Laser Eye Surgery Discussion Thread

Steve888_2

I just want to tell everyone about the terrible experience I have had with Ultralase Manchester, and I didn't even had the surgery! I am still fuming so I thought I'd have a rant on here.

I was originally booked in to have LASEK eye surgery on Saturday 5th June at the Manchester clinic at 4:15pm. On the morning of the surgery, someone from Ultralase called to tell me that the air conditioning at the Manchester clinic had broken down, and that I had to go to Liverpool instead. I was a bit annoyed by this, but went along with it expecting it to be "one of those things that happen." Since I was travelling by train, my girlfriend and I had to organise new train tickets to go to Liverpool rather than Manchester. Although by car, the distance is similar between Liverpool and Manchester, the train tickets cost twice as much and takes twice as long from where I am.

When I got to the Liverpool clinic, I was told there would be a delay due to the sheer numbers at the clinic that day. I waited for about 2 hours before I was finally let in to see the surgeon....only to be told I couldn't be treated that day! Apparently, the reason for that is because they were going to treat my eyes with Mitomycin C, and the Liverpool clinic was not registered to do that! This is something they should have known before they invited me to Liverpool. They organised a taxi home for me and offered a small cash payment for me wasting a whole day. The surgery was then rescheduled for Wednesday 9th June.

On Tuesday night, I got a call at 10pm in the evening from Ultralase telling me that he had some bad news for me. This time, the laser at the Manchester clinic had broken and they were waiting for parts, and treatment couldn't be done. I was fuming at this point as I had to re-arrange all my holiday leave with work, only to be told it was cancelled. My girlfriend had to do the same with her workplace also to make sure she could accompany me to the check-ups etc. We had already "wasted" a day off due to the cancelled operation.

After the call, I immediately made arrangements to go back to work to make up for lost time, only to get another call from Ultralase half an hour later (after 10pm) to say that they can treat me.....at the Liverpool clinic! The clinic manager told meshe had to get some "emergency protocol" in place to get me treated in Liverpool!!!

Today was meant to be the date of my operation. I got a call from the manager today and they told me there was nothing they could have done differently to prevent this from happening. For a start, they should have known that they couldn't have treated me in Liverpool originally if they had actually looked at my file! The treatment would have cost me just under £4200 and for that amount of money, I do not expect experience any problems as a customer. I was told that the surgeon had to fly back to India, aircon broken, laser broken, not knowing I had to use Mitomycin C etc etc! The only compensation I got is a £150 cheque for messing up my schedule for a week or so!

The whole experience has put me off having laser eye surgery done. I was psyching myself up to get the treatment done for weeks only to get it turned down or delayed for a variety of reasons.

I know other people have had positive experiences with Ultralase, but mine has been an absolute nightmare! :mad: :mad:

cattkitt

Don't bother with them. I had mine done with Mr Julian Stevens, who is one of the top guys in the country, and who does people in the Armed Forces and actually does corneal transplants, so is not just some jumped up technician. On top of that, he was about 20% cheaper than the price you quoted there. The price difference ought to cover a trip to London? Terribly efficient team. Look up "Julian Stevens" on the internet.

If Ultralase can't even get their act together on simple logistics like reading a file and arranging for air conditioning, do you really want them cutting into your eyes?

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

I wouldn't want people who couldn't organise this anywhere near my corneas with lasers either.

Steve888_2

Thanks cattkitt, I will look him up. I originally picked Ultralase due to their location in Manchester and it was only 30 minutes on the train from where I live. However, like you said, that 20% would definitely cover a trip to London and any other return checkups.

Come to think of it, its scary thinking I was putting my eyes in the hand of a surgeon who hadn't even looked at my file until I got called in to see him. It's shocking how you can actually run a business like that. Surely you would have processes in place for any unforeseen circumstances, such as equipment failing.

C_Mababejive

With something as critical as this,the last thing you want is rushing around on both sides i.e you and them and also the raised levels of anxiety.

Back off for a few weeks,chill out,relax and get yourself in the right frame of mind to approach a better organised clinic.

Remember,you only want to do this once and you want it to be right first time. Cost is secondary. Get the BEST person for the job.

cattkitt

Good luck with your research, Steve.

Beardedlaydee

I had laser eye surgery on Thursday at Optimax and found the whole experience to be excellent. Apart from the waiting around before the procedure it all went very smoothly.
I was very nervous about the whole thing but really needn't have been, I have hardly had any pain at all.
I used a recommend a friend voucher and got a £500 discount on my treatment. They also do interest free credit for up to 4 years and if you pay over 2 years then they don't even do a credit check.
I now have some recommend a friend vouchers myself to give out. If anyone wants one then drop me a message. You get £500 off and I get a £50 referral commission so everyones a winner!

cattkitt

Well, it's about a month after the procedure, and it's really odd. I've been suffering from dry eyes for nearly two decades, and was expecting it to be worse after the procedure, but it's not! I'm using the Clinitas eye drops I was given, maybe 2-3 times a day, but it's a whole lot less than when I was using the dry eye stuff from my GP. Whether all those antibiotics and inflammatories did the trick or these eye drops are just magical, I don't know, but it's great. Lol.

simon_young

Thats great cattkitt - sounds like you are healing really well after your treatment - is your vision still good?

cattkitt

Hello Simon,

My distance vision is excellent. For close work, it's improving, but not there yet. It's become progressively more comfortable to read books for longer periods (just did about 30 minutes) and I'm conscious that I can't quite make out the individual hairs on my eyebrows or tiny facial blemishes as easily as I used to, although it could be said that that's a bonus.