Optimax

I had an appointment for Saturday 3rd May 2003 in the Finchley branch. I had an emergency on that day and could not make my appointment. I called the call center in order to reschedule and was told I had to pay another £30 booking fee as they require 5 days notice for any rescheduling. I am extremely disappointed as (a) I was never told this in any of the correspondence from Optimax, (b) If notice period required, most places want 24 hours notice, (c) I wasn't canceling completely and wanted to reschedule. This has left a very bad taste as I have been to other eye clinics and had much better customer service. The basic message I got was that they are only interested on the money side and not the patient. I noticed in the Daily Express (Tues 6th May) that they were advertising appointments for free but somehow I doubt I will reschedule. There are other clinics out there that put more value on the customer.

I went to Ultralase for a consultation, the consultant friendly and answered all my Q.'s. HOWEVER, the prescription i got from Ultralase conflicted with the one i had got a week previously from another lasik consultant. I asked to be "tested" again by the other consultant - their prescription was the same as the first time. At my request, lenses were put in the test glassess (whatever they're called) from Ultralases prescription - things were blurry! I can only put this down to the fact that as i have large pupils, Ultralase didn;t put in any dilating drops - the other laser surgeon did - both times. By looking at the comments for Ultralase on this website, i must say, i am in the minority of negatives. I had my treatment done by the other abovementioned surgeon - i now have 20/20 vision, although it is still early days. Anyone with large pupils, - i suggest that you ASK for your pupils to be dilated, even if you are told that they don't need it. Feel free to email me...

Hello Bad news I had both my eyes done back in July and they have been gradually getting worse. They were fine for the first month but then got worse its gotten to the point now where I can not see with my left eye at close range any more. The sad fact is Im not sure they will be able to do anythign about it as I started off on a high prescription. I will unfortunately have to go back to glasses or contacts. Maybe this is rare but be careful

Hello I went to the London branch. My right eye is still fine touch wood but my left eye as I said before can hardly see text or anything up close. My eyes were fine for 3 months and it just started to get worse. My prescription was -7.5 and -7. I will see if I can get an appoinment this week to see what they say. Its quite scarey, the thought of wearing glasses and contacts again fill me with dread ! The headaches are starting to take their toll on me as well.

I had bilateral LASEK Epiflap done on 23 December by Dr. Almasari in Finchley Road, London using 2 for 1 offer (price of one eye, treatment on both). I'm 30 years old and my original prescription was: Right eye: -3.25 with -1.0 astigmatism Left eye: -3.75 with -1.50 astigmatism If you follow this website you've read description of surgery few hundred times already, so I'm not going to get into details. The recovery knocked out few long days out of my life, mostly because I wasn 't given bandage lenses (Xmas period, there was no one to remove it). The so called "discomfort" during first three days everyone is bragging about is a pretty much like someone flushed your eyes with petrol mixed with sand and then lit it afire. You do survive harder things in life, though and the memory of the first days post op fades very quickly. When I finally could open my eyes there were no drum rolls or fireworks, no miracle stories to tell. My sight was actually pretty bad, both far and near, extremely sensitive to light and trying to automatically focus on objects around me felt almost like I was going cross eyed. That continued pretty much for about 10 days until first checkup. During first appointment with optometrist we failed to obtain any decent prescription due to heavy ghosting in my sight, but both eyes were pretty much to close to +-0.50 dioptres although with evident astigmatism. I am now about 9 weeks after my treatment and my sight is: Right eye - 1.25 with -0.25 astigmatism Left eye -1.25 with -1.0 astigmatism As you can see, hardly a success if you undetook the surgery because you expected to never wear glasses again in your entire life. Both eyes also suffer from scar tissue and hazing which is being treated from today with Fluorometholone drops (form of corticosteroid) to help clear up the eye. One thing is already certain: The chance of me having 20/20 vision without second operation is about as low as winning National Lottery. In the best case scenario, if I'm really, really lucky I might end up with 20/40 (driving standard), but since astigmatism is not very likely to vanish on its own it would be very, very ghosty 20/40. I can't really fault anyone at Optimax, they all seemed competent and I felt they knew what they were doing. Can't really say what went wrong but the ironic side of me can't help but repeat "you get what you pay for". Half price and unfortunately half the effect. You have to admit, this is far form perfect score. This story is to be continued, it will be at least 5 months before my eyes can get retreated to correct this unfortunate regression, but let me tell you this: The literature provided by Optimax before the operation contains many reassuring lines, like: "98% of patients achieve unaided driving standard vision after treatment. Moderate treatment levels (above -3 dioptres) achieve 95% success." "avoid driving for about one week" "patients tend to be slightly long sighted immediately after treatment so reading small print is not easy. Do not worry, as this will only last few weeks." My advice is simple - don't fall for PR. It's not that easy and it's almost never as quick as they make you to believe. Do not listen to miracle stories about people with cosmetic -1.5 dioptres waking up on third day with sniper 20/20 in both eyes. Ignore all the stories you've read where people didn't indicate what prescription they had to begin with. Be prepared that your recovery may stop at less than driving standard. And be ready to spend days, weeks and months looking at world more blurry and scary than when you actually had glasses on your nose. There are no guarantees, just chances, and what's more you will sign no guarantee disclaimer yourself in front of the doctor, before your treatment. Expect no wonders. And if recovery is quick and effects are just as you expected it will make your day. If your sight improves to -1.0 dioptre and you still have to wear glasses then at least you were fully aware of such possibility and it won't break your heart.

I would recommend anyone looking at laser companies to seriously take note!! Im one of those, if i want it i'll get it done stright away kinda people, rather than going through the motions which are tedious and drawn out, but after a recent experience with optimax i would defintaely slow down!! Dont go for the cheapest company, even if you have to get a lone from the bank to cover the extra ends then do it. So far ive been to Ultralase and Optimax for consultations, the U was free and the O cost me £60. When going to Ultralase i found the service second to none, the people are normal relaxed human beings not scared to take their time with you and the tests. They'll answer any quetsions in full and they repeated certain tests 3 times to make sure they had accurate recordings of my eyes. They explained the costs, down to the after effects and everything expected of me and what i could expect from them. Everey surgery isn't 100% is what they all tell and once you've decided that the risk is worth it, its all about picking the company and the people that you feel comfortable with. About my consultation with Optimax, i got there bang on 10 o'clock for my appt, and i didn't get seen for the initial corneal measurements etc. until 10.30. I might sound petty for saying that, but if they know how long each test will take and how many people they will be seeing that morning i dont see the problem!! Ultralase the appt was the appt time pretty much. When called into the test room, the staff looked like they were there for the money, rushing and not really giving me that customer care i wanted or expected, having had a consultation elsewhere. Plus they only did the tests once, it felt rushed and they didn't even ask me for any recent prescriptions. That annoyed me considering i had gone to all the hassle of ringing round old opticians to get them. My glasses prescription is older than my current prescription, so it would seem from my glasses that i am better than i actually am if you follow me. Anyways, i went upstairs to have my eyesight checked and to be fair the optomatrist (not sure of spelling) did seem better equipped to answer a couple of questions, my eyesight was checked and he said based on the results so far and the eye charts from downstairs i would be suitable, but the surgeon would explain further. Having gone into the surgeon's room, he seemed quite uninterested, he was paper pushing and walking to and fro from a different office. I mean, if a person walks into your building and puts their care in you hands, you want to feel they'r upbeat and feel more comfortable with them, which i think by now you know wasn't the case. He pointed to a eye diagram and told me what he would be doing, nothing in detail about what to expect in terms of pain and the actual surgery, and when i asked him how suitable my eyes were, it was something like they seem ok!! Obviously by now, im dying to jump in the chair and have it done, i got home and read up the forums on other companies on this site and they seem to offer a lot more, both in terms of customer service, making you feel relaxed about the whole process and value. Looking at the reviews of how companies have scored does help. To be honest i didnt even look at this site until after that consultation and im glad i have, because there was a case where somebody was recommended lasek treatment by Dr Patel, Finchley Road, and told by another company, not at all were they suitable. If you pay extra you haven't been conned for peace of mind. I wouldn't touch Optimax with a barge pole.

www.lasikdisaster.com www.which.co.uk (Which? Online: Laser eye surgery) (Subscription, though you may get free access from your library). I had PRK (not LASIK or LASEK) in my right eye only at Optimax 11 years ago, and have had problems ever since. I’ve only just come across this site, hence me only just posting. I went in with what I think is a fairly common trust that even though you are going to a commercial organisation, that some how, because they are medical trained, that you can trust that they have your best medical interests at heart. How naïve I was! The operation seemed to go OK, and my right eye myopia seemed cured. I was very happy! However, within a couple of months, I started having trouble reading. I was 40 at the time, and had read in the small print (though not counselled by Optimax) that correcting my short-sightedness might bring forward the time when I would need reading glasses, which they said was usually at age 45-50. I was unhappy that it happened immediately after the operation. I now believe that that they could have predicted this, had they wanted to. This was annoying, but I wouldn’t have complained too much if my left (untreated) eye, which had been stable all my adult life, decided to deteriorate. Now my left eye became worse than my right eye had been before the correction. I have seen many eye surgeons since them and they all say ‘Oh, I’ve never heard of that before’, and ‘Once you’ve reached adulthood, your eyesight should (in the absence of illness) remain more or less constant until your mid 50’s or later”. Worse was to come. I started to suffer from acute pain in the eye, which would last for a few hours. Optimax gave me ointments. These episodes (which I now know as Recurrent Corneal Erosion (RCE)), have made my life hell for the last 11 years. The condition has and is deteriorating. In the last seven weeks I’ve had 3 episodes resulting in me being bedridden, in acute pain, for 7 full days, and migraines for a day or two after each episode. And you don’t get any warning. I could be getting married that day, but if I have an episode, that’s it – cancel everything for the next 2 – 3 days. Reading the reviews of people who have successful correction, with no complications, you would think this operation is a no-brainer. Don’t be fooled. What you need to look at are ‘complication rates’. Research suggests that they are 5 – 10%. If you have two eyes done, that 10 –20% chance! And a lot of the complications that they call ‘minor’ are serious enough to mean that the person wishes they had never had the operation - like me. My RCE is considered ‘minor’ because I’m 20/20 in the eye, even though I sometimes feel I would gladly have the eye removed if that’s the only way to stop the RCE. To go back to the matter of trust. Can you imagine what it’s like for these guys? They’ve trained for years, earning a dull but decent crust. People are in awe of their knowledge and think they wonderful. Then someone invents an operation that a good percentage of the population might consider useful to have, but can’t get on the NHS. Suddenly these people have a commercial opportunity worth a mint! Many give up remedial work for commercial work completely. Even worse, some aren’t even trained opthalmologist, or have limited training. This area is NOT regulated by the government. “Currently, any doctor employed by a refractive surgery chain can operate after a laser surgery course of just a few days.” – Which Online: Laser Eye Surgery. If you think I’m exaggerating, you go round as a prospective patient to any of the providers and see how many offer you their ‘complication rates’ without you asking. Actually I bet it’s close to the number that are able to provide it when you ask for it – which I suspect is a nice round number – zero. You have been warned.

I contacted Optimax for info on the implantable contact lenses and was told (by email, no consultation) that LASIK was best for me. I was asked for my phone number which I emailed to them. I received a call at a bad time and asked them to call back. I then rang them back the next day as they had not called me and was told they would ring me straight back. There has now been no contact from them for over a month. They may be fantastic at eye surgery, they may not, who knows, but I am afraid I would not entrust my valuable eyesight to people who fail so miserably on the administration side. Very disappointing.

I have rated this very poor only because the laser eye clinic in Belfast has gone into liquidation. The eye surgery was fine. Unfortunately I require re-treatment due to my eye sight being particularly poor to start with. As the company has gone bust i have no idea where i stand. If anyone has any info please email me. Thanks john

Hi, I also need check-ups and was very suprised to find the clinic gone into liquidation. Also, I am no longer getting a response from the 0870 number they advertise - I did get a call back from someone representing the administrators a couple of weeks ago. It is possible to make a claim against your credit card company (if this is how you paid) by getting a copy of the Letter of Liquidation from Company House and forwarding it with all relevant materials to your credit card company- unfortunately Company House have not received this yet! I was also told by whoever is in charge of the liquidation that a new company would be taking over the service and would honour all outsatnding check-ups and contracts. If anyone know's anything else then please let me know. Cheers. Dax