Optimax

It is still early days - I had my treatment 2 days ago exactly but I am suffering from headaches and a large amount of blur in the left eye which is seeing far worse than the right. I am very concerned but am told that this is acceptable at this stage. Reading is hard for any length of time. Most daily tasks are very difficult and I will not be able to go to work for at least another couple of days. I am able to be with a compute monitor only a short time before it become intolerable. However vision shows marked improvement in right eye - can identify number plate across the road but only with right or both eyes not the left.

I had treatment in August 2008 at Bristol Clinic. The first month was great, but after, my long vision was very blurred, I was told it was dry eye and would go after treatment with drops ect. but now it's no better and I m finding that they can't do anything for me and they really don't want to see me at the clinic. Glasses will not help and it's not cataract. People should be aware of this.

Having considered and reconsidered the pros and cons of laser eye surgery over the last few years I finally decided to take the plunge after checking Optimax's website over the weekend and again seeing that they were offering bilateral LASIK for GBP999. The guy I talked to in the London office made me feel very uneasy. He was very unprofessional and short and I had to prompt him to ask me questions - very worrying. I kept having to ask him 'What details do you need from me?' as there was only silence from the other end of the line. I even had to ask if there was a confirmation number so when I would call back on Monday with my credit card it would be easier to find my bookings! This uneasiness made me browse further on the web. Using a different search engine I came across this website plus one other from a London Hospital offering an unbiased,uncommercial view on LASIK. The following points on LASIK were mentioned which I found very alarming :

** Weakening of the cornea by some 30-40% **
** The flap cut into the cornea NEVER heals as corneal fibres do not re-grow and this flap can be lifted years later **
** Patients are now being seen with bulging corneas, even with those who had low refractive errors beforehand and with the latest equipment having been used. Some of these have needed corneal transplants. **
** 50% of patients have been shown to have lost a significant amount of night vision one year after surgery (Moorfields Hospital study 2001), even in people happy with the result. In Germany, this can legally stop people driving at night and it is possible that this regulation will be adopted in the rest of Europe **
** The eye can become dry and sometimes may need drops EVERY FEW MINUTES (!) for months afterwards. Occasionally the corneal flap can melt, be displaced, or cells may grow under it which need to be removed by lifting and scraping the flap clean. Inflammation under the flap can also be a significant problem **
** A small percentage of patients lose 2 or more lines of their best vision on a test chart **
** Cutting the flap sometimes leads to perforation of the cornea and sometimes to a buttonhole flap **

On reading the above and then finding this website with the comments on Optimax - ok yes - good and bad, I personally at the moment will not take the risks involved with laser eye surgery, and especially not with the LASIK procedure. Tomorrow I'm calling Optimax to cancel my bookings. If I would be convinced at a later date that there are less risks involved I would certainly not have the procedure done via these people. They couldn't even convince me over the phone that they even bothered BEFORE the procedure let alone afterwards. SIGHT IS PRECIOUS and there is too little long-term experience of LASIK. I'm going to wait and SEE and go on holiday instead with the money!

Helpline staff inflexible and seemed impatient with basic questions and reluctant to have the most basic conversation. I wrote directly to Optimax in Bristol in early February for them to advise which eye to have treated first and for me to book an appointment as soon as possible. No response received!
Have now had treatment at Boots.

Back again. Last week I saw Dr Saboor for the first time since i had posted my experience on this page. I also sent a copy to Optimax's head office. I got a letter back from them within 2 days. If only their Glasgow clinic was as efficient. After speaking to Mr Eugene Coyne on the phone on the Monday i got a phone call from the Glasgow clinic saying that Dr Saboor was desperate to see me...funny that it takes a phone call from his Operations Manager in London, after he has spoken to a very very unhappy patient who let rip about the overal service, before he is so keen to see me. The only problem was that i was having to wait over 6 weeks for the bloody appointment. I arrived for the appointment for 3 pm prompt, was taken by one of the girls to measure my eyes etc before dr saboor took me. I had my right eye done and then was told to move so they could do my left. At this point i asked if i should remove my contact that i now have to wear. The girl was all surprised when i asked this and taken aback. Even when i explained why i had to wear one she was still all worried, she then left the room very quickly, leaving me totally bemused. She then came back about 5 minutes later and asked why i was here! I told her, and she said, "Oh right, it is just that we have got you down to have both your eyes treated today."
What a shambles! Do they not even chack their records?! I didnt know whether to laugh or cry. Hardly fills me with confidence. Eventually got to see Dr saboor who had obviously seen my email as he had a bit of a chip on his shoulder. He checked my eyes and basically told me that what i have in my left eye is what i will have for the rest of my life. I asked if this included the ghosting, he said yes. He then said that he had warned me about the halos i could suffer cos of the size of my pupils, did he f@!k. I asked him during the consultation about my pupils and he said they were fine. At this point i am really pissed off and so is he! I disagreed with him and he was not happy, arguing that he had as he tells all his patients with pupils like mine that this is an issue. I argued that he mentioned halos, not ghosting, he said "Halos are ghosting"! Liar! There where other things that he sadi that where just plain lies. Also, one of the points i made to the OPs manager was that it seemed to me that i had been forgotten asbout and brushed under the carpet...and this was confirmed when Dr saboor first spoke to me, asking me when i was treated and what i had had done. I was raging. Thw problem i have is that i want to get my left eye done cos the contact i wear is really annoying at times and i want to get into the police.However, do i go back to the shambles that is optimax Glasgow or go somewhere else to get it done? Dr saboor will do the op in oct or nov, if i want him to. He was really not amused with my email and kept saying he could refer me to one of his colleagues who would do it earlier if i wanted. I dont. That is another thing, he told me that he would do a PRK treatment first to remove the scar on my eye then do another to remove the rest of my short sightedness as he did not want to operate when the scar is still there, although i didnt want this it is a bit un-reassuring when he then tells me that he will now just do a LASIK treatment, cutting under the scar.
To be honest, i would not recommend optimax Glasgow. Twice now i have gone for appointments with them and they have got them wrong, hardly fills you with confidence does it? Feel free to email me.

I had PRK with Optimax in Birmingham in 1999 on one eye but didn't go back for the second since it was so painful for two days afterwards. I was -3.75 pre-op and am now +1.25. I guess that means I got over-lasered! The surgeon didn't inspire me with confidence at the time, and kept on having to restart the laser when my eye moved out of position. I was meant to be looking at a red spot, however I couldn't see if after a while due to blurring. I imagine they use tracking lasers nowadays. I am now considering LASIK for the other eye, but not at Optimax. Optimax are cheap compared to others, so think about it.

I had my first aftercare appointment today. It’s been nearly two weeks since I had Lasek at Finchley Road. I am generally happy with the results so far, although I still have a little difficulty focusing with my left eye sometimes. However, if I realised the customer service was so bad I think I would have held on to my money a little longer before going with Optimax. I arrived for the appointment and was told that the Dr that performed the surgery called in sick, but they would have someone else see me. I was eventually seen around 45mins late. (Can we charge them if they are late for the appointment?!). I was able to read only the third line of the chart, which, to my surprise is good for only 2 weeks post opp. However the Dr. tried ascertain my prescription but couldn't get anywhere. I tried my best to see if the black circle was darker on the red or the green and I couldn't tell the difference, and I couldn't seem to read any lower than the 3rd or 4th line on the chart. Obviously annoyed with this, the doc said she wasn't get anywhere and told me to come back in 6 weeks. I asked if it was normal not be able to gain a prescription – she said ‘no’ without further explanation. I left quite worried and I now have another six weeks before I have any professional advice.

My first post for Optimax, I now see, was a hasty decision. The reason for Optimax going down to 2 stars are as follows: I remember after the initial surgery, mentioning that it felt as though my bandage contact was falling out, but I was told all was fine. The day after I was told 20/20 vision. Great, I was ecstatic. Day after that, in the evenings, one eye seemed “fuzzy”. At first I put this down to ghosting etc. It was only 3 days later when I awoke with the “fuzziness” that I began to worry. I phoned the clinic, they were reassuring – however Dr. Madhu wasn’t in to speak to me, he was operating in Birmingham. So I phoned the contact no. on my aftercare sheet. Dr. Madhu said I could go to Manchester that day if I was overly concerned, or he could see me in Birmingham the next day, or wait ‘til my appt. the day after. Having no form of transport, I had to wait until my appt. Now here is where the 5 stars get knocked out of the window!! Dr. Madhu knew I was extremely anxious about my eye, but I still had to wait 2 hours to be seen. There was one woman who had an appointment for a consultation at 10am and when I left at 12.30 she still hadn’t been seen! Dr. Madhu was insistent that everything was fine with my eyes. Only after getting myself upset and teary, did he use the microscope to have a look. He said that my cornea was slightly creased, and this was causing me the “fuzziness”. I would have to go back and have my cornea lifted again and smoothed back down. He said that this sometimes happens, but it depends on how sensitive your eyes are, whether you notice the difference – (meaning what? – if people have a creased “flap” and they don’t notice it, then it’s ok??) He also said these procedures are better done “sooner than later” – but he wasn’t operating until after the weekend, so I could go in then! (It was Wednesday; I had to go back on Mon.) Better sooner? But better for who? Me who‘s eye needed attention, or for the doctor, who wasn’t operating, so I’d have to wait! Now I’m not knocking the doctor’s talent here at all: I know things can go slightly wrong after surgery, and it happenned to me - one of those things...It's the lack of concern that bothers me. Also - seems to me that the Liverpool clinic don’t get enough people having their eyes done there, so the doctor moves around and does surgery elsewhere (fair enough – none of anyone’s business) but when everyone is “crammed” into one day – with appointments 2 ½ hours before they are seen, and I can see myself, and others getting more anxious, I become worried about their system! (Also the person accompanied me for the appt. was late back for work because of the delay). Day of treatment – appointment at 10.15 am – went in at 11.15am. The surgery was horrible! Now that’s probably because I was very anxious – but I thought it was worse than the laser treatment itself… Doctor once again lacking in bedside manner. I had to keep asking what was being done – only once or twice did he volunteer any information on what was going on. Went to have my bandage contact removed the day after and it had taken residence in my top eyelid. (again - it happens once in a while) Now I know I mustn’t have been the easiest and calmest of patients. But I expected better treatment than this… I’m now wondering if I hadn’t actually insisted that there WAS something wrong with my eye, would I have been left with fuzzy vision? As my boyfriend said – (flippant comment – but true) you don’t expect to get a suite back from professional cleaners with creases in – so why with something as precious as your eyes is it any different!! Also – the waiting time in this particular clinic seems to always be lengthy, and the time spent with the doctor rushed. Yes, get your eyes lasered, it IS worth it. But in my experience, if you go to the Liverpool clinic, take a book to read, and park somewhere with a long stay period. ASK questions, and don’t be afraid to KEEP ON asking them until you are satisfied with the answers. Take up the offer of valium, and get the pain killers in – you may not need them, but i did. Better to be safe than sorry.

BEING A STAFF NURSE WITH AN OPTHALMIC NURSE FOR A MOTHER YOU CAN IMAGINE I SPENT MANY MANY HOURS TRYING TO DECIDE WHICH CLINIC/TYPE OF SURGERY ECETERA TO USE. I WENT FOR AN APPONTMENT AT ULTRALASE IN CHESTER AND WAS IMPRESSED SEEN QUICKLY CLEAR EXPLANATIONS GIVEN. THE OPTOMETRIST WAS GREAT,SHE SAID HOWEVER THAT BECAUSE OF MY HIGH MYOPIA -5.75/-6.00 MY CORNEA WAS NOT THICK ENOUGH FOR LASIK TREATMENT BUT I COULD BE ELIGIBLE FOR LASEK. THIS WAS PERFORMED ONLY IN ULTRALASE'S MANCHESTER CLINIC ON A MONTHLY BASIS. SO OFF I WENT TO OPTIMAX IN LIVERPOOL AS I KNEW SOMEONE WHO HAD HAD LASEK THERE AND RECOVERED VERY WELL

My husband and I have both had our eyes lasered and our experiences are similar. We are both 51 and were told we would need reading glasses. Although it is only 2 weeks since the surgery - neither of us can work properly - he is in engineering and needs to see small print and I work in an office. We cannot get prescription glasses for a period of 3 months. Our surgeon is not at the clinic any longer and the aftercare is not done by the surgeon. We feel if we saw him he could give us more helpful information i.e. has something gone wrong or is this normal? He was on loan from an office in Croydon (We live in Newcastle). The clinic merely say - it will get better. We asked about our middle vision and were told this would be fine. Maybe this will improve - it is early days - shopping is difficult. All of the brochures say you will be off work a day or so and for us this is not so.