Laser Eye Surgery

Optical Express certainly aren't back alley surgeons, the staff are well trained and the surgeon is experience which is on if the biggest factors in success!

Get past the £395 offer, which most places also offer but don't market as aggressively, and they're not 'cheap' either.
 
Flash In The Pan said:
Lol, brand snobbery is for cameras and cars, when it comes to something that has the potential to leave you blind then then it's just common sense to go to a proper specialist, even if it does cost a couple of hundred pounds
more.
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No one's ever gone blind from having corrective laser eye surgery ;)
 
Matt989 said:
Funny you should say that, EVERYONE that dealt with me had been under the laser and all took pride in saying so!
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Again, how do you know? Because they told you so? Where were you when I was selling secondhand cars? :lol:
 
Russ77 said:
Because Optical Express quoted that fact in their post consultation literature ;)
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Well, a quick Google suggests that they're wrong, unless of course they said they hadn't blinded anyone..,,
 
Flash In The Pan said:
Well, a quick Google suggests that they're wrong, unless of course they said they hadn't blinded anyone..,,
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And you believe everything you read on the internet ;) :lol:

I don't understand why you have so much negativity towards the procedure?

I had the treatment in Feb 2008, based on my experience, 3 of my friends had the same treatment shortly after mine, all with Optical Exress and all the same results.

Another of my friends went with Optimax and did have some problems but nothing that can be sorted out (by her own admission, her eyes were VERY bad to start with).

My Fiancée is a touch short sighted and I would have no problem at all if she said she wanted to have laser correction...... well apart from the fact that 20/20 or better vision may make her see sense and not want to marry me as I'm regularly reminded that I'm "punching well above my weight" where she's concerned :lol:
 
Russ77 said:
And you believe everything you read on the internet ;) :lol:

I don't understand why you have so much negativity towards the procedure?

I had the treatment in Feb 2008, based on my experience, 3 of my friends had the same treatment shortly after mine, all with Optical Exress and all the same results.

Another of my friends went with Optimax and did have some problems but nothing that can be sorted out (by her own admission, her eyes were VERY bad to start with).

My Fiancée is a touch short sighted and I would have no problem at all if she said she wanted to have laser correction...... well apart from the fact that 20/20 or better vision may make her see sense and not want to marry me as I'm regularly reminded that I'm "punching well above my weight" where she's concerned :lol:
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Where did I say I had any negativity towards the procedure? If you'd read my previous posts you'd know I've had it done myself.

My "problem" is with entrusting your eyesight to a bargain-basement high street chain.
 
Flash In The Pan said:
Where did I say I had any negativity towards the procedure? If you'd read my previous posts you'd know I've had it done myself.

My "problem" is with entrusting your eyesight to a bargain-basement high street chain.
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OK, fair enough I didn't remember reading that.

As for them being bargain basement....... considering they charge pretty much the same as the other "specialists" I'd hardly call them bargain! :lol:

At the time I had my treatment I think they were the No.1 provider of corrective laser surgery in Europe.
 
I'd love to have it done - but the question I ask is what happens to people 30/40 years down the line.

Scar tissue in the eye combined with cataracts forming or retinal thinning/detachment due to old age
 
Uneducated_Rick said:
I'd love to have it done - but the question I ask is what happens to people 30/40 years down the line.

Scar tissue in the eye combined with cataracts forming or retinal thinning/detachment due to old age
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As far as I know, having laser treatment wont affect either of those two conditions.

I was told that after 6 months or so an optician wouldn't be able to tell that the procedure had been done so there is very little/no scar tissue.

The retinas aren't affected by the procedure.
 
Uneducated_Rick said:
I'd love to have it done - but the question I ask is what happens to people 30/40 years down the line.

Scar tissue in the eye combined with cataracts forming or retinal thinning/detachment due to old age
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I'm 20 years in and haven't had any problems so far, although I underwent the older type of treatment, so results may vary.
 
Flash In The Pan said:
Where did I say I had any negativity towards the procedure? If you'd read my previous posts you'd know I've had it done myself.

My "problem" is with entrusting your eyesight to a bargain-basement high street chain.
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Your bargain basement argument is BS, the technology Optical Express use now would make your procedure of 20 years ago look like a hatchet job! Its practically all automated with very little scope for human error!
 
Matt989 said:
Your bargain basement argument is BS, the technology Optical Express use now would make your procedure of 20 years ago look like a hatchet job! Its practically all automated with very little scope for human error!
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I notice you didn't say "no scope" for human error ;)
Joking aside I still wouldn't chose a bargain basement provider to carry out any operation on my eyes, regardless of what they claim.

At the end of the day you only get one pair of eyes......
 
Uneducated_Rick said:
I'd love to have it done - but the question I ask is what happens to people 30/40 years down the line.

Scar tissue in the eye combined with cataracts forming or retinal thinning/detachment due to old age
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My sister has had hers 20 years and her eyesight is still fantastic - If you wait a further 10 I'll report her findings :) I'm only 10 years ago lol

I'm a diabetic and get my eyes photographed every year to check them (high res images from a D70 I think it was).

The doctor didn't even know my eyes had been operated on. The healing process of the eyes is fantastic.
 
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Russ77 said:
As far as I know, having laser treatment wont affect either of those two conditions.

I was told that after 6 months or so an optician wouldn't be able to tell that the procedure had been done so there is very little/no scar tissue.

The retinas aren't affected by the procedure.
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Correct:thumbs:
 
Flash In The Pan said:
I notice you didn't say "no scope" for human error ;)
Joking aside I still wouldn't chose a bargain basement provider to carry out any operation on my eyes, regardless of what they claim.

At the end of the day you only get one pair of eyes......
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Just because a company has a presence on the high street does not make them "bargain basement".

20 years ago you had to visit specialist dealers to buy personal computers, now you can buy one on all high streets. Where could you easily buy a mobile phone 20 years ago?

Technology moves on. Optical Express use the same technology as many other 'high end' clinics. They just aim for a larger market. The business model is simple economics, sell more for slightly less cost.

For the record i had laser treatment about 7 years ago. I had to have it done in a private clinic in London due to the type of treatment that i required. BUT i would not have had any problem going to Optical Express.
 
MG TF 135 said:
Just because a company has a presence on the high street does not make them "bargain basement".

20 years ago you had to visit specialist dealers to buy personal computers, now you can buy one on all high streets. Where could you easily buy a mobile phone 20 years ago?

Technology moves on. Optical Express use the same technology as many other 'high end' clinics. They just aim for a larger market. The business model is simple economics, sell more for slightly less cost.

For the record i had laser treatment about 7 years ago. I had to have it done in a private clinic in London due to the type of treatment that i required. BUT i would not have had any problem going to Optical Express.
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Not sure about now but a few years ago the procedure was carried out by technicians (not opticians) and that is in PRIVATE clinics!! I'm sure optical express use suitably qualified personnel - but always worth asking who is doing the op and what their qualifications are.
 
Well a few years ago, computers barely fit in a room & it took a group of university graduated science geeks to work them, now you can fit one in your hand and everyone uses them.

Technology and time progression changes how we do things. It may have taken a qualified technician a long time ago, but again due to technology advancements and better product creation, it probably doesn't take as much to do it nowadays.
 
Perhaps the next stage will be a "laser booth" where you put your credit card in a slot, rest your chin on something while the booth's laser does its work, all automatically.
 
I developed some problems with my eyes a few years ago - nothing to do with surgery - and found sanctuary in forums dealing with eye conditions.
There certainly seemed to be a concentrated outpouring of evil in the direction of laser eye surgery induced problems there. Understandable I suppose but it doesn't help you if you are one of those with 'dry eye'.

Dry eye doesn't sound that bad though does it? Perhaps it should be relabelled 'gritty abrasive, painful eye necessitating thick vaseline like substances administered to they eyes every hour and relegated to living your life in a humidified room because dry air or any air passing over the eye is too painful'.
That may be a catchier title?

At the end of the day its your choice and its a balance of risks and benefits.
Just don't go into anything blindly.
Oh, and good luck!
 
MG TF 135 said:
Just because a company has a presence on the high street does not make them "bargain basement".

20 years ago you had to visit specialist dealers to buy personal computers, now you can buy one on all high streets. Where could you easily buy a mobile phone 20 years ago?
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Are you seriously comparing buying brown goods with having an operation on one if the most important organs in the human body?

You're right a high st presence doesn't automatically infer bargain basement, it's their double glazing type sales pitch and pile 'em high, sell 'em cheap pricing strategy that marks them out as thus.

With regard to mobile phones 20 years ago, you could easily buy them on the high street - from mobile phone shops, that's where I bought
mine. Granted they weren't on every street corner, but they were still there.

The comparison is, as I stated earlier, a spurious one anyway, all a phone salesman was/is doing is selling you a gadget. The only way buying a phone was likely to pose a risk to your health 20 years ago was if the damn thing gave you a hernia from having to lug it around all day :lol:
 
Deadlock said:
I developed some problems with my eyes a few years ago - nothing to do with surgery - and found sanctuary in forums dealing with eye conditions.
There certainly seemed to be a concentrated outpouring of evil in the direction of laser eye surgery induced problems there. Understandable I suppose but it doesn't help you if you are one of those with 'dry eye'.

Dry eye doesn't sound that bad though does it? Perhaps it should be relabelled 'gritty abrasive, painful eye necessitating thick vaseline like substances administered to they eyes every hour and relegated to living your life in a humidified room because dry air or any air passing over the eye is too painful'.
That may be a catchier title?

At the end of the day its your choice and its a balance of risks and benefits.
Just don't go into anything blindly.
Oh, and good luck!
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I accept your point and sympathise with your dry eye problem but like anything, how many people join a forum for eye problems if their surgery went OK?

It's akin to the bad repuation Dell get. They sell millions of "units" so it's enevitable some will develop faults and that's all you'll hear about as a satisfied customer wont join a forum or write letters to watchdog saying "I bought a Dell computer and it works really well and I'm really happy with it"

I was apprehensive about laser surgery but based on the consultation I had, I understood the potential risks and was prepared to accept them given the potential benefits.

It's like a lot of things in life, there are always risks and if you always considered worse case scenario then you would never step foot outside your front door ;)
 
EOS_JD said:
Not sure about now but a few years ago the procedure was carried out by technicians (not opticians) and that is in PRIVATE clinics!! I'm sure optical express use suitably qualified personnel - but always worth asking who is doing the op and what their qualifications are.
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I can remember years ago, probably the first laser eye surgery being available was perfomed on a Russian ship which sailed around the world and you had to fly to other countries to meet it or wait for it to dock in your country.
Not sure who my mate had his laser surgery with, but his was by way of a winning bid on ebay. He had them done around 5 yrs ago now and hasn't had any problems at all.
 
I was well aware of the risks, those risks in opinion are so small its not worth worrying about!

Then again I don't mind risk, many things I do in life would be described as 'risky' but Im more content, better off financially and experience more than if I sat in the house with a helmet on.
 
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