six months ago when i washed my contact lenses down the sink that i realised how blind i was and something needed to be done! I purchased my treatment via E-bay for £1185 for both eyes using the Lasik procedure. Needless to say i was a bundle of nerves for a week prior to the operation and having my doubts. Yes, there are many complications that can happen but they have to tell you this to cover themselves. One thing that suprised me is that the receptionists are optical assistants as well as surgical assistants. One minute you see them answering the phone at the reception the next minute they are in full scrubs going into the treatment room. If i based my experience of my pre op tests which were a struggle for the receptionist to actually competently use the equipment and had the ask for assistance twice i would have walked, but thankfully the surgeon Dr Ayoubi was marvellous. He talked me through the procedure clearly and after having my consultation with him i was reassured and calm. The operation was arranged that afternoon with both eyes being treated. One incident again with the receptionists is that despite informing her that the price was £1185 and the £60 consultation fee was to be deducted as it clearly states in their E-bay advert, i informed her that i would be paying £1125. I was then given the chip and pin machine which had no value showing on the screen, i said that i cant see the amount, i was abruptly told that i would get a receipt after i had entered my pin. Suprise, suprise she had charged me £1185! She did not listen to what i had told her and said she needed to e-mail head office to get a £60 refund which would take about two weeks! This is really what i needed just before surgery. I was called into the treatment room and asked to put on a white cap. Then i mentioned to the surgical assistant (aka a receptionist) that i was nervous and was coldly ignored and led into the treatment chair. Thankfully the welcoming calming Dr Ayoubi was there and i felt at ease. The clamp was not uncomfortable, the worst part is the suction ring. It is pressed down on you eyeball and feels like they are trying to push your eyeball into the back of your head! Tip - clentch your fist with the pressure it does actually help! Then it goes black, you have to remember that your other eye is taped down so you are in darkness. At this point i freaked out and asked if someone could hold my hand, Dr Ayoubi asked the "receptionist" to hold my hand to which she replied "i cant get to you" in a abrupt tone. Dr Ayoubi asked if i was ok to proceed which i was as i could hear his voice. Then the flap was cut, which you still cant see at this point and is not at all worrying! Then it all comes clear and you see a fuzzy red light above you. The laser was applied and yes you do smell that burning smell. It was strong but i had read on this site to breathe through your mouth. I did this but to be honest i could still smell it! Then it was time to do it all over again! I then had plastic shields taped over my face and lead through the waiting room in front of the next patients! I must state that there has been NO PAIN. I havent even had a paracetamol or glass or wine during the recovery! I went back the following morning to find i have driving standard vision 18 hours later and should achieve 20/20 within the next few days. I cannot praise Dr Ayoubi enough and if Southampton was not my local clinic i would have travelled to receive treatment by him. He is a credit to Optimax.