Lasik | Lasek Problems

I've just had Lasik eye surgery last week. The surgeon Mr Stefan Klopper operated on me in the Belfast Optical Express. My Left eye was prescribed as my dominant eye and to be corrected for distance vision, my right eye was for reading (mono vision). On the day of surgery Mr Klopper attempted to clamp a suction ring on my right eye but after several unsuccessful attempts he gave up and moved on to the left eye. It connected first time and the surgery commenced. After the left eye was finished he went back to work on the right eye, and the ring worked ok first attempt.
Next day I went back for a check up and the tell the truth my vision that day and ever since until now in my right eye has been very blurry. My left eye which is supposed to be for distance is very good now for reading close up but the distance is a wee bit blurry. The right eye which was supposed to be my reading eye is very blurry when I hold something at arms length to read e.g. newspaper print. I wonder could the difficulty trying to get the suction ring on the right eye be a problem and could the surgeon have mixed up the prescription for my right and left eye? Hence the not so bad reading distance on my left eye which is supposed to be for distance. I have to go back on Friday 15th for another check up. I am very wary about letting them operate on my right eye again in case it all goes horribly wrong and it is left worse than before. I have read some of the horror stories on this web site and I wish I had read them before I went to OE I wish I had done some research instead of walking blindly into surgery, I would have definitely cancelled my operation. I am therefore reluctant to let them at my eyes again I have lost all confidence in the surgeons at OE. Have you any advice?
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admin: Pls send your number info@opticalexpressruinedmylife.co.uk

Now 55, I was born with a squint/lazy muscle and had 3 operations as child to correct the squint, which they messed up and cut off too much muscle leaving me cross-eyed. Over the years I wore glasses and contact lenses permanently as this was the only way to hide my squint. In my later years, pre surgery, I wore varifocals for reading/work and contact lenses for sport/going out.

At the 2010 consultation with Optical Express of course I was told I was perfect for surgery and they assured me it would cure my squint, would change my life, and all the same old sales pitch they throw at you. I would have 20/20 vision and would never have to pay out for glasses and/or contact lenses again and this would save me a fortune over the years!

At no time did they ever tell me my eyes would regress, and that it could happen repeatedly! If I knew this was common I would never have paid the money or taken the risk of having surgery.

November 2010, booked in for Lasik surgery, on arrival at a Bristol clinic everyone was told that the laser had broken down and we were shipped to another site in Bristol, where the surgeon then had double numbers of patients for the day. Herded into a waiting room, and after an extremely long wait I finally met the surgeon, who was bad tempered, abrupt, couldn’t care less attitude, and scared the life out of me (but I put that down to the fear of the surgery). During surgery he was shouting at me to keep still as well as tutting, huffing and puffing and pushing my shoulders around - I was terrified, but too late to pull out. I came out of the theatre crying uncontrollably, and I’m just not a person who breaks down like that!

Afterwards I had all sorts of post op problems and was at the Reading Clinic when they told me I needed to go back to Bristol immediately to have the flap lifted. I said I couldn’t as I had my car with me - they told me it was OK as I’d be able to drive immediately after the surgery! I still said no, it’s not possible and also there was no way I was letting that surgeon anywhere near me again.

I was then sent to see Mr Manek Patel at Uxbridge, who said he wouldn’t do further surgery at that stage and put me on steroids and drops for two weeks.

Some months later my eyes started regressing and after many more checkups, told each time, "your eyes are OK” (they make you feel you must be imagining the change in your sight) they decided to do more surgery. I insisted that I had a more experienced surgeon and wanted to meet him in advance. I chose Mr Manek Patel and in April 2013 I had Lasek on both eyes, again given the '20/20 vision’ sales pitch, told that secondary laser surgery is very rare and that I must be one of the unlucky ones!

Almost 3 years later, 3 to 4 weeks ago my eyes regressed again, and it felt like it happened almost over night. Asked myself was I imagining this, tried drops every day for weeks before making an appointment to be checked at Optical Express in Southampton (I’ve moved since the last surgery).

First of all they couldn’t find my name on the appointment list and the receptionist actually asked me in front of everyone waiting if I'd come to the right opticians and was it not Vision Express I wanted? They’d changed my appointment without bothering to tell me! I finally saw the optometrist and I felt uncomfortable with this guy straight away. He started checking my eyes the old fashioned way, with the funny glasses and slotting different lenses into the side, using a hand held magnifying glass to ask me what is best, '1 or 2 - but the heavy frame was lop sided and I just sat there thinking what the xxxx is going on. Still asking me 'what’s better, 1 or 2’, before I had a chance to make a decision he said, "don’t bother I can tell from your hesitation" and went on like this for several minutes. He then told me wearing ready readers was bad and I replied that it was his lot who told me to go and buy them. He said I should have reading glasses made up and told me I should buy +2.25 prescription. I reminded him that it’s not my reading that’s the problem it’s mid/long range, so he then said well you can have glasses made up or wear a contact lens in one eye.

I then got angry and said I didn’t pay over £3,200 for laser surgery to be now told to have glasses made up and wear contact lenses again. I was promised 20/20 vision and told me that’d be my prescription for life, and only my reading vision would deteriorate with age, which I’d always accepted. He waffled around and I just continued to argue with him. He said if I had more surgery I would have to pay for it again and I then got angry and said no way am I paying for more surgery and they hadn’t delivered the guarantee they'd sold me.

He then had a conversation through an open door with a colleague sitting out in the main area with customers. They agreed that I should have an appointment with their laser specialist with a view to further surgery. But I know now that each time they operate I am putting myself at further risk of more complications with my sight.

My sight has always been a major fear for me over the years because of my squint (which the surgery has corrected) but now I am worried it may come back if I don’t get this problem resolved.

I feel gutted and very let down that I was never told the real truth about laser surgery, including the risks of regression!

I am now researching my options re further surgery (as well as getting a 2nd opinion elsewhere) and finding out where I stand legally with Optical Express, as the surgery they sold me was definitely not fit for purpose!

A very brief timeline...
Surgery late 2011.
Problems - obviously! Started with dryness and soreness and progressed to halos/coronas and now double vision in one eye. This makes driving interesting to say the least...
Regular trips for reviews. How many? I literally lost count!
Every make of drop, cream, ointment from the supplies cupboard.
Many trips to Harley Street to see the senior ophthalmologists (Jan Venter and Jonathan Carr)
‘Goodwill gesture’ form OE paid for the train fares to London.
Until now.
"Goodwill" is no more!

Obviously I want a refund of the money I paid for the unsuccessful procedure but should I write and ask them for this or should I ask for compensation too? I've followed the court events so I am not sure what to expect.

Any advice greatly appreciated.
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admin: Pls send your number info@opticalexpressruinedmylife.co.uk

In August, 2009 I underwent LASIK eye surgery at the Optical Express clinic in Nottingham and everything appeared to be fine.

After about a year, I noticed my distance vision was reverting back to how it was before the operation. By 2012, the regression had stabilized at minus 2.0 - back to where I started. As per our contract, they agreed to give me another operation. It was advised that I should opt for LASEK for the second operation, to which I agreed. However, on the day of the operation, the surgeon (this time in the Birmingham branch) informed me that he could see the existing flaps in my eyes, and assured me that LASIK was an equally safe option. As such, I trusted his word and he went ahead with a second LASIK operation.

Following the operation, I experienced bouts of extreme dryness and sensitivity, especially when I opened my eyes first thing in the morning. And then, during the summer of 2012, I was awoken in the middle of the night by the most excruciating agony I had ever known. It was unremitting and unbearable. An ambulance came at 3 a.m. and took me to hospital. As a result of my second operation, I'd incurred corneal erosion. The hospital prescribed morphine for the pain, and sodium chloride ointment, (Oftalmolosa Cusi Antiedema) which I have had to use nightly ever since. Optical Express’ own specialists, and the physicians at Coventry’s Walsgrave hospital, concurred that the corneal erosion was a direct result of the second LASIK surgery.

The corneal erosion caused extreme distortion of the vision in my right eye, and I had to wait another eight months for it to stabilize in order that they could operate again - this time with the less-invasive and safer method, LASEK, in March, 2013. Nevertheless, I have had to use sodium chloride ointment ever since in order to prevent another incident of corneal erosion.

As per my original agreement with OE, and numerous reiterations by their staff, they agreed to provide lifetime aftercare, specifically with regards to injuries directly resulting from the surgeries.
Almost three years later, I have reached the stage where I'm using Oftalmolosa Cusi Antiedema every other night rather than every night. It is clear that the day will come when I won't need it any more. Unfortunately, that day has not yet arrived.

During the early days, I would call the head office and order a new tube of the ointment. It would arrive within a few weeks before I was out of my existing supply. However, after a few months, I'd wait for a month and nothing would arrive. I would call the head office, only to be told they had no record of the order. This went on for some time, and every month was a tension-ridden experience, with the ointment arriving just in time. I contacted my local branch (Leicester) about it, and they told me to order the ointment through them, because they had a direct line to the head office. Sure enough, when I let them deal with it, the ointment arrived on time. That is - until January, 2016.

I placed my last the order in the middle of December, 2015. After five weeks, nothing arrived, so I contacted the Leicester branch. They assured me they had emailed the head office and advised me to contact them directly on this occasion, which I did.

Once again, there was no record of the order. Extremely concerned, I expressed to their personnel the vital importance of me receiving the ointment, because my optical health was on the line. On Tuesday, January 19th, their operatives assured me they would have two tubes dispatched to me immediately. Sure enough, the familiar package arrived on Saturday, January 23rd – but there was nothing in it. They had sent me an empty, sealed, jiffy envelope.

I contacted the head office immediately and was put through to an individual named Pierre in Clinical Services. Obviously exasperated after such a long history enduring these experiences, I would put it to any reasonable human being that the anxiety in my voice would have been natural and involuntary. Nevertheless, Pierre seemed to be of the opinion that I had no right to such feelings, going on to attempt to berate me for my tone of voice. Zero-accountability certainly seems to be their policy.

He went on to say he would send me another package as a matter of ‘good will’, this time to be delivered to the Leicester branch for me to collect. But then he went on to say that their 'lifetime’ aftercare policy was limited, and that I would have to pay for future orders. Pierre attempted to convince me that I had signed an agreement that ‘lifetime aftercare’ did not mean ‘lifetime aftercare’. He offered to send me an email attachment of the agreement in order to prove his case. As expected, the email didn’t arrive. I attempted to follow this up, only to be told I would have to pay an (unstated) administration fee in order for them to dispatch the documents.

‘Limited’ aftercare was never a term of our agreement; rather lifetime aftercare was stressed as a selling point from the outset. I would also note that, during those initial discussions, I was informed that I was a prime candidate for surgery, which was sold to me under the assurance that complications, while possible, were 'negligible in number and anecdotal'. I am now aware that independent evidence suggests otherwise.

I have been relentlessly ignored and lied to by this organization, they have repeatedly gone back on their word, my eyes are in jeopardy - and worst of all, I am not even supposed to respond to it with any degree of emotion.

I logged a complaint with the head office directly, which was responded to by an operative named Martin Gray. His reply was surprisingly amicable. He assured me my case would be submitted for discussion, and he would get back to me in twenty day’s time.

The ointment Pierre promised to send to the Leicester branch did not arrive. However, on February 3rd, it was delivered to my home via recorded delivery. While certainly a relief, it does, nevertheless, bring into question what one may expect to happen when dealing with this company. Was the ointment that was delivered to my home the package Pierre promised? Was it a long-overdue posting of the original order? Or was it a response to the complaints I have raised with the head office? Unremitting inconsistency and non-existent communication makes this impossible to assess, or to know where one stands.

To be continued . . .

A small sample from the extensive and shocking information I've recently received from OE insiders






DLK = Diffuse lamellar keratitis
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diffuse_lamellar_keratitis

I’m 55 and last September I made the mistake of choosing Optical Express to perform Lasek treatment on both my eyes. The result of this was that I could not see well enough to drive - or to read!

When this was pointed out to Optical Express I was offered a second Lasek treatment.

This was done less than 6 months later and at first appeared to be better in as much that I could focus to read a bit. But I still could not see well enough to drive, or read subtitles on TV.

Dr Luca Antico performed all operations.

My eyes were changing prescription quickly so Optical Express gave me a 'temporary' pair of single vision glasses which let me (just about) read number plates, but only in good lighting conditions.

I also have trouble with sunlight being too bright so they gave me a pair of single vision dark glasses. I’m told I probably have photophobia, which I didn’t have before Lasek.

Looks like I am another example of Optical Express' surgery failures.

After many years of spending money on expensive spectacles I decided to try Optical Express and get 20/20 vision without spectacles.

I went to the Belfast clinic and this was the result.

Stephen did the initial examinations on the 31/5/14 and the optician then recommended laser on both eyes. I was well aware that I would have to wear glasses to read but everything beyond that would be "crystal clear" as one of them put it. David, the manager who sold the surgery to me, told me it was his last reduced deal of the day if I paid £395 cash immediately and signed a 10 month loan agreement with Hitachi @ £260 per month. All now paid up.

I had the operation on Saturday 7/6/2014 carried out by Waseem Aziz (I think that was his name).

I attended all the post op appointments, used the drops prescribed to me, but was told on 28/7/14 that I had 20/20 vision on my left eye but that my right eye still had not settled down.

Helen, another optometrist, advised that I should have further surgery and offered me two options, but I wanted the advice of the surgeon who did the operation. On 20/1/15 he advised against any further surgery as he could not guarantee what the results would be. The way he explained it was, when its a large amount to pare off it is much easier than trying to pare off a small amount.

Speaking to Robert on the telephone later I complained that I had paid all that money and did not get the results I was promised and what was I to do. In a very condescending manner he told me, "well you will just have to wear glasses then".

I have been to Optical Express again since then to have my eyes tested as they are getting worse and I go through terrible discomfort, even though I use the eye drops given to me more than 20 times per day (at least once an hour) and more frequently when in office and using computer. I have now been given 2 pairs of glasses, one for when reading and computer work, and the other for all other times. So when someone walks into the office I cannot see who they are and have to change glasses, never mind reading road signs or reading any kind of signs more than 18” to 24” distant from me.

On 11/5/15, when last in Belfast, I asked about varifocals and Clare, another optometrist, and she said she would have to check if they could give me a discount. I decided I was not giving them any more money and as I needed varifocals I would get them from my local opticians.

So this is where I am, very frustrated, with 2 pairs of glasses and over £3,000 out of pocket including all the bus trips to Belfast at nearly £19 each trip.

I cannot describe quite how disappointed I am with the results, and will now take them up on their advertised offer of, '20:20 Vision or Your Money Back'.

It will be interesting to see what their response is.

A lot of young men and women want to be free of spectacles and contact lenses, as was the case with my son. So for his 21st birthday I bought him laser eye surgery, believing all that I had read and was told - that it would be a miracle that would change my son's life for ever, and I was convinced by the guarantee of "lifetime" care also.

Five years later my son's eyesight is deteriorating fast, it is now worse than it ever was. He has blurred vision, halo night vision and constant headaches. The one time follow up that he had, which he had to organise himself, is less than impressive - "dry eyes use drops..." Really? Is that what we paid nearly £3,000 for, worse eyesight after five years and no real aftercare.

Sadly I feel at a loss as to where to turn and I'm sure Optical Express being the large corporation they are offer little to no help. I have looked all over their website and could find nothing on help and follow up. In my search I came across this site and am hopeful for any advice or support as I feel absolutely devastated right now...

Simon, I feel very emotional reading your post as I am in the same situation. I had Lasik at Optimax in 2012 and have suffered every day since. Not only me but my family have suffered enormously too. I have been in the lowest place with severe depression because of this eye surgery nightmare.
I have seen independent specialists whose diagnoses range from 'central islands', to 'dry eye', and reassurances that everything will be ok with my eyes. They are not ok, I have daily eye strain, sensitivity, blurry vision (even though my eye prescription is zero). I have a lot to live for, and now have to try and get on with life with this 'invisible disability'.

I completely agree with your words 'I wouldn't wish such a test or journey on anyone'!

Why would a surgeon make multiple attempts to attach the suction ring during lasik ops instead of aborting the procedure? No doubt because they only get paid for completed ops and therefore will plough on regardless of the permanent damage they are inflicting on patients.

This is criminal assault and it should be prosecuted as such by the courts.

Talented children’s writer Jan Fearnley tells her horrendous story of how her cornea was ruined by repeated suction attempts during lasik ops at ULTRALASE (now owned by Optimax CEO Russell Ambrose).
www.lasereyenightmare.com/