Laser eye surgery - recommendations?

[Missjojo]

After years and years of coping with squinting and not recognising people unless they're right in front of me, I thought I'd treat myself to a little surgery!

Can you recommend where to go for a consultation (and possibly the surgery) or where to avoid? I'm really nervous about the idea of eye surgery, but LOVE the idea of normal vision!

[carov]

Hi there,

my partner had his eyes done last year. Like you, we were really concerned about getting the best treatment and I felt in particular that really good post op customer service was essential. Initially he went to somewhere like Vision Express in Bromley for a consultation but didn't feel confident in them. I then did some fairly thorough research on the net, checking out reviews, and we opted for Focus. It isn't a 'chain' and they only specialise in eye laser treatments. When my partner went for the consultation he felt that all the staff were really knowledgable, helpful and really wanted to make the experience as easy and relaxed for him as possible. The clinic is in Wimpole St and this is their website: www.focusclinics.com. There is another clinic that looked good but very expensive: at the time ?500 for a consultation which is deductible from the cost of surgery but if you decide to go elsewhere then you lose that money. I would suggest you go for 2 or 3 consultations and get a feel for the places. Don't get fooled by ads telling you that it will only cost ?2000-that is for the very basic level. We were really happy with our experience with Focus. Good luck.

[Guest]

The cost depends on how bad your eyes are. I went to optical express and it cost me ?2,700 and my eyes were -4.5 in both. The technology is fairly mature now so after extensive research, I figured they were all pretty much the same...offering the same technology. In the end I chose optical express because a) they have lots of stores and it's easy to get post surgery care wherever you are b)Offered a good price c) I had a ?300 discount voucher from my friend

Every company will have good and bad reviews so it's up to you....best investment ever.

[PMSE15]

I had mine done at a place in tottenham court road, the store was called 20/20 and the surgery suite was downstairs (cant remember the name). They offered a great service, completely made me feel at ease, all very confident, treatment also came with lifetime guarentee and 20% off because im NHS staff (always handy to remember asking!). Never looked back (pardon the pun) i love being glasses free! Had mine done 3 years ago and no problems since! Touch wood!

[tarafitness]

I had my eyesight corrected by Ultralase back in 2004. One of the best things I've ever done :-)

My surgeon was called Dr Vinod Gupter and he worked at the Hammersmith location.

Only thing you might want to be aware of is the possibility you might suffer from dry eyes afterwards. I do periodically and it's a pain in the butt... still, glad I had the surgery, transformed my life... I hardly remember what it was like to be shortsighted!

[scotslass]

Hi, had this done 2 years ago by Optical Express (Holborn) - can't recommend it highly enough. Best money I have ever spent

[Diana85]

Hi,

I had mine done at optical express last week and would recommend!

I originally looked to have it done at ultralase in Hammersmith (like tarafitness) but that location has now closed.

As above msg states... Treatment can vary by an additional ?500-?1k depending on which package you go for.

Good luck!

[ontheRye]

I had mine done about 7 years ago at Moorfields eye hospital near the Old St roundabout. It's a private clinic but run by the hospital consultants. I was minus8 = extremely short sight in both eyes and a lifetime of glasses, contact lenses etc is now a distant memory. And while many of my peers are now at that stage where they need reading glasses,I'm the one telling them what's on the menu in the restaurant! I had to pay a consultation fee ofabout 250 deductible from the total which was about 3,000 from memory. You can probably google it otherwise I can dig my papers out.

[fatcats]

My mum had her eyes done at Moorfields, got to be 15 years ago now. She has never had any problems and is still very happy. Two other family members also went to Moorfields on the back of my mum's recommendation and they have also not had any issues.