Great Laser Eye Surgery Hunt

PaulieI

Hi guys,

I was considering having laser eye surgery with Optical Express - not sure what their service is like. Are they any good?

Paul

mutley74

PaulieI wrote: »

Hi guys,

I was considering having laser eye surgery with Optical Express - not sure what their service is like. Are they any good?

Paul

Hi
I had surgery with them 2 years ago and was impressed with service. But its worth getting a few opinions from different clinics and find whats best for you and yoru eyes. But make sure you go for a qualified and experienced surgeon. also prices vary, and prices can depend on procedure used, experience of surgeon and availability. Alwyas worth asking for a discount.
if you do go for Optical express lots of people offering referral discounts on the refers thread including myself.

Bev_B

vik1491 wrote: »

why did your optician advise against optimax???

because many of their surgeons are newly qualified or not as experienced as others.

Browntoa

20/20 vision is trying to get a referral , please look on the referrals thread for Optimax on the referrals board (link in my signature) as there are some people offering a share of their referral money as a top up

AlexaSmall

Could try the ambassador referral programe from Optical Express (get a £300 or £150 money off voucher from people who have had the surgery already). I have 8 which are just being wasted but I would recommend the procedure almost a month afterwards. I've got a check-up later this week...the third after the operation so far and I can't complain about the service.

Swan_2

hmmm, leo125, newbie, multiple posts on same subject containing a 'link' :spam: methinks :think:

GotNoMoney

Although I have got no money I want to get this done one day.

After reading about LASIK vs LASEK and then about PRK, it seems PRK is the way to go despite the longer healing time. Why? Well, because with LASIK or LASEK, a flap is cut and put back on your eye once the laser has finished, what they don't tell you is the flap never fully heals, I read about one case where the flap was still able to be lifted off the eye even 13 years after the surgery! Yikes! No thanks... the reason LASIK/LASEK is so popular is because you do have 20/20 vision that same day, that is true, but you are being left with a flap that never heals. Don't think your eye is somehow different to anyone elses, don't assume the flap heals just because the doctors making thousands of dollars a day doing the procedure tell you so - they will tell you it does heal but that is just a lie, be careful trusting doctors, yes you should trust them in that they are capable of operating on you, that is not an issue, the issue is they will always try to sell you LASIK/LASEK over PRK because with LASIK/LASEK they can do the procedure and just wave goodbye to you forever, with PRK it can take up to 6 months of consultations and getting eye drops from them and so on, it is less convenient to the doctor with PRK and yes, less convenient to you too, because the healing time for PRK is up to 6 months, even 1 year in some cases. Saying that, vision is normally 90% towards being 20/20 within one week.

In short I have found the two procedures can be summed up easily:

LASIK/LASEK:
- A flap is cut on your eye (it is not fully cut off, it has a "hinge")
- Flap never heals
- Vision is 20/20 the same day

PRK:
- A layer of skin is scraped off, not cut off like with LASIK.
- Skin tissue grows back when you have PRK done - can take up to 6 months
- No flap is created so, it is impossible for anything to "come loose" whether it be the next day or in 30 years.
- Nearly everyone can have PRK (thin layer of skin) but only some people can have LASIK/LASEK (thicker layer of skin needed than PRK)

Be extremely cautious about what sales techniques the doctors use on you.

The "flap that never heals" with LASIK/LASEK is the very reason why firefighters, cops and pilots are not allowed to have LASIK/LASEK and must have PRK!

If you get hit in the face by accident even years after LASIK/LASEK, the flap can come loose, that just scares the s**t out of me folks, I would seriously forget LASIK/LASEK altogether but PRK... no problem, I don't care about the healing time, I care about my eyes.

Also I found that a "botched" LASIK/LASEK procedure can potentially become a "PRK conversion" although I don't know because the thickness of skin is thicker with LASIK and I assume it could never heal like a PRK because PRK is thinner and even that takes up to 6 months, I think a botched LASIK actually would never heal, the body simply will not create that much of thickness of skin, but I am not a doctor so I don't know.

silo24

GotNoMoney, your facts are a little inaccurate i'm afraid.

Firefighters can have Lasik,
Pilots can have lasik,

Not sure about cops though...

naughtybish

GotNoMoney wrote: »

Although I have got no money I want to get this done one day.

After reading about LASIK vs LASEK and then about PRK, it seems PRK is the way to go despite the longer healing time. Why? Well, because with LASIK or LASEK, a flap is cut and put back on your eye once the laser has finished, what they don't tell you is the flap never fully heals, I read about one case where the flap was still able to be lifted off the eye even 13 years after the surgery! Yikes! No thanks... the reason LASIK/LASEK is so popular is because you do have 20/20 vision that same day, that is true, but you are being left with a flap that never heals. Don't think your eye is somehow different to anyone elses, don't assume the flap heals just because the doctors making thousands of dollars a day doing the procedure tell you so - they will tell you it does heal but that is just a lie, be careful trusting doctors, yes you should trust them in that they are capable of operating on you, that is not an issue, the issue is they will always try to sell you LASIK/LASEK over PRK because with LASIK/LASEK they can do the procedure and just wave goodbye to you forever, with PRK it can take up to 6 months of consultations and getting eye drops from them and so on, it is less convenient to the doctor with PRK and yes, less convenient to you too, because the healing time for PRK is up to 6 months, even 1 year in some cases. Saying that, vision is normally 90% towards being 20/20 within one week.

In short I have found the two procedures can be summed up easily:

LASIK/LASEK:
- A flap is cut on your eye (it is not fully cut off, it has a "hinge")
- Flap never heals
- Vision is 20/20 the same day

PRK:
- A layer of skin is scraped off, not cut off like with LASIK.
- Skin tissue grows back when you have PRK done - can take up to 6 months
- No flap is created so, it is impossible for anything to "come loose" whether it be the next day or in 30 years.
- Nearly everyone can have PRK (thin layer of skin) but only some people can have LASIK/LASEK (thicker layer of skin needed than PRK)

Be extremely cautious about what sales techniques the doctors use on you.

The "flap that never heals" with LASIK/LASEK is the very reason why firefighters, cops and pilots are not allowed to have LASIK/LASEK and must have PRK!

If you get hit in the face by accident even years after LASIK/LASEK, the flap can come loose, that just scares the s**t out of me folks, I would seriously forget LASIK/LASEK altogether but PRK... no problem, I don't care about the healing time, I care about my eyes.

Also I found that a "botched" LASIK/LASEK procedure can potentially become a "PRK conversion" although I don't know because the thickness of skin is thicker with LASIK and I assume it could never heal like a PRK because PRK is thinner and even that takes up to 6 months, I think a botched LASIK actually would never heal, the body simply will not create that much of thickness of skin, but I am not a doctor so I don't know.

Unfortunately there are many web sites, all emanating from the USA, which give deliberately misleading and unbalanced 'misinformation'. They're set up by people (often just one person) who've had a bad experience with laser treatment. Understandably they're very upset about their outcome, but rather than making valid observations about the risks involved, have decided to embark on a fanatical crusade against any form of laser treatment. This has resulted in court cases in the USA against the perpertrators, as they make false accusations and try to destroy surgeons' reputations.

here is the real deal

Phase I

Days 1 to 3 post-op Immediately post-op as the flap is re-positioned and the doctor "squeegees" out excess moisture under the flap, a negative osmotic pressure is created that "sucks" the flap onto the stromal bed and holds it there. The flap is held in place fairly well at this time, barring physical trauma such as rubbing the eye or a poke in the eye. Of course, this is a very vulnerable period because any trauma to the flap could easily dislodge it, hence the importance of wearing eye shields at night and similar protections.
Phase II

Days 4 to 14 post-op During this period the epithelium re-generates along the perimeter of the flap, sealing and bonding the flap more securely in place. This is still a vulnerable time, but less so than in Phase I, where only osmotic pressure secured the flap.
Phase III

Days 15 to 60 post-op During this period the re-generated perimeter epithelium lays down a basement membrane that firmly adheres the newly regenerated epithelium to the underlying stromal bed.
Phase IV

Days 61 to 180 post-op During this period the keratocyte cells of the stromal bed and the flap produce an adhesive protein (glycos-aminoglycan) that bonds or "glues" the flap to the stromal bed. By the 180th day, these processes have generally rather strongly secured the flap to the stromal bed. Trauma or surgical instruments can still dislodge or lift the flap, but a good deal of healing and re-bonding of the flap to the stromal bed has occurred.
Phase V

Day 181 to 24+ months post-op During this period collagen slowly begins to form at the interface between the flap and the underlying stromal bed. This collagen includes fibril infiltrates that extend from the flap into the stromal bed, in effect suturing the flap to the underlying stromal bed. At the conclusion of this process the flap is both "glued" and "stitched" into place, as well as "sealed" and secured by the surface perimeter epithelium and basement membrane. Although still not as strong as an untouched cornea of the same thickness, the flap and stromal bed are nevertheless now very securely bonded together. At this time, any trauma strong enough to dislodge the flap would also do damage to an eye without Lasik. It is also believed by many researchers that by the 24th month post-op the flap has begun to contribute to some degree to the bio-mechanical strength of the cornea thus reducing the risk of late-onset ectasia.



Special thanks to Bryce Carlson for this research.



According to the Air Force Surgeon General's office, the purpose for their laser surgery program is to increase the readiness of warfighters by eliminating the need for glasses or contact lenses. Professor Dan Reinstein, medical director of the London Vision Clinic in the UK, thinks that these types of programs are the future of laser vision correction.



http://www.londonvisionclinic.com/medias-view/police-life


so after GOTNO[STRIKE]MONEY[/STRIKE]BRAINS scaremongering its always nice to read the true facts

Thriftysolo

Hi Naughtybish

I think you are being unnecessarily harsh on GotNoMoney in calling them a brainless scaremonger. In their post they raised some legitimate concerns about LASIK, namely the long term structural stability of the cornea after the procedure.

There are numerous peer-reviewed studies that suggest the cornea heals in only a limited fashion post LASIK. There are also numerous case reports of long term flap displacement. From the literature I've read it seems reasonable to say that post LASIK eyes are more fragile than post PRK eyes.

As far as LASIK disqualifying you from certain jobs, that is a complicated issue and varies by profession, country, and organization. LASIK or PRK can disqualify you from being a pilot, firefighter, or a police officer, but it often doesn't. It really depends on the exact condition of your eyes and the specific regulations of the job applied for. Overall, though, I think it is true that PRK is slightly preferred for certain occupations due to the aforementioned concerns about the long term structural integrity of the cornea after LASIK.

Craig