Great Laser Eye Surgery Hunt

bandraoi

Northern Ireland or the Republic?

The Med 1 form is a Republic of Ireland tax form - higher rate tax payers can offset medical expenses against their income before tax. The medical expenses can be your own or a relatives, so long as you pay for them, and the treatment can take place in the UK, or anywhere I think.

People in the North/UK with higher rate tax paying relatives in the Republic may simply get them to fill in the form against the relatives tax.

(:D Thank you mammy and daddy!)

agmz4

I had laser treatment to one eye some 6 or seven years ago. At that time I did a great deal of research only to find there are many different pieces of apparatus/machines and methods which are used. Please do not go by price alone but do your own research. I cannot recommend the place I went to, although excellent, as they no longer are in business. I only used the internet but found a wealth of information, particularly on American sites offering the service.

Once I had found out what was considered the best machine I researched all the offers and asked what they used. My next hurdle was that I had to be seen by a qualified opthalmic surgeon who would then do the operation and see me for checkups. I did not consider any clinic which charged for the premininary eye examination. I did not consider anyone which did not provide free aftercare.

I hope this is helpful.

agmz4

tiggertock

I turned 21 last September and decided that my present to me, having worn glasses from the age of 7, would be laser eye surgery, especially 21 is pretty much the youngest age they can do it! I spent months researching it and decided upon Lasik as I'm a wuss. I looked everywhere for the cheapest prices and found Optimax's MD; Russell Ambrose selling otherwise wasted appointments on eBay. Total price I paid was £1,390 for Lasik.

My parents and boyfriend were a little concerned about me buying it on eBay (and everyone I've told since has found it hilarious or doesn't believe me!), but having clicked "Buy it now" and called up to arrange an appointment, there was no problem and from there on I was treated as (I imagine) a regular customer!

The consultation was good. My surgeon, Dr. Ayoubi (sp?) at the Southampton Optimax Clinic was very professional and answered all my questions (and there were a lot of them!). He said he had done 300 eyes (150 pairs!) in the last week alone and all had gone without a hitch.

The surgery itself was over in about 20 minutes and that majority of that was preparatory. All of Optimax's clinics use machines which track your eyeball movement during the surgery, so there's no chance of you wriggling and it missing! The surgery went with no problems last October (2006), the local anaesthetic was wearing off before we left the clinic, so that was reapplied which lasted most the morning. The afternoon was quite painful, the only way to reduce it was to close my eyes so I spent the afternoon trying to sleep in darkened room. By the evening I could open my eyes, and was bored of not doing anything, so was actually watching TV with no glasses/contacts and could see almost perfectly!!

Oh and for the record, I was L -2.75 and R -3.5, now I think I'm 0.25 out in one eye, but my eye sight is more accurate than my boyfriend's who wears contact lenses with L/R -1.25...

Overall - very pleased and recommending it to absolutely everyone I can! If you don't fancy using eBay, I got some vouchers through from Optimax the other day that give the holder £500 off (and me £25 for referring them) which I'd be happy to share if anyone's interested! Feel free to message me, or email me on s-thornton at hotmail.co.uk (I know spammers trawl message boards, so please replace the 'at' with the appropriate symbol!)

Since posting this, I've had a few emails asking about the vouchers and just wanted to clarify that I made a mistake, the offer is for £200 not £500 like I initially said... But the voucher is valid for any of their clinics. The actual text says "FREE doctor's consultation* and £200 off treatment. *A refundable deposit is required.

gchapman

If some of you out there are a bit cautious of having laser eye surgery I would really recommend Ortho-K lenses... the theory behind it is: You wear hard contact lenses whilst you sleep ONLY, you put them in at night and take them out when you wake up and you have 20:20 vision all day!!! The hard shape of the lens forces the cells on the front of the eye (which generate daily) to grow less steep at the front... http://www.sov.ch/images/Doku/Grundlagen_Augenoptik/Kontaktlinsen/Ortho-K-Grafik_d.jpg ... or type Ortho-K into google images. It is totally reversible and if you leave them out your vision will return to being poor. It is a duty to put them in every night but i've been using them for over a year and I still find it a novelty not to have to wear anything during the day!! They cost about the same as a set of expensive contacts... £35 a month. Once you get used to wearing them (about a week) I don't notice them at all. http://www.orthoklenses.com/home.htm

sammy115

I had epi-lasek eye surgery at birmingham 10 days ago. I obtained my appointment on ebay and paid £395 each eye and £150 each eye for the wavelength.

They do not treat you any different if you get the offer off ebay so can highly recommend their professionalism.

However they got my bill wrong (charged me full price at first!) and then were a little put out when i told them i had got the deal off ebay. (I had my surgery first so they didn't do anything nasty to me! :rotfl:

Any way to anyone considering epi-lasek. Everyone I spoke to said it was the best thing they ever did and was something akin to a miracle. It isn't!

10 days on I can see distances but my vision is still fuzzy. My reading vision is appalling and is something i did not quite comprehend how difficult it would be to live with. As someone who uses computers and spreadsheets a lot has led me to a great deal of frustration. BUT i thihk if i had known about it beforhand i would have been a bit more prepared.

Ask me again in six months and I might tell you I have had a miracle but I think I would rather go through childbirth again than have my eyes done!!

harry4444

Had laser surgery (and wavefront) at Optimax Belfast last September and I now have to wear my glasses all the time when reading----they have offered to return my eyes to the condition they were in prior to surgery for free (considering I have paid £1000+) but I don't think so. I have been advised that everyone is told that this might happen even though I cannot remember this discussion---so why would someone go through surgery not once but twice to finish up back where they started and pay through the nose for the priviledge.
Don't believe all the hype---think carefully before parting with your hard earned cash.

brankholm

After trying extended wear lenses (where you can sleep in them), I had wavefront surgery in Optical Express Glasgow 8 months ago but am having real problems with dry eyes. I did highlight this to the surgeon prior to surgery but she brushed over it. Next day at the checkup I met the lady who was immediatly before me & she had horrific problems as they scratched her eyeball as they tried to put the clamp in and her "flap" was very loose. To be honest I felt like I was on a conveyor belt, they rushed us through so quickly. This is not a decicion to be taken lightly.

hazelb1944

Hi everone
Just thought some of you might be interested that my husband went to Optical Express with a view to having lazer surgery as being 62 his distance vision was not good and has been wearing glasses for quite a few years. He went for an appointment and was told that he was not a suitable candidate for the surgery. With that he went for a checkup with Spec Savers to try their free trial offer for contact lenses. He was told by their optician that he had cataracts and would not need lenses if he had them operated and refered him to our Doctor for Cataract surgery. He has since had both done at 3 month intervals and now has his distance sight back.
I wonder why Optical Express didnt pick this up on their vision test.
Anyway he is now very pleased with the outcome.

maytaurus

I had LASIK laser eye treatment at optimax manchester 18 months ago through EBAY AND SAVED a lot of £ :j:j:D
I wondered whether or not I would be suitable for treatment,as my eyes were really quite bad
and I have worn glasses since I was 11 yrs old

and I also had Astigmatism
I WOULD RECOMMEND THEM TO ANYBODY !!! :j:j:j:j
Facilities, staff and results all fantastic
It wasn't that I didn't want to wear glasses ...
It was just the inconvenience and annoyance of them steaming up, getting wet in the rain and the problems this causes doing things outside like walking and horseriding and not being able to see well enough without them to go swimming etc
The first time I opened my eyes properly, the day after surgery my daughter was with me and I said
"oh my God ,I can see!"
I know this sounds ott :eek:
But it was so fantastic to be able to see things so clearly and it continued to improve every day :j:j:j:j
I had the worst eye topped up after 6 months
and I can honestly say I wish I had been able to have the treatment years ago !!!!
This is a direct link to the Optimax websitewhere you can get loads of info
contact them get answers and read the new forum etc
http://www.optimax.co.uk/Default.aspx?page=31
Instant Answers - NEW!
Optimax Forum - NEW!

IF YOU CAN -- THEN DO !!
I will make so much difference to your life !!

silver_1_2

Can they do anything for a lazy eye?
Also do they do anything for 'old' eyes. I am at the stage never had a problem with my eyesight, but now need to have a pair on my head or round my neck to read labels etc etc.
Someone told me that now they can help with this??? Any information.