Laser eye surgery

leftieM

Has anyone braved this in NI and how much did it cost? I'm very tempted although I may have an unrealistic idea of the costs involved.

pc10

Hi

I had my eyes lasered in March at Optimax on Lisburn Road.

I paid almost £1200 for both eyes (lasik) - this is a similar price that can be found on ebay, but as an NHS employee they gave me 'special' discount - although I wasn't ever asked for proof that I was NHS!

I was shortsighted (approx -2 in each eye) and now have 20/20 vision. The only drawback (for want of a better word!) is that due to my age (42) I am starting to find it a bit more difficult to read text up close and will at some point need reading glasses - but I still reckon it was worth every penny I spent and only wish I had done it sooner.

Absolutely no pain - strange sensation though during the actual quick procedure but no pain.

I'd recommend it to anyone.

Hope this helps!

D.A.

I'd suggest you speak to your optician before you even consider it.

I asked Geoff McConville about it, and he said there were only 2 places in N.I. which he would recommend (none of those mentioned above!), since you know the surgeon there is probably still going to be around in 5 years if you need him, whereas the other places (some of those mentioned above ) use surgeons who just travel around the various clinics, so you can never be sure the same surgeon who did your operation will be there to do your aftercare.

He says it's much safer and more reliable than it used to be, but it's still something you need to think about very carefully before going ahead.

But then, he would say that. ;-)

weebro

Sorry maybe i should know this, Who is Geoff McConville?

belfast_child

i dont think your optician is the best person to ask. i find them to be slightly biased towards the negatives as obviously you will no longer be a customer of theirs once you have yer eyes done! i live in norn irn but went to milton keynes to have mine done cos my friend had hers done there and the clinic in belfast was nt doing lasik yet. (this was in 2002)i had all my follow up appoints in belfast and i wouldnt hesitate to recommend lasik. life is brilliant with no glasses, no red dents on my nose and perfect 20/20 vision
.:beer:

sleepymy

Leftie, I looked into this last year. I had the consultation with a supposedly leading clinic here and didn't find they instilled complete confidence in me. I asked them about any possible complications that might be caused my me having ME and the guy just sidestepped it. There were little things about the clinic that may seem petty to some but just looked unprofessional to me. Things like the floor not being swept and not having enough chairs in the waiting room for each patient to bring one friend (which you'd need to do for a first consultation). Considering I was going to be giving these people the guts of 4 grand I would have expected better care with the little things.

I talked to an independent optician who said that the notion that opticians were against it because of loss of trade is a silly one. I see him once every 2yrs and what I spend then doesn't exactly keep him afloat. It's not like everyone would get it done anyhow.

We discussed my ME in detail regarding my sight and he said that with the eye muscle fatigue I would still find my sight lacking after the surgery. He also pointed out that my eye sight (bad as it is) wasn't bad enough to warrant the risk of the surgery (which is greater than the clinics lead you to believe hence they get you to sign a disclaimer to protect themselves). I was appalled to discover that one of his clients who had it done and suffered complications was getting no reasonable support from the clinic.

Don't forget that even with successful surgery you may find that your night vision is effected (the surgery can cause a glare effect). Considering I'm exceptionally light sensitive the surgery would have been a very bad idea for me. I was disgusted that the clinic hadn't done a field test on me and hadn't even factored this in, very sloppy.

I've heard both good and bad about this procedure and think that you need to get a few professional opinions before taking the leap, factoring in every aspect of your general and optical health. And for goodness sake don't get it done without getting a field test first!

nikki_ni

I had mine done in the AllClear clinic on the Lisburn road, it cost alot but I wasn't going to take chances with my sight. Whole thing was over in less than 10mins and didn't have a single problem afterwards.

Jersy

i cant speak from experiance

but i spoke to my optician

and obviously he told me not to do it

however, if i ws going to, there was two places he reccomended, one was called all clear on the lisburn road

and the other was in hillsborough, cant remember what its called

no idea of costs tho

he said that they are more expensive than most, but more reliable

almillar

I had mine done with Optical Express (near Next in Belfast) in January 2003. It involved all the consultations at the branch and the actual procedure in Glasgow - this was before they had the machine installed in Belfast. Had to book flights, hotels myself, but it only cost £1200, and they did it interest free too - this was at the time it would've cost £3,000 in NI.
I had glasses and contact lenses before and hated them, I've never 'looked back' since. I went through far more pain and discomfort the first time I put contacts in than the whole laser procedure.
Highly recommended!
Alan

Lindsay-Lou

I got it done a couple of years back. I came off with 6/6 vision but i'm quite light sensitive and find glare at night quite uncomfortable. I'm really glad I went through it but in retrospect my advice always is think VERY carefully - if your contacts/glasses are only a mild irritation don't bother cause the risks are very real.

And if you decide to go for it, choose somewhere that offers the highest quality of aftercare.

harry4444

Had laser (+ wavefront) at Optimax, Lisburn Road, Belfast in September 2006 and I now need my reading glasses more than before. I also have "dry eyes" which causes pain as though my eyes were glued together when I wake up.
Optimax claims I was advised of this before the procedure---why then would I have paid a lot of money for this outcome? Since I have posted my views on their website they e-mail me frequently stating that I must re-confirm my details with them or else they will remove my opinions from their website.
Please think again before parting with your hard earned cash.:cool: