Well the girl is looking at getting laser eye surgery and not knowing anything about it I'm a little worried (mostly about the surgery bit!) Has anyone got any experiences of it good or bad.....should I be concerned or will it be good for her? Its certainly going to be cheaper in the long run at £25/month for contact lenses and £100 a year in glasses! - shes a PE teacher so they tend to get broken or sat on etc etc.....Cheers...Oli.

my friend does it for a living, i've never heard him tell any horror stories so i suppose thats a good thing, also both my parents have had it done

and they can still see

guess thats a good start! anybody else got experiences of it?? I'd love to hear any of the side effects...if there are any! Cheers Oli.

My mum's just had it done - she thinks it's great and has changed her general way of life a hell of a lot (not having to seek glasses to read something, and having to take them off to see a distance etc.)

My wife looked into it and found out about something newer that involves putting contact lenses in at night and then taking them out for the daytime - every night at first and then reducing right down to one night a month (a bit like a lot of things ionce you're married!). It's a little pricier, and not as wide spread due to the fact that everyones just invested in the laser kit, so simply won't market anything newer until the lifespan of laser surgery kit is over. She says it's called Orthokerotology.

[Edited on 19/9/06 by StevieB]

I had it done abou 4 years ago. Its great. Feel a bit anxious but its over in ten minutes so no probs. Go with her. Me and my missus di at same time (not same day!). I always recommend to anyone.

Tim

My boss has laser eye surgery for 10 years or more... all with no/little side effects. It has reduced his periferal vision however.

Steve

My son had it done around 6 years ago, i was more nervous then he was, on the way home he could read number plates, something he could never do before without glass's.
Needs a lot of aftercare but that's just plenty of eye drops too stop them drying up.
If you ask him he will tell you the best thing he ever did.

Tiny risk of anything going really badly wrong at a legitimate place.

But if it does go wrong you have to live with the results.

The BBC have an independent guide including the risks here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/medical_notes/4649079.stm

quote:

---

Originally posted by iank
Tiny risk of anything going really badly wrong at a legitimate place.

But if it does go wrong you have to live with the results.

The BBC have an independent guide including the risks here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/medical_notes/4649079.stm

---

I know a few people that have had it done. They all reckon its the best think theyv done and recommended that i had it done. They had no side effects or anything. 10 mins per eye and your done. Dont they do free consultations? Might be worth chat with them.

Im tempted but dont have the money at the min.. Itd save me a fortune in perscription sun glasses. I can buy 5 quid ones rather than 100..


[Edited on 19/9/06 by Danozeman]

I could personaly never have it done as u have to be awake in the Opp, a friend of mine had it done. shes had no problems but its rare that they achive as good a result as glasses, you never get perfect vision from it...... And luckily got my my eyes havent got any worse since i first started wearing glasses. so i keep glasses as long as they last. although thats virtualy unheard of....

So to sum up, its a good concept and if you can stand the opp its a good option, but you will probaly not have as good a vision as you did with glasses....


John

I had Wavefront Ultralasek done 5 weeks ago tomorrow. My prescription was -4.25 (l) and -3.25(r)

I was absolutely petrified before the operation but it was over so quickly, each eye took about 3 minutes. You feel no pain whatsover, all you hear is the crackle from the laser and you smell something like burning hair.

I could see well enough to walk about but my close vision was quite poor for about 2-3 days. My right eye improved most originally but now it's hovering at -0.75 but is still improving, my left eye is now at 20/20

It's the silly things you notice most, being able to see in the shower, waking up and not having to find your glasses.

I'd highly recommend Ultralase to anyone considering it. If you want more information then please ask.

My other half had it done last year by the top eye surgeon in the UK, who works in Moorfields London and lectures all over the world on this very subject. The patient before her was Roger Moore.
My only advice to you after talking to this guy is.
Don,t go to one of the high street clinics.
The Eye specialists call them the "Burn and Learn Brigade".
Go to a proper eye hospital with proper eye surgeons. preferably Moorfields in London.
On the three occasions we were there people were coming in from literally all over the world because they wanted the best possible care.
If anything goes wrong you are then in the right place to have it sorted.
As has been stated after care is everything and it will take from 6 months to a year before your eyes completely stabilise.
The Wavefront system is the treatment to go for. as this directly measures the abberations in the lens and directly controls the laser from the pattern generated.
Other, cheaper treatments (that the burn and learn boys wrongly say are as good) are approximations and use cheaper less sofisticated equipment.
Do some research and don't go for cheapness.
You only get one pair of eyes.
Don't gambol with them.

I had it done by Ultralase 3 1/2 years ago, no problems at all.
It's not a painful experience either, just a little uncomfortable when they put they cut the
cornea. They do stress the importance of the after care but that's only
for a couple of weeks. Had a slight starburst effect for a month but perfect now.

As others have mentioned, one of the best things I've done.

Nige

my wife had it done about 4 years ago at boots. i dont think they do it any more. she says best thing she ever did and only complaint since is that it has slightly deminished her night time/glare vision for example in wet , dark motorway type situation.

be prepared though for first thing she will prob will want is set of designer shades

quote:

---

Originally posted by BKLOCO
My other half had it done last year by the top eye surgeon in the UK, who works in Moorfields London and lectures all over the world on this very subject. The patient before her was Roger Moore.
My only advice to you after talking to this guy is.
Don,t go to one of the high street clinics.
The Eye specialists call them the "Burn and Learn Brigade".
Go to a proper eye hospital with proper eye surgeons. preferably Moorfields in London.
On the three occasions we were there people were coming in from literally all over the world because they wanted the best possible care.
If anything goes wrong you are then in the right place to have it sorted.
As has been stated after care is everything and it will take from 6 months to a year before your eyes completely stabilise.
The Wavefront system is the treatment to go for. as this directly measures the abberations in the lens and directly controls the laser from the pattern generated.
Other, cheaper treatments (that the burn and learn boys wrongly say are as good) are approximations and use cheaper less sofisticated equipment.
Do some research and don't go for cheapness.
You only get one pair of eyes.
Don't gambol with them.

---

I agree with BKLOCO about having it done at an eye hospital. They have much more sophisticated facilities.

Also the results depend on how bad the eyes are to start with.

At most of the 'Burn and Learn' places they will only do uptoa limited prescription.

I know that when I enquired (admittedly a few years ago now) they could not treat my eyes at -6.5R and -9.5L, however just looking on the Moorefield site and they now can.

Moorefeild Hospital

HTH

Nishka

I remember reading an article earlier this year about a 'radio wave' alternative to laser treatment. It involves aiming high frequency radio at the eye to achieve the same result. IIRC there was no invasive surgery involved so the aftercare was minimal.

Personally I would love to have it done as I wear varifocals and working on the car is a real pain close up. I applied for the op some years back (out of interest) but I was told that my eyes were not suitable so maybe it is not for everyone.

Looks like I,m the only negative one on this, thankfully it was not me who suffered!

I know a chap who had it done 5 years ago, in the first few days he was very pleased then it started to go wrong, he is now effectively blind... just sees smudges.

The surgery was fine but they provided drugs to control the swelling of the eye post op and bolloxed this. In essence the pupils are now damaged as the drug concentration was mucked up, instead of controlling the swelling it promoted it.

He started NHS in Chatham, ended up in Moorfields !

Personally I would play it safe and not have both done together. That said by all accounts it can make a significant change to your life.


Regards Mark

A workmate had it done last year. Found it very painful for about 18 hrs afterwards. Ended up with one eye with 20/20 vision, and the other not good. Had double vision, and waited 6 months for the eye to settle down. Had the eye re-done, and is a lot better now. It can't be undone, and I would echo the Moorefields idea. Treated my Dads eye cancer. Top people.

quote:

---

Originally posted by Nishka
I agree with BKLOCO about having it done at an eye hospital. They have much more sophisticated facilities.

Also the results depend on how bad the eyes are to start with.

At most of the 'Burn and Learn' places they will only do uptoa limited prescription.

I know that when I enquired (admittedly a few years ago now) they could not treat my eyes at -6.5R and -9.5L, however just looking on the Moorefield site and they now can.

Moorefeild Hospital

HTH

Nishka

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Hellfire
My boss has laser eye surgery for 10 years or more... all with no/little side effects. It has reduced his periferal vision however.

---

Someone suggested never as good as glasses. What utter rubbish! Mine are better, so are my wife's, and all the other people I talk to!

see ya
Tim

ps Just do it

Hi,
I had LASEK eye surgery done 3 years ago, both eyes at the same time. Absolutly no regrets at all.
My eyes were a little sore for about 12 hours after but the effects were immediate, before I couldn't read a number plate without glasses now I can read news paper at 18" distance. I still need reading glasses for fine print or for close work but that is down to age related vision problems (50+) which would require lens replacement which at £4000+ per eye I'll live with that.
good luck and best wishes
John

Cheers for the responses. It was optical express that she was interested in and probably the wavefront lasek as she is a PE teacher and we've been told that lasek has less chance of being damaged if you hit or punched (ie. a ball in the face) where as lasik can result i nthe flap and scar opening up again....Will have a look at moorefield as it sounds like lots of people have ended up there which wouldn't have needed to if they'd gone there in the first place! Cheers Oli.

JackNCO

yes they are bad but hey such is life and of course no offence taken.

02GF74

It may have only become popular on the high street in the last 10 years but it has been around in its modern forn for 40 years or more.

It was origianlly pioneered in Russia, where they practiced 'Radial Keratotomy' (making radiak cuts to reshape the eye muscle) and then they didn't use Lasers they used fine knives.

Nice avatar BTW brings back a lot of memories!

OLIWB

Moorfields is not the same as Vision Express, not the least because Morrefields charge £1700 per eye as apposed to Vision Express's £400.

Then again you pays your money ..... etc

Cheers

Nishka

Not quite in the same league, but I once made a couple of visits to the opticians' school at Moorfields, in the role of 'guinea-pig'. Had my eyes tested by a 3rd-year student, then again by the lecturer. Next visit, a moorfields technician made sure that my chosen frames fitted and that the prescription was correct.

The glasses were at cost only (i.e. no profit) and were the best prescription I have ever had in nearly 40 years of glasses wearing.

They really do know what they're doing there!

David