I've been wearing contact lenses for 12 years now and was thinking of having LASIK surgery to correct my vision once and for all (hopefully) as I've got a bit of cash spare.

Boots seem to have the best laser at the moment, I just wondered if anyone on here has had it done and what they thought?

Cheers,

Phil

Not had it done yet, but will soon look into it in more detail. Apparently it is a temporary solution, but can be done to any type of strength of impaired vision (as long as you are not totally blind :D).

My wife had hers done at http://www.laservision-uk.com/intro.html with good results.

The best they can do is to get you the level of vision you have with glasses (but without the glasses). They cannot always get you perfect vision ...... if that makes sense.

Paid for girlfriend who was blind with out her specs to have it done .she can now see better than most people and it is not temporary but they do say in later life u might need reading glass,s
ssubaru

Yeah, I figured it was permanent barring the need for reading glasses possibly when older.

Just fancied the freedom of not wearing lenses anymore and I thought they may have got to the level of technology now where it's worth a go.

Cheers,

Phil

i have a friend who had both eyes done(one at a time!),by Optimax.Whilst they cannot guarantee the result they have a pretty high sucsess rate.Friend is well impressed,says he sees like a hawk now!

steve

I did hear of it affecting night vision quite badly in a few cases. I forget the details

anyway check here http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/1998/498_eye.html

I would have it done, but i can only see from 1 eye, so until it has a 100% success rate (read NEVER), i would not risk it.

I had it done a few months ago. Absolutley brilliant. No complaints at all. I would say I have pretty much perfect vision now. Previously needed glasses for driving, wathcing TV etc, and have now binned them.

Neil is correct - my night vision has been slightly affected for the worst since I had both eyes operated on by Optimax over 5 years ago. I get a halo effect around lights which has taken some time to get used to but I was warned of this, and the fact I was unlikely to have perfect vision after surgery, well in advance. I would recommend it to anyone as my eyesight prescription has been reduced form -6.5 to around -1 in both eyes; advances in modern technology mean that these results could be improved upon.

Alex

Isn't the loss of night vision more closely related to the 'old'(though cheaper and still available) PRK? Lasik seems much less likely to cause these complications. Have a look at Moorfields.org.uk - I'd definitely go there rather than anywhere else if I chose surgery.
Chuck (Considering it)

As my optician said, out of all the opticians in the UK, how many wear glasses, if they trusted laser surgery that much, wouldnt they get it done?? (I think he said that only 1 of the top opticians had surgery)

It would be of potentially more benefit in your case as you are quite myopic. In my case I wouldn't risk it. I might well do in your case but you need to look into it carefully. I'm not saying they are all sharks, but do your homework about the place you are planning to use, and do a few internet searches....

I don't think they would do both eyes at once - so you could have an 8 dioptre difference between your eyes post op - would need to discuss this with them - could be very unsettling.

John Banks, is there no end to your knowledge :) ? Are you planning a DIY eye-laser kit for £25 :D (in-joke for Drivetrain junkies)?

Fascinating thread, which has rekindled my interest in having this op done. Levels of success are going up all the time, it seems. If you use a camera a lot, wear a crash helmet or swim, glasses are a damn nuisance. I used to wear contacts with great success for over 20 years but about five years ago I started getting problems and now wear specs. I'm 48, my specs are -7 varifocal and cost over £500 :eek:

I would love to get shot of them and be able to see through a camera properly, but I'd prolly need to wear reading glasses some of the time.

How much does this op cost?

Richard.

"They do do both eyes at once"

I find that worrying when ophthalmologists rarely operate on both eyes at once especially for an elective (non-urgent/essential) procedure. The primary reason being that if the vision is damaged in one eye you have the other one to fall back on. Sometimes complications could affect both eyes such as infection or sympathetic uveitis after trauma/operation.

Of about ten ophthalmologists I know, about 1/2 are myopic and wear glasses and none have had surgery.

Jeez, you lot really are blind aren't you? -7 and -8!!! I'm only -3.5 and I can only see an arm's-length with any clarity.... :o

Lust,
My wife and I both had this done late last year at Ultralase in Birmingham. It was the Lasik surgery, not the PRK. I would thoroughly recommend it. Ultralase were very professional and the aftercare was fine. In fact, we're going for a check-up tomorrow. No problems with night vision. The only drawback for us was dryness in the eyes for several weeks afterwards but that is to be expected. As to the actual surgery, painless although strange!!

I went to a place in london a couple of years ago to hve it done. Got scvared off as the advertised 90% sucess dropped to 60ish sir!! Youve only got one pair of eyes, so be careful!!

I know people who rave about it........I just need more convincing!!

http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/lasik/

This is the parent link of what Neil posted earlier. It is by the FDA, unbiased and not funded by interested parties. And it is a pretty good document which gives a balanced view. This sort of quality of information is hard to come by in such a digestible format.

Well with a cost of around £500 per pair of glasses (the environment I work in they have to be durable and I quite often have a new pair of glasses a year) PLUS the cost of contact lenses adds up to a lot of money!!!!

Being as short sighted as I am is a pain in the ass LOL, I would love to find somewhere with a good success rate that I can consider

I had mine done by optimax 5 years ago 1 eye before the other and they did the other when first eye could see.
I have since heard a new way where they can do both eyes at the same time, not sure if its optimax though.
I recamend it but if you want to know details then email me.

chel xxx

I was considering Boots because they have the most up to date laser with radar tracking to ensure that it compensates for any involuntary movement of the eye.

The link is below if anyone fancies a beak:

http://www.bootsopticianslasik.co.uk/

I quite fancy the red mica WRX in For Sale though so if the wagon goes I probably get that instead ;)

Cheers,

Phil

Optimax - doesn't that make your eyes sting?

Thanks John I'll take that as a compliment. It doesn't bother me whether one is a professional or not in an area, it is the quality of the argument and the evidence supporting it that is crucial. I certainly do not claim to have total knowledge on medical matters even though it is my job. I am taught to "empower" patients by educating them and discussing all the stuff they bring in off the internet. In the same way that I encourage them to debate with me I am not averse to telling the odd engineer they are wrong either, and sometimes being right ;) So watch out :)

In the same way some of my patients have been right and I have been wrong. No point in denying it.

To me some of the worst atrocities are committed by "Professionals" trading on their qualification. I am not anti-professional or anti-regulation, but more transparency and an open shop approach avoids a lots of mistakes and incapable people causing a mess. I am not going to keep medical knowledge to myself in the way clerics in the middle ages would not let people have their own books. I cannot as we are in an information age. I would rather help people to interpret the vast array of VARIABLE QUALITY medical info out there. This thread is an ideal example.

[Edited by john banks - 03/01/2002 14:03:07]

He He :D

What sort of price range does this sort of op come in?

Just intrigued, I've never bothered about it as I've been wearing glasses since I was a wee nipper. Did anyone else have to put the lion in the cage?

Sounds a bit dangerous to me Chris, would rather choose a less dangerous animal to put in a cage than a lion ;)

Mild myopia cut short my ambitions of being accepted by the RAF as a trainee pilot and since then, I have been tempted to have some form of surgery.

However, for a while PRK was not accepted by the civilian aviation authority (or the Police) so I have followed a wait and see (sic) approach.

About 5 years ago I contacted Optimax and they sent me their PRK blurb which was interesting but I still wasn't ready to go ahead with it.

Then they called me up and started talking about discounts and interest free credit etc. !!!

( I can see a Scoobynet Group Buy thread coming on! Roll-up roll-up three for the price of two!!!)

Whoa Nelly! If I am going to let someone loose with my eyesight then I'll happily to pay the full asking price for top-quality srvice and I will not be lured into it based on discounts or 'January sales' from companies who are struggling to attract enough custom through through normal advertising and recomendation.

It is interesting to me that such a large number of medical professionals including opthalmologists have not chosen to have it done but there were a couple of high profile sports stars (golf/tennis) who have had LASIK in the past year and went on to win straight after.

However, I keep seeing Jacques Villeneuve wearing his specs so I think I will hang on to mine for a while longer too!

[Edited by Stephen Read - 03/01/2002 17:15:23]

[Edited by Stephen Read - 03/01/2002 17:16:10]

:p Miss. Very important tests them!

"What sort of price range does this sort of op come in?"

Around £1250 an eye at Boots