Optimax

I attended the Aberdeen clinic today for assessment of suitability for LASIK. Unfortunately it turned out that one cornea is too thin for treatment of my -7 prescription. But everyone I met was most professional and I certainly wasn't advised to take any action I may later regret.

I was treated with PRK Epiflap (LASEK) 12th Nov Tues at Finchley rd. Sight before -3.25 L & -3.00 R. Some friends of mine had LASIK in the spring they got good results so I started investigating LASIK. The initial impression given out is that LASIK is the civilised way to get laser vision correction & that PRK has been put to bed. However the more research I did the less happy I was about going in for LASIK. I had booked my consultation & surgery with another clinic. I did not stop researching, when I found out about LASEK it was a welcome relief. This was not PRK and by all accounts it appeared to be the safest way to get ones sight corrected. I had made enquiries with Optimax because the prices seemed good but I didn't think they offered LASEK so I had almost discounted them. It was only when I had read their brochure that I discovered that PRK Epiflap is indeed them same procedure as LASEK. So now I could have LASEK at rock bottom prices, I cancelled my LASIK appointments. I think it is important to bear in mind that many clinics only offer LASIK so therefore denying their customers the option of a choice of treatments. Please do all the research you can before committing to surgery including ALL the links from this web site. I have come to the opinion that laser eye surgery is so automated I cannot see any benefit in paying over the odds unless the clinic is offering Wavefront technology. Going down the Wavefront route is probably only of an advantage if you have a high prescription anyway. With my low prescription I was more than happy with the bargain price of £795 for BOTH eyes with Optimax. In years to come I'm sure Wavefront will become the industry standard. The Bi-lateral LASEK surgery was quick & painless, My Dr, Dr Islam was friendly & confident. After surgery Vision was Fuzzy rather than out of focus. A bit like opening your eyes underwater. Walked to the car & shut my eyes. For the remainder of this day & the following 2 days any attempt to open my eyes was met with mild stinging & watering eyes, to be comfortable I just kept my eyes shut. There was no pain as such & didn't need the pain killers. If you are having Bi-lateral treatment you will effectively be disabled for 2 days and be totally dependent on others. On the third day woke up felt normal & opened my eyes. WOW! I could see the time on the alarm clock. Kept my eyes open all day & could see the improvement in vision by the hour. By the next day, day 4, I felt I could see well enough to drive (at least in the day light). Vision is still improving I've just had my 1st aftercare appointment I'm +1.00 L & +0.75 R. I'm experiencing mild ghosting in Low light conditions. I've been told that the ghosting will rectify itself over the coming months but I just don't notice it outdoors at all. In in all, on course for a good outcome. Already I feel it is money well spent & would do it again if I had too. I'm also relived that I don't have the Flap to worry about, The LASIK one that is, that never completely heals as the Fibres in the Storma layer of the cornea never re-integrate. LASIK, do not confuse faster recovery with faster healing, that Flap will NEVER completely heal! Good luck with your own surgeries. Happy to answer any questions.

I had my treatment at the Advanced Laser Eye Clinic in Edinburgh, where they have the new Wavefront technology. All the staff are very professional and took the time to answer all my questions, the doctor explained every part of the treatment to me. I cannot believe how having this done has changed my life. I am due for my three month appointment soon but everything is going well.

Had my eyes treated on by Dr Chatterjee at the Edinburgh clinic. The staff were very helpful and talked me through the whole procedure from my consultation to treatment day. Everything went smoothly and I am so happy with the decision I made, now looking forward to no more contact lenses.

Consultation Thursday 28th November, LASEK Laser surgery Friday 29th November . Friday night felt uncomfortable and my eyes watered a lot. Lay on bed with eyes closed, didn't need any painkillers just kept my eyes closed. Saturday 30th eye sight seems as good if not better than when I wore my contact lenses. Its very difficult to believe that I don't have to go and take my lenses out! The Birmingham office were very organised and there was very little hanging around,.

Update from previous posting... had my first check-up on the 2nd Dec. The appointment went ahead early and I had a thorough expert check-up. I now have near perfect distance vision in my treated eye but close vision is worse but is improving. So I now have what they call "monocular vision" - one eye good for distance the other good for close up. Their advise is to wait until my treated eye settles down before making a decision about treating the other. It could be a better bet to not treat my other eye so I should not need reading glasses in the future. The strange feeling of having different focus is slowly going - my brain seems to know which eye to use at different distances! Marvellous to now drive without glasses. Apart from the initial discomfort I am very pleased Optimax advised PRK Epiflap and to treat only one eye - this now gives me options.

Further to my posting below, I went for my 1 week check up and my eyes are L -0.25 and R 0.00. What a result!!!! I arrived early (that's London traffic for you- unpredictable) and they saw me early and answered my list of post-op questions about things like rubbing eyes, eye drops etc, and off I went- until my next check-up in a months' time :)

I had PRK in both eyes 3 weeks ago, still a bit blurry in the right eye-is this normal-will it go? apart from this everything was brilliant and painless, would recommend it to anyone-prescription was -3.50 in both eyes! would appreciate any feed-back on the time scale of healing

Had my LASIK treatment in Glasgow on Saturday 14th December . I think I have been one of the lucky ones, I have had no pain, dryness, itching, scratching etc. My eyes were only -0.5 which is hardly anything but wearing glasses and contacts constantly annoyed me. Staff were very reassuring and everything was done professionally. No problems with timekeeping whatsoever on any of my visits. Highly recommended.

Had PRK Epiflap in Croydon branch on 13th November. Was -2.75 and -2.5. Operation painless, although very disconcerting when the Epiflap is pushed aside! Day 1 felt like I had very bad flu, and very light sensitive. Took pain killers, so pain reduced to irritation more than anything. Also took sleep pills on first night but felt completely zonked next day so didn't take any more. Day 2 just light sensitive, vision pretty good although couldn't really look at anything for more than a few moments. Day 3 much better, able to go outside (with sun glasses), and watch TV. Stopped pain killers. Had bandage contacts out, eyesight excellent. After 1st week had check up, reading near to 20/20. No pain, no blurred vision, no halos or anything. Consultant seemed baffled and explained don't normally see such quick recovery! Had check up again on 31st Dec., can now read bottom row of chart with both eyes (one row better than 20/20). Eyesight as good as was with contacts. I realise this is a very good experience. I would recommend it but remember everyone is different, and recover in different ways.