Great Laser Eye Surgery Hunt

abomb1969

Sage advice W@lt

allhugs

This is you eye site we are talking about is the cheap option really going to be the best?
I explored all options prior to getting my eyes zapped at the beginning of the year, and i eventually settled for ultralase. They are the only company that have the lazer technology in the UK at the moment. They can map your eyes using the lazers ( which you get a pretty picture of) and advise you which procedure is best for your eyes and whether there will be any side effects. A major side effect is poorer night vision, and since i do a lot of driving i didn't think this was a good idea.
I eventually settled on the Ultralasik plus treatment - the best of the best -at £1490 per eye it's not cheap, but they do do offeres.
My payment plan was 18 months 0% interest with a 6 month deffered payment (I'm sure MArtin would off approved of that).

All i say is do your home work, decide what risks you are prepared to take and do the maths. Having the expensive option still worked out better than an eye test and new glasses every 2 years, even if you do go to spec savers :T

Bumfish

What kind of age ranges are we looking at for the people that have had it done so far?

I'm 25 and obvously could benefit from years without contacts and glasses, but of course that would only save me money if it all goes really well. I understand that a lot of people who have had the surgery still have to wear glasses on some ocoasions.

Would this treatment be recomended for someone at my age?


-Si.

alihoop

HI

I have had a consultation with Ultralase and was very impressed with the service. I was also going to go for Ultralasik plus treatment as this was the best treatment available but quite pricey so was thinking of going to Optimax, but now really unsure. Ultralase do offer 0% for 3years so thats always an option!

Allhugs, how was your treatment? Did you suffer any pain afterwards??

will-in-estoril

I had LASEK treatment about 18 months ago at the Eye Clinic, part of the Optical express group.

My initial consultation lasted about 2 hours, with a trained optometrist, as opposed to a salesperson. It seemed that medically speaking, no stone was left unturned. There was no hard sell at all; there was no pressure put on me to have the treatment, and the consultation was free.

I elected to have the treatment, which took place at Barlow House, Minshull Street, Manchester. The surgeon was Mr Aziz, with whom I had a further consultation before surgery.

The surgery itself went really well, and the aftercare was second to none.

My vision is now perfect, in fact, better than 20/20.

From what I have learned subsequently, Aziz has an excellent reputation, and Optical Express comply with the code of practise laid down by the Royal College of Opthamologists.

And the cost? I have left this until the end, as it is secondary compared to all I have mentioned: it was £600 per eye, which I paid interest free over 10 months, and I only began paying after the surgery.

When deciding on eye surgery you need to look at the whole package on offer, and do not just look at the cost in £s.

Doozergirl

Bumfish wrote:

I'm 25, Would this treatment be recomended for someone at my age?

I'm 27. My surgeon told me that because I'm young, my eyes should recover and heal more quickly. Plus, theoretically, because eyesight naturally deteriorates after around 40 years of age, I'll see (excuse the pun) the benefits for longer!

It depends on how bad your eyesight is to what you can expect after surgery. I was around -3.00 in both eyes and have better than 20/20 vision now. I have no problems at night at all either, except that headlights seem a little brighter, but my cornea are about 80% healed after 2 months (I'm doing well, I'm told).

MoreSenseThanMoney

Im having my eye surgery in Turkey next year. My Mum lives there and she knows several people who've had succesful treatment at the Kaskaloglu Eye Hospital in Izmir (https://www.kaskaloglu.com/lasike.htm)

It's not some dodgy 'back street' outfit, it opened 15 years ago and is apparently the best eye hospital in Turkey and carries out thousands of procedures a year. However, due to the low costs in Turkey its dirt cheap compared to what we have to pay here, their most expensive treatment (the pain free Wavefront method) costs just £474 (+ £54 for the consultation) and thats the price for both eyes!. So instead of going to a clinic in this country on a wet Wednesday afternoon and leaving £2000 lighter go to Turkey and have a 2 week holiday for the same price or less.

Example: Flights to Izmir cost around £250, hotels in Kusadasi (the nearest big resort, an hours drive from Izmir) cost an average of £20 per room per night and the food and beer is cheap aswell..so flight, accomodation, Lasik surgery plus dinner & a few drinks every night (say £20 a night) = approx £1340 for 2 weeks....bargain!..or £1870 if you take a partner (providing they dont want their eyes done too!)

Oh I forgot you'll need a taxi to and from the airport and to and from the hospital at a cost of approx. £25 one way..and you'll have to stay in Izmir for 2 nights when you have the treatment so lets make it £1520/£1870 for 2 weeks...


Below is part of an email the hospital sent me today.


Thank you very much for your message.

If you decide to have LASIK in Izmir we will be very happy to do it for you. I will arrange airport tranfers and hotel if you want. Your operation will be done by Professor Kaskaloglu or Dr.Ates.

We do LASIK on Mondays and Thursdays. We can accept you any Monday or Thursday. Please let me know when you want to have the operation. You need to stay 2-3 nights. If you arrive on Wednesday we do the operation on Thursday and after your postop exam you can leave on Friday.

The fees for LASIK in Turkey are low due to market conditions. But there is no compromise. Our quality of care is guaranteed. We do a lot of surgery and our doctors have much experience. Prof.Kaskaloglu is one of the best known surgeons in Turkey and abroad and he has been doing refractive surgery since 1990. Our lasers are the best in the world and very new. When you come here you will see that yourself. You will find more information on our web site.


Pre-op examination: Euro 80 (£54)

Lasik Standard both eyes: Euro 525 (£355)

Lasik Customised (Wavefront, T-Cat,Q-mode) both eyes: Euro 700 (£474)

Post op examination: Free

Future enhancement (if needed): Free

Hotel-hospital tranfers :Free (taxi)

3* hotel Bed and breakfast(double)per night: Euro 60 (£40)
payable to the hotel

(Credit cards add 10%)


All the best,
MSTM

poorbabe

@ anticlaus105 Oh cheer me up why don't you

Treen

Has anyone here had treatment at the London Centre for refractive surgery? Seems they do perform eye surgery but never in the line of vision. Their website is https://www.lcrs.co.uk

Treen

clawson0810

Having read all the messages posed at the moment I have to say that most are only saying how great it is (which it is) but there are a number of things you should find out before commiting to such a big step.

It may be annoying with glasses and contact len's but not as annoying as it might be if you totally lose your sight.

I myself have just had laser surgery and could not be happier. I was -6.5 & -6.9 and had been wearing Hard contact lens' for 30 years.

My original thought was that I was too short sighted for laser surgery, however, a girl I work with who was -10 + had surgery and was really pleased with the results (20/20 vision now).

She used Ultralase which is quite expensive (nearly GBP 3,000 for both eyes).

I decided to try 2 companies - Ultralase and Optimax. I went to Optimax first, in Croydon, where I was dealt with by a very friendly surgeon. The tests seemed fine (as I didn't know what to expect) and I took a lot of questions in with me as I had done a lot of research. (If you have written questions please ask them before they put drops in your eyes to dilate your pupils as you may then find you cannot see properly to read the questions!)

I was looking forward to being able to have the lasik treatment which involves cutting a small flap in the Cornea and then the laser treatment is done and the flap replaced. The benefit of this is that healing time seems to be much reduced. However, I was told that due to thin cornea's combined with my prescription I was not suitable for this procedure but would be suitable for lasek.

I note that some of you believe that there is no cutting involved - indeed this is correct, however, what lasek does involve is a small funnel being put on your eye and filled with alcohol (not the drinking type!). This softens the outer layer of the cornea and this is then 'scraped' back out of the way prior to the laser being used. After the laser has done it's work the softened layer is then pushed back over the site and a 'bandage contact lens' put in place (this is just like a clear soft lens).

My main concern during my first consultation was that the surgeon wanted to use a 'new' antibiotic on my eye's (just for 15 seconds) which would help the healing process. This antibiotic was Mytomycin C and I was told it could cause some side effects. As this was new I thought I would look it up on the internet and found that this is, in fact, a cancer treating antibiotic and whilst it can be used on eyes the side effects can occur up to 20 years later and the most frightening of these side effects is that it can cause the white of the eye or cornea to 'melt'.

I decided against using Optimax mainly due to this - whilst I might be 40 already I didn't want to worry for 20 years incase anything started melting!

I then went to Ultralase for a consultation and have to say my initial impression was that this was a better clinic and the tests seemed to be more comprehensive to those I had received at Optimax. However, the outcome was the same. Thin corneas and lasek recommended. I double checked what anti-biotics would be used and was told that they still use the antibiotic which has been used for the past 15+ years.

I decided to go with this company and was offered an appointment the same week. As it turned out I was unable, due to other commitments, to book for a further 6 weeks.

After 3 weeks I was called back in by Ultralase who wanted to run the tests on me again. The reason for this was because I had worn contact len's for 30 years they wanted to double check that the 4 weeks my len's had been out before the consultation had been enough to let my eyes return to the normal shape. Luckily there had not been any further change.

I finally went in for Lasek treatment on the 17th August 2005 and whilst I found the funnel/alcohol part being very uncomfortable I was very pleased with the result. I could see immediately. The surgeon and his assistants were very good - they told me everything that was happening and counted down the seconds so that I knew how long each part of the procedure was taking.

I was told to rest and try to keep my eyes shut for the rest of the day, however, for an insomniac this is almost impossible. I found myself reading/watching telly and downloading e-mails on the same day. There was no pain (they gave me pain killers to take just in case but I did not have to take any).

The first 2 days I could see as clear as a bell - none of the hazing in and out that they said I might have, however, for the next 2 days my sight became so bad that I thought the procedure had failed. Luckily the next day my sight returned and was again clear as a bell and has been since.

With Ultralase you have to return to the clinic the day after the procedure to be checked. They made me read the chart and, with a bit of concentration, I could read the 'driving standard' line. I was told that on the day after the procedure they only expected me to read the top line!

I then went back 4 days later to have the 'contact' bandages removed and could read down past the 'driving standard' line.

Since then I have been back once and am due to go for my 1 month check up next week. Am hoping that it will be 20/20 (but to be fair I only expected driving standard).

So to all of you thinking of this procedure - I would recommend getting consultations at more than 1 Company and make sure that you can afford the more expensive option. You have to be totally happy with the company who holds the key to your sight in their hands. Don't be swayed by the fact that it is cheap. Research the subject thoroughly and ask lots of questions - even check that the surgeon is not bored doing the procedure - I certainly did - I wanted to make sure that my surgeon didn't think that he 'could do it with his eye's closed' and then find out that he couldn't.

Don't be disappointed if the procedure you wanted is not available for you - the other procedure is just fine!

:rolleyes: