My experience of Laser Eye Surgery (Optimax Epi Lasek Laser Eye Surgery)

Member Name: purplelynne

Product:	Optimax Epi Lasek Laser Eye Surgery
Date:	07/12/05 (5722 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: No need for glasses or contact lenses

Disadvantages: Expensive, and a longer recovery time than other procedures

I was sixteen (I’m 34 now) when I first started wearing glasses. Discovering that I actually needed glasses was a weird and uplifting experience that I will never forget. It was a lovely, hot summer day and I was in the park with my friend, who was just off to the optician to have her annual check-up. I didn’t realise she even wore glasses, she had kept it a secret for some strange reason, so being a typical teenager I tried them on for a laugh. And the results were amazing. I could see! The sky looked bluer, the details on people’s faces were clearer and I could see every blade of grass. It was an amazing and bizarre experience. I realised then that I needed to have an eye test.

I’ve been wearing either glasses or contact lenses ever since. Initially I just wore my glasses for driving, however, my sight has got progressively worse until it reached the point that I couldn’t function without wearing glasses. My mum put my bad eyesight down to the fact that I was useless at maths, because I always sat at the back of the class and could never see the blackboard. Unfortunately, it doesn’t alter the fact that I am still crap at maths despite sorting out my vision problem.

I first looked into laser eye surgery about two years ago. I did some research on the Internet and found two clinics which seemed to be the market leaders with a good reputation. These were Ultralese and Optimax. All of the intensive ‘digging’ came to the same conclusion: that laser eye surgery was very effective, reasonably painless, but very expensive. This last point halted my decision for quite a while, despite continuous phone calls from an annoying woman from Ultralese telling me that I could opt for their interest free option.

In May 2004 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-Lasek. I was suitable for both of these procedures but decided to go for Epi-Lasek because it was cheaper and Lasik wasn’t offered at the clinic nearest to me.

Lasik
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Briefly Lasik involves cutting a small layer of the cornea and lasering the surface. The flap is then repositioned and remains in place by natural suction. The process is also painfree and recovery time is a lot quicker.

The prices for Lasik are (at the time I had the surgery in July 2004):

£925 for a single eye
£1850 for both eyes

Epi-Lasek
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Epi-Lasek, sometimes known as PRK, involves lasering the surface of the cornea under the epithelium which is basically the surface skin of the eye. The epithelium is folded aside and the laser applied to the eye.

The prices for Epi-Lasek are:

£540 for a single eye
£1080 for both eyes

Epi-Lasek is suitable for people with a prescription of Sphere –1 to –4. My prescription was –3.50 so I was just at the right stage in my eye dysfunction to opt for the Epi.

At the time Optimax offered an interest free credit option for both of these treatments, which worked out at about £75 per month for 6-7 months with a £200 deposit. There is also a £60 consultation fee for both Lasik and Epi-Lasek.

Preparing for treatment
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I was told to take out my contact lenses ten days before going for the initial consultation. This was because the lenses affected the reading on the machines that they use to assess your prescription needs. Contact lenses ‘reshape’ the contours of your eyes and could give a false reading. This in itself was a strange experience for me, as everyone is so used to me wearing contact lenses. The children I work with looked at me funny and probably thought who was this strange lady coming to talk to them.

Day Zero
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On the say of the surgery I was really nervous, spending most of the morning either on the toilet or surfing the net to take my mind off the procedure. We left the island in plenty of time as my partner is an avid Burger King fan and we had to pay them a visit before attending the clinic (we don’t have a BK on the Isle of Wight!).

The clinic in Southampton is easy to find and located very close to the Mayflower Theatre. The clinic looks very small from the outside and quite security conscious, as you have to press a button to enter the building and stare into a camera. I was immediately greeted with five blue clad women on the reception desk.

Topography
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One of the first things that I had to do when I got to the clinic was have a few tests which took photographs of my eyes. My blood pressure was taken first with a very neat device which blew up on its own accord. Next I had to sit on a chair and look into a machine which blows small puffs of air into each eye. This test looks for glaucoma and is quite strange. It wasn’t uncomfortable, just a little off putting, especially as the woman had difficulty getting a reading from my right eye. The procedure had to be repeated several times and the flinch factor increased each time!

The next test was a bit more subdued. I rested my chin on a simple plastic tray and looked through a small hole until I saw a hot air balloon at the end of very long road. The eye care woman adjusted the device until I could see the balloon clearly. The final test involved another machine which took a photograph of my eyes. I looked through a large circle into a red light; the light curved and moved until it eventually took a snapshot of my pupils. A pretty picture was then printed out and added to my records.

Then came the forms – lots of them. I had to read a four-page document and initial each section to say that I had read and understood it. I then had to complete a questionnaire which included questions from the document I had just read. This was to see if I had read the document fully and understood what I was letting myself in for! It was like a mini- quiz - I like quizzes, but they didn’t tell me my score or give me a prize!

The waiting time in the clinic is very long, they inform you of this in the literature that they send you when you book your appointment, but I didn’t realise how long it would take. We arrived at 2.15pm and finally left the clinic at 6pm, so it took quite a while!

The Southampton clinic is quite small and has two consulting rooms, a topography room, toilets and the actual laser room. There are comfy grey leather armchairs and an overdose of air conditioning which actually made me feel cold at one point. There is also a coffee/tea machine which is available for customer use. I don’t know what I was expecting really, but seeing as it was a private clinic where I was paying over £1000 for treatment I at least expected magazines which weren’t six months out of date and someone offering me coffee in a cup rather than a polystyrene monstrosity.

The consultation
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I was finally called in to have my consultation which would determine my suitability for treatment and answer any questions that I may have. The Doctor asked me why I wanted to have laser eye surgery and I told him it was mainly due to convenience such as not having to worry about losing my contact lenses while swimming. It says in the brochure I was sent that some people are refused treatment due to personality conditions, such as perfectionists, so I think he was just checking to see if I loved myself too much!

The consultation involved a series of eye tests which are very similar to the eye tests you have at the opticians. He completed the usual tests using the letters and the black circles with a red and green background. He measured the size of my cornea to see if it was the right size for treatment. The doctor then added some antiseptic drops which stung slightly but were not painful. He did this to measure more aspects of my cornea, he did tell me, but by this point I was concentrating on the sting!

After giving me the opportunity to ask any questions, he then ran through the procedure itself and told me that I was suitable for the treatment if I wanted to go through with it. I didn’t need any more encouragement, I had been thinking about this moment for a long time and I wasn’t going to back out now.

I was then left to sort out payment with the receptionist which was an ordeal in itself! I had actually taken advantage of Optimax’s Buy One Get One Free offers – yes they even have BOGOF in cosmetic surgery! My friend was travelling up to London to have Lasik Surgery in two weeks, and therefore we were able to take advantage of half price surgery. Unfortunately because Lasik is more expensive than Epi-Lasek, which was what I was having, I still had to pay £850 for both eyes which was a saving of £230. My friend saved a huge £850 which was well worth it.

It took just under an hour to sort out this payment due to the fact that they had never come across this situation before, and became utterly confused. There were lots of bewildered looks and scratching of heads. No one seemed to know what they were doing, and I was a little annoyed by this ineptitude. I became hot and flustered, my stomach doing somersaults as I waited while they rang their accounts department trying to sort out the ‘problem’.

The treatment
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This was the bit I had been dreading for a long time. I was called into the laser eye treatment room by a nurse. There were two rooms; each separated by a large glass window, which allowed my partner to watch the surgery without actually entering the room.

I was asked to lie on a leather chair and my right eye was taped up to avoid blinking while my left eye was being treated. The doctor then inserted an eye clamp to my left eye, which was used to pry my eye open and stop it from closing shut or blinking. I had also been dreading this process, thinking that it would hurt and I would feel the urge to blink which would cause the contraption to fall out. This did not happen; the device was very effective and not at all uncomfortable.

The doctor then inserted some antiseptic eye drops, which were the same he had used previously. Again, they stung a little, but by then I didn’t care, I just wanted to get it over with. The drops had to be left in for exactly 30 seconds which seemed like ages. After the 30 seconds were up, the doctor then used a soft cotton bud to gently wipe away my epithelium, which is a small membrane which covers the cornea. This was a strange experience, my eye was blurred at this point due to the antiseptic drops, and I could just make out a movement which was the bud moving away a piece of my eye! I could still see the red and green light which was in the laser box. The doctor then asked me to look directly into the laser, which was a metal box with a red and green light inside. The doctor held the top of my head and my chin to stop me from moving and asked me to stare at the red light and keep as still as possible. He warned me that the smell of burning is normal and to be expected. He then told me that he would be putting the laser on for 28 seconds exactly, starting in three seconds. He counted down for me, and then the laser made a clicking noise which activated the laser beam. The smell was apparent almost instantly, it was very strong and pungent and very off putting. I imagined my eyeball burning as I lay on the chair. I didn’t see an actual ‘laser’ as it was invisible, but I continued to look into the red light. It was impossible to blink or move while the laser was activated. For what seemed like an eternity, the laser stopped and so did the disgusting burning smell, which was a huge relief.

The doctor then moved back my epithelium with the cotton bud, then added a bandage contact lenses (not made of crepe bandage but an actual contact lens!) and anti-biotic eye drops. He then removed the eye clamp and the ordeal for my left eye was over! I just had to do it all over again with my right eye! This time it didn’t seem too bad, the experience was painless and not that uncomfortable. It was a strange experience, and not what I had imagined at all. I thought there would be pain and discomfort and this just wasn’t the case.

My right eye was then treated for exactly 26 seconds, so I presume the correction was not as severe as my left. The whole process was repeated and bandage lenses applied. The whole treatment took just over 20 minutes and then I was ready to go.

I was given a little plastic bag full of medicines including 8 Solpadol painkillers, 4 Lorazepam sleeping tablets and a bottle of Exocin anti-biotic eye drops. It is also recommended that you use artificial ‘tear’ drops during the day to prevent dryness. The nurse recommended that I did not watch any television this evening, to which my partner quipped, that I would have to tape Big Brother instead! Other stipulations were that I couldn’t go swimming for a month and after that I would have to wear goggles for a further month. Sun beds should be avoided for at least six months and I should wear sunglasses out in the sun. I couldn’t get water in my eyes for a week and avoid getting chemicals in them for at least two weeks. This would make showering and washing my hair difficult, so the nurse recommended using swimming goggles to wash my hair.

It was also recommended that I shouldn’t drive for at least a week, but at that point I couldn’t even see the receptionists desk from where I was standing, so driving a car seemed like a pipe dream! We stood in the little cubicle outside the treatment room while the nurse reeled off a list of do’s and don’ts. I took my glasses from her, and put them on. Everything was totally blurred, and she laughed, telling me that I wouldn’t need them anymore. I wondered then if I had made a mistake, I couldn’t see with them and I couldn’t see without them.

At this point my eyes weren’t sore, and I trudged along to the receptionists desk to arrange a time on Saturday to come in and have my bandage lenses removed. I felt the other guinea pigs in the waiting area staring at me, just like I did when someone emerged from the laser treatment room. I couldn’t look at them because I couldn’t see them. All I could see was a few feet in front of me, and a blurring around everything that I looked at. I felt uncomfortable and a little vulnerable.

We left the clinic in a taxi to take us back to the Isle of Wight ferry; the sun seemed quite bright even though it was barely peeking through a cloud. I put my sunglasses on but the glare didn’t seem to subside. As I rested my head on the bumping windowpane I closed my eyes and the relief was amazing.

We got to the ferry terminal and I bought myself a cappuccino from the small café on the quay. A felt a shifting in my left eye, which felt exactly like a contact lens falling off my eye. We started to queue up for the 6.30pm Red Jet when the sensation became worse. I commented to my partner that it felt like one of the bandage lenses was coming out, on inspection of my eye he noticed that the lens had fallen out of my eye and was resting on my eyelash! I panicked at this point and slammed my right hand over my eye to protect it from the sun, sand or whatever foreign bodies decided to launch themselves at my pupil. My partner rang the clinic who told me to come back in. So off we went and found another taxi and raced back to the clinic in Kings Park Road.

When we got there the doctor told me it was nothing to worry about as he prised my hand away from my eye and took the lens from my hand. I was so hot at this point and worried that I had damaged my eye. I think that this is a very rare occurrence which didn’t make me feel any better about what had happened. I was taken back to the laser treatment room and more antiseptic drops were applied before he added another bandage lens and checked my right eye for any similar movement. He then added some more drops before sending me on my way again.

We took another taxi to the ferry, took the ferry to Cowes and then drove home. At this point I felt a slight pain in my right eye, which was similar to getting grit or sand under a contact lens. It wasn’t very pleasant but not at all severe. When I got home I went to bed early with two sleeping pills and dosed up with Sopadol, glad that the experience was over with but wondering when I would be able to see clearly again…

Aftercare
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After surgery you are expected to attend aftercare appointments. With Epi-Lasek you will need to return within three days to have the bandage lenses removed, and then again a week later for the doctor to see your progress. The last appointment should then be within three months.

Day One (Friday)
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I woke up the next morning with the same gritty feeling, but this time in both eyes. The pain wasn’t intense just uncomfortable. The worse part was not being able to open my eyes very wide, it was too painful, so I spent most of Friday squinting and wearing sunglasses, as the lights were too bright. It was easier to rest my eyes and sleep, so this is what I did most of the day. I was too uncomfortable to do anything else.

Day Two (Saturday)
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Today I had to go back to the clinic at 3.45pm to have my bandage lenses removed. The pain was just the same gritty uncomfortable feeling, with an added ‘tiredness’ of the eyes, like when I left my ordinary contact lenses in for too long.

Travelling to Southampton was an experience in itself. I wore a cap and dark sunglasses to protect my eyes, my hair an utter mess, as I hadn’t washed it since Thursday morning. My partner guided me along holding my hand as I stumbled around, only being able to see about two feet in front of me and even that was terribly blurred. I looked like a moody teenager as we strolled along, me with my face down at the floor and my partner dragging me along by the arm – in a nice way though!

We got there early, so went to the food court at the top of West Quay shopping centre and had a milkshake in Macdonald’s. I felt very self – conscious and thought that everyone was looking at me, later, my partner confirmed that they were! It must have seemed like he’d kidnapped me and I was drugged up to the eyeballs. Travelling along the road made me aware of certain devices in place for the partially sighted. I noticed a green light at the top and bottom of the escalator which indicated when to get on and off, and other symbols and notices which I had taken for granted before.

We got to the clinic about half an hour before my appointment time, at approximately 3.15pm and we were asked to take a seat. We sat, and waited, and waited a bit more. People came and went, had the surgery, had consultations and left. At 4.45pm I got up to ask the receptionists when I would be seen. She asked me my name, and said “Oh, sorry”. I had obviously been forgotten, she assured me that I would be seen next.

I eventually went into the consulting room at 5pm and the doctor apologised for the long wait. I informed him we had been waiting for an hour and a half, but he didn’t reply. He then inserted some more of the stinging drops into my eye and removed the lens. The relief was immediate, and I was able to open my eyes properly for the first time in days.

When we left the clinic I felt better for the first time in days, despite the fact that I still couldn’t see properly. Granted I could open my eyes now, but I still couldn’t see clearly. The doctor had told me that I would be driving by Thursday of next week, but this seemed a bit ambitious.

Day Three (Sunday)
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I woke up expecting to be able to see, but my sight was just the same. The pain had completely gone now since the lenses had been removed, but my vision was still very poor and I was now long sighted. I think I was before today, but just couldn’t open my eyes to notice!

Day Four (Monday)
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The vision in my left eye had improved greatly by day four, but my left was very poor. I still couldn’t read or watch TV, as it was too uncomfortable. Obviously boredom had set in. I would definitely recommend anyone who is going to have this procedure to stock up on CD’s and audio books.

Day Five (Tuesday)
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My left eye continued to improve today, I could see quite clearly if I covered my right eye. However, my right was still very dodgy and I was unable to see anything clearly. I went to the library and borrowed four audio books, as I was still unable to watch TV, read or go on the computer. Housework was also difficult (unfortunately!), as I was unable to see fine details.

I was annoyed though, because audio books have to be paid for and you only get them for a week. I thought this was very discriminatory for partially sighted people. Books are free and you are allowed to keep them for three weeks, yet you only get the speaking books for a week. This enhanced my frustration for partially sighted or blind people where they’re disability is permanent, unlike mine.

Day Six (Wednesday)
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I woke up today with improved vision in both eyes with the left being markedly better than the right. I could see clearly and watching TV was difficult but not impossible. My eyes were still very sensitive to the light, and I had to wear sunglasses when I pottered about in the garden.

My long-sightedness remained and it was a struggle to read small print. I had to bring the book or magazine very close to my eyes like Mr Magoo, and looked very silly. I plodded on with the audio books and hoped that I could watch Big Brother that night instead of just hear it!

Day Seven (Thursday)
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I woke up in the night and my eyes felt very sore and dry, I kept them closed as I fumbled my way into the toilet! On waking in the morning, my eyesight is even clearer than yesterday. I can see very well long distances, but the short distances are still quite blurred. I still didn’t think that my vision was as sharp as it was when I wore my glasses though, so I still felt quite reluctant to drive. I decided to wait until the next day when I had my aftercare visit, to see what the doctor had to say about it. My eyes feel quite dry and I used artificial tears (Hypromellose drops) a lot more.

Day Eight (Friday)
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Today I went for my aftercare appointment. I woke up and had clear vision in both eyes. We got to Southampton and had to wait half an hour because they had no record of my appointment!

I saw an optician today, who said that my eyes are healing well, and that I have clear perfect vision in my left eye, but slight short-sightedness in my right. This is so slight that it is almost unnoticeable. I can now see clearer and further than my friend who wears contact lenses! He undertook a series of sight tests which I completed before and it was totally painless – no dreadful stinging eye drops! My long sightedness is to be expected, and will return to normal within four weeks. I have to return to the clinic in a month’s time for a further aftercare visit. So all is well, and I can now drive again!

Conclusion
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I am glad that I have had the surgery, but in hindsight I wish that I had gone for the Lasik treatment as the results are almost instant and painfree. The idea of travelling up to London for the treatment and aftercare put me off choosing Lasik but I know I would have been able to see clearly much quicker. Saying that I have spent about £65 in ferry fares and £15 in taxi fares travelling to Southampton. It was also the school holidays, and as I only work term time only, I had plenty of time to recover before I go back to work in September.

I would definitely recommend treatment to anyone who is fed up with wearing glasses or contact lenses. If you weigh up all the money you will spend over the years on glasses, eye tests and contact lens solutions, surely it is cheaper to consider laser surgery. The convenience is another deciding factor, and I couldn’t wait to go swimming again and not have to worry about losing a contact lens in the pool.

Waking up in the middle of the night is also great, I don’t have to worry about reaching for my glasses or worry about stubbing my toe because I couldn’t see the toy my son had left on the top of the stairs. I can get ready quicker in the mornings, without having to worry about inserting my lenses. But the best thing is being able to see clearly ALL the time. I could only wear my lenses for about 8 hours a day, so I had to choose to wear them in the day or at night if we were off out for an evening, now I don’t have to make that decision. But now for the bad bits…

Possible side effects
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Dry eyes
Eyelid drooping
Double vision
Haziness
Unevenness of the cornea
Possibility of infection which could lead to blindness

Among others, which are all detailed in the four-page document that they send to you after you have booked your treatment.

Other facts
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Over 95% of patients no longer need glasses after treatment.

You may need glasses after the age of 45 for reading. This is normal and applies to most people regardless of whether they have had laser eye surgery or not.

If you want independent advice look on www.moorfields.org.uk/laser-surgery.html or www.FDA.gov/cdrh/lasik


Optimax details
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www.optimax.co.uk


08705 14 33 14
Lines open Monday to Friday 8am-8pm
Saturday 8am-7pm
Sunday 10am-2pm

The number for the Southampton clinic is 0238 063 4828.


One last point, I read this somewhere and am not sure if it is true or an urban myth: One day a very short-sighted man was driving his car, when he had a terrible crash. A piece of the glass windscreen flew into his eye. Surgeons removed the glass in an operation; afterwards the man had perfect vision in that eye. And so the concept of laser eye surgery was conceived…

What now?
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I had my surgery nearly 18 months ago now, and my eyes are still perfect. I have 20:20 vision, and have had no discomfort or pain at all since then.

I hope I’ve covered everything, if you would like any more information or have any questions, just jot them down in the comments section and I will try to answer all queries.

Thanks for reading.

Summary: An effective and nearly painless procedure for perfect vision