LASIK Eye Surgery

Advantages: Perfect vision, quick results, no more contact lenses
Disadvantages: Cost, possible problems as with all operations

...THE SCIENCE BIT ********************** LASIK laser eye surgery (Laser In-Situ Keratomileusis) is a surgical method of cutting a very thin layer of the cornea of the eye to create a flap (the width of a hair), leaving a hinged flap at the top which is lifted from the eye and then held up allowing a pre-programmed laser to reshape the exposed eye surface (cornea) before the flap is replaced into it’s original position. This procedure allows for the ...
...two main types: PRK and Lasik as well as others. As I chose the Lasik option, I will mainly focus on this type. The difference being that with PRK the eye is lasered directly with no flap being created. Therefore the laser ‘scratches’ away excess tissue to achieve thinning of the cornea. This in turn causes longer recovery times as the wound will weep more as it is exposed to oxygen. Lasik is recommended for those who are very short sighted, whereas ... Read review

Advantages: No more glasses or lenses, quick and painless
Disadvantages: Expensive, full recovery takes time.

...I was suitable for Wavefront LASIK treatment. He also took time to explain the process to me and he wanted to discuss my motivations and expectations. It was explained to me that whilst perfect vision was the goal, it might be that I would need a mild prescription for some activities, such as driving. Additionally, my eyes could continue to change after surgery just as they could without surgery and of course as I get older I could find myself needing ...
...With a prescription of -7 it is nigh on impossible to function without glasses and I felt that even being, say -1, would still be a vast improvement. Some people may be surprised at that statement, glasses are glasses after all aren't they? But I think it is difficult for even somebody with glasses to understand quite what the world looks like to me. Under no pressure from my consultant whatsoever, I booked my appointment and was told that my treatment ... Read review

Advantages: A very real chance of un-aided vision
Disadvantages: Risks are statistically small - depends on your attitude to risk

...recommended the most popular LASIK. LASIK stands for Laser ASsisted In-situ Keratomileusis. It has been around since the mid 1990’s and is used in the majority of treatments. Treatment Day! That morning I woke up feeling equally excited and scared. I so wanted not to be in the small minority of cases where things went wrong. However, I so fed up of needing to wear glasses to find my glasses, that I was prepared to take a chance. I looked at the bottle ...
...and thought with any luck I’d never need to use them again. On the day of treatment I was handed the consent form to sign. As I re-read the list of risks and freakish things that could happen, I got a case of the jitters. If there was one moment when I felt like forgetting about the whole thing, it was then. However, I knew I really wanted to do it, so took a deep breath and signed on the dotted line. Prior to going in to the operating room, I ... Read review

Advantages: Vision like I've never had before
Disadvantages: The gritty after pain

...2002. I underwent LASIK on both eyes on the same day for short sightedness with a stigmatism. I had worn glasses since I was 7 years old, and had been taunted by nicknames such as “Four eyes” for the whole of my school life. Other inconveniences of glasses include raindrops, being unable to swim in the pool with them, the “ring” around your vision, the dent in the bridge of the nose, and the light reflecting off them whilst night driving to name ...
...knew someone who had undergone Lasik there, and recommended the consultant Mr Ray Chaudhuri (DO, FRCS, FRC Ophth). Also, they have a reputation to uphold. There are many other places, such as Boots, Optimax etc. I can’t vouch for them, as I have no experience of their treatments, but I know the company who supply the Laser equipment to Boots, and know that it is state of the art gear! When you start talking to people about considering having this ... Read review

Advantages: Quick, easy, painless.
Disadvantages: Expensive, Has some risks.

...With an estimated 4.5 million LASIK procedures to be carried out this year, even if 95% are entirely satisfied with the outcome, that still leaves 225,000 unhappy and vociferous opponents of the surgery. My research revealed that less than 2% of patients experienced a loss of Best Corrected Visual Acuity (BCVA) after surgery. (BCVA is the best vision you have whilst wearing spectacles). As my prescription was approximately –2.00 in each eye with ...
...clinics in the country performing LASIK and I attended three consultations to provide a comparison. I chose Accuvision, Harley Street Laser Eye Clinic and Ultralase for my consultations. The consultation involves a number of tests to assess your suitability for surgery. Many of the tests you would receive in a standard eye exam, but additionally they measure corneal thickness, pupil size, eye pressure and produce a corneal ‘map’ showing the irregularities ... Read review

Advantages: Clarity of vision, less invasive method
Disadvantages: Some risks involved, cost

...INTRODUCTION I enjoy diving and one of the major annoyances for me was that it and contact lenses could not happily coexist. When teaching without my mask on (which happens) I was forced to keep my eyes shut or risk losing my sight. Without the lenses, I was severely short-sighted. In normal UK diving conditions (ie underwater), where the visibility is restricted somewhat by plankton blooms in spring (which turn the water milky) and generally cack conditions at all other times, this does not often pose a problem. Looking for the dive boat or one's trainees on the surface was another matter entirely. I decided to sort the matter out by taking a diving acquaintance's advice and going for laser eye surgery. I was told that LASEK was more beneficial and safer than LASIK, which seemed to be the more popular method at the time. Not only did... Read review

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Advantages: Burning those milk bottled bottomed glasses you've been wearing for years
Disadvantages: Most companies make you sign a huge disclaimer thus protecting their fundiments.

...I have recently been on a consultation to have Laser Eye surgery and have found the whole process to be a bit of an eye opener (No pun intended). I am very badly short sighted and continue to be browned off with plonking little blobs of plastic in my eyes, however vanity prevents me from wearing glasses full time. I was always aware of Lasik treatment but had never taken it seriously until recently. In recent years the Americans and we have taken to this treatment, Tiger Woods and Richard Branson (In Harley Street) have had the treatment and don't the consultants make a point of mentioning this! The treatment dates back to 1995 and the laser used in the surgery was developed from the IBM laser used to make microchips so we are talking state of the art technology. The surgery itself involves a small flap being cut from underneath... Read review

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Advantages: To be able to see unaided
Disadvantages: Expensive

...continuous phone calls from an annoying woman from Ultralese telling me that I could opt for their interest free option. About two months ago, I finally came to a decision to go ahead with the surgery. I ended up going with Optimax for two main reasons, one was the location of their clinics and the second option was the price, which was considerably cheaper than Ultralese. Optimax was founded in 1991 by Russell Ambrose and provides treatment solely for the eyes. They have clinics in Birmingham, Bristol, Croydon, Glasgow, Ipswich, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Newcastle and Southampton (taken from Optimax brochure). The company have performed over 157,000 treatments since 1992 with an average of 800 a week. Big business then! There were two forms of laser eye surgery which I could have had, these were Lasik and Epi... Read review

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