Optilase willing to do Lasik after 4 days lens free (only!)?

Glowing

Hi there,

I had a consultation with Optilase on Ely Place during the week - it went very well. I liked the clinic and the Optician and felt confident that I'd be well taken care of. They suggested I'd be a very good candidate for wavefront Lasik procedure (small prescription of -2 and no astigmatism)

However the Optician then offered me a date of that Saturday morning - even though I'd be only 4 days lens free by then - "4 full days should be fine". Their standard literature (and most other clinics) will recommend you are at least 1 week lens free before the surgery. Would this ring alarm bells for you?

I since got in touch with the Wellington clinic - they won't see me (for a consultation even!) until I've been two weeks lens free, and it's a week lens free before the surgery. However the very same procedure will cost me at least a thousand more I think. I've heard good things about Optilase, but I'm not sure if their willingness to do the surgery that early is a bit wreckless?

Would look forward to your opinions? Thanks!

Mousewar

You do actually need to be lens free for less time prior to the surgery than the consultation but four days is seriously pushing it. I'm not a surgeon so can't comment on it medically but that seems way too lax an attitude.
How long were you lens free for the consultation? It should be at least a week to ensure accurate reading and yes the Wellington say two weeks.
I had the exact same prescription as you and I had it done in the Wellington. I just had one eye done as leaving the other eye with a -2 prescription will prevent the need for reading glasses. The fact that they were more expensive was never a factor for me. I wouldn't touch any of these franchise places with a barge pole personally.

Glowing

Mousewar wrote: »

You do actually need to be lens free for less time prior to the surgery than the consultation but four days is seriously pushing it. I'm not a surgeon so can't comment on it medically but that seems way too lax an attitude.
.

Hi thanks for the reply - yes that's what I thought alright. I thought everything was going well until they offered me that early date - and alarm bells rang.

I was lens free for 1 day before the consultation!

If you don't mind me asking, are you in your late 30s or 40s? Optilase suggested doing the 2 eyes as I am 'only' 33 How are you getting on with just one good eye?

I have a consultation with the Wellington this week - I'm looking forward to hearing their recommendations.

Mousewar

1 day is insane - no way they can get an accurate reading of your cornea as it is physically altered from wearing lens. That really is crazy.

I'm actually 29. Thing is, to be ultra safe, I said I'd get one eye done at a time. They said, considering my prescription and that I wanted one eye done at a time that I should at least try the monovision and see how it went and I could come back and get the 2nd eye done if I wanted. Six months later and I haven't felt inclined to get the other eye done. It doesn't suit everyone but tbh I'd be hard pressed to actually notice that only one eye is done.
Given your prescription it might be worth considering.
I had Lasek, not Lasik btw.

Glowing

Mousewar wrote: »

1 day is insane - no way they can get an accurate reading of your cornea as it is physically altered from wearing lens. That really is crazy.

I'm actually 29. Thing is, to be ultra safe, I said I'd get one eye done at a time. They said, considering my prescription and that I wanted one eye done at a time that I should at least try the monovision and see how it went and I could come back and get the 2nd eye done if I wanted. Six months later and I haven't felt inclined to get the other eye done. It doesn't suit everyone but tbh I'd be hard pressed to actually notice that only one eye is done.
Given your prescription it might be worth considering.
I had Lasek, not Lasik btw.

Interesting, thanks for the info. Where did you get yours done if you don't mind me asking?

Do you feel your distance vision is sharp? And how long did it take to recover from the Lasek?

Sorry for all the questions

Mousewar

Wellington
Yes
Painwise - there wasn't really any. But tbh, took about 6 weeks for the eye to settle into absolutely perfect vision. And I had one incident about three weeks after surgery where my eyelid stuck to the epithelium (thin coating over the eye that is removed for Lasek and then replaced), causing it to hurt like hell for a couple of hours. It happens a lot apparently but isn't a big issue, other than the pain.