Overseas Surgery

Tweets wrote: I did a lot of research before I chose to go abroad (Prague).

Not eniugh obviously because you wouldn’t have gone to Prague

"I had tried multifocal contact lenses, but instantly could not get on with them."
Did you try trifocals before having surgery?

"After the first op and after removing the patch, I could only see mistiness, but could read words. They told me this was normal. Two days later I had the second op and again the situation was the same.”
You would risk 2nd eye after 1st no good??

"It has only been two weeks since I had the procedure done and my eyesight is far worse than ever before.
I now have to face paying £4200 to have the procedure done in UK or €1000 in Prague at the same place (+ Hotel and flights).”
Would you seriously go back to Prague???

"If my eyes had been messed up because of surgical error, I can assure you I would be suing his backside off!"
You say it was not surgical error but you are not medically trained to decide that! Nigh on impossible sueing someone in Prague from England!!

"These were all English speaking people.”
My postman speaks English but I wouldn’t let him operate on me!

"I had to trust the lenses they recommended.”
Why???

"It would not matter where I had this done, the result would have been the same. I know that now!”
You can not say the result would have been the same!!

" Like any procedure, there is always a risk.”
You said you did not got to Optical Express because you read the reviews. I don’t want to be mean and add to your upset but I am shaking my head in disbelief that you increased your the risk factor and went to Prague :pinch:

Ethnicity of the surgeon has little to do with the ability to perform any procedure or the outcome for the patient. I would even say the ability to speak English is not so important. My reservations come from adding a dimension of risk to an already hazardous procedure (performed in a distant jurisdiction guided by different parameters of patient protection, without easy access to continuity of aftercare).

Several of my relatives practice medicine ( not refractive eye surgery) in Eastern Europe and are experts in their fields. When some years ago I wanted to have dental surgery abroad, they discouraged me for those very reasons - not because they felt their local dental surgeons were unable to perform the procedure, but because of outlined added 'extras'.

I think refractive surgery is multifaceted and there are two clear threads for debate - one related to the risks of a specific elective procedure, the other to the location where it is to be performed. If safety is to be the guiding principle, one needs to seriously consider pros and cons of both threads. As refractive eye surgery is risky by its very nature, I would strongly discourage anyone from inflating that risk by having it performed abroad.

Also; I've just re-read For Pete's Sake's comments and I for one really don't think there was any racial context to it, it seemed pretty accurate to me. I think that was a straightforward misunderstanding.

And for the record, some of the smartest people I've ever had the privilege to work with have been from Romania; so damned bright they made my teeth hurt!

Well, there are good surgeons and there are bad surgeons, and location and ethnicity are pretty much irrelevant. I think morality and dedication are far more important criteria, and those are simply down to the individual. All that to one side;

I just need to emphasise yet again the fundamental difference between monofocal and multifocal / trifocal lenses. Monofocals are refractive lenses, like the ones you were born with, multi and trifocals are diffractive lenses, using a technology which is more akin to the foil-blocked hologram you see on a credit card. Monofocals are an >>entirely<< known quantity. Multi / tri's are >>not<<.

It does not matter how good your surgeon is, they simply cannot predict how you will react to the literally unnatural image presented to your retina by diffractive lenses, because the human vision system (i.e. how the image gets processed by your brain) is not yet fully understood.

If you have monofocal surgery (as in NHS) you know what you're going to get. You have multifocal / trifocal - flip a coin, because you are effectively being experimented on. As a recipient of multifocal lenses I also know the drawbacks; glares and haloes are bad to be sure, but wait until you get into lack of contrast sensitivity. Driving at night can be absolutely bloody terrifying, as one moment you can more or less see where you're going, and the next - as light levels drop below a threshold - you're damn near blind and doing 70 miles an hour. I cannot adequately describe how bad this is without extensive recourse to expletives.

When I go for explantation, which I will, I'm going to have my multifocal lenses replaced with monofocals. I don't give a stuff if I need to wear reading glasses; the irony is that if we had both gone for the basic NHS solution we would not be having this somewhat anguished conversation today.

I too am keen on astronomy and have been so since I was a child. I really want to be able to see the stars again. I'm also exceptionally good with a re-curve bow. I'm very much looking forward to polishing up that particular skill.

First of all, I do not appreciate replies which come across as racist . I have nothing against a surgeon who is Czech, Chinese, Indian or from UK. If my eyes had been messed up because of surgical error, I can assure you I would be suing his backside off! These were all English speaking people.

Not that I need to justify myself to you, but I had the procedure done as my close sight was poor and mid distance was getting worse. No, it was not a necessity, (yet), but neither is going to the doctors with a cough (which I wouldn't). I enjoy astronomy and outdoors and this was hindering my enjoyment.

I agree that these places who advertise are in it for the money. It is a business, after all. I had to trust the lenses they recommended. A bit like when he have to trust the doctor or dentist because we are not qualified to diagnose ourselves. It would not matter where I had this done, the result would have been the same. I know that now! Like any procedure, there is always a risk.

I wanted to let others know that trifocals are not for everyone and not something I would recommend, especially if you cannot get on with bifocal or multifocal contact lenses.
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admin: You posted on an open forum and cannot expect everyone to agree with you, and I see nothing that could be remotely described as racist in any of the replies to your posts.

NB: Many people 'from the UK' are from diverse ethnic groups

You have bad vision problems yet you don't doubt the Prague surgeons skills ? What on earth are you on about ? If you had a plumbing job done on a house that went wrong, would you then say you don't doubt the plumbers skills ? I think not !

The fact is that this so-called surgeon performed risky invasive surgeries on your precious eyes & fitted you with flawed trifocal lenses that he knows cause vision problems in many (I'll bet it's most) patients, and he did this purely to make even more money from you as they cost more than monofocal's, & didn't do what was best for your eyes which is nothing, unless it's medically essential !

I am also shocked to the core that you must've read on OERML about how these inherently very risky RLE ops do go catastrophically & permanently wrong for a huge number of patients, & not just OE one's, yet you chose to go off abroad to have them done to your eyes without even posting a question about doing so on this site before doing so. You would have been flooded with replies telling you not to have the ops anywhere & wouldn't now be in the awful situation that you now find yourself in !

You also say that you believe that other countries can offer far better service than the UK. Well, what evidence do you have to support that claim, because the results of your ops sure as hell don't !

Sorry to hear you're having problems. I know Eastern Europe well and the service over there is just different than the UK. It may seem better, in my experience it isn't. I would discourage anyone who wants to go there for their procedure - having operations abroad poses many problems on top of the risks outlined throughout this Forum. Personally I would not do it. I hope you can get help in the UK, and wish you all the best.

The UK Consultant I went to for a second opinion was [no advertising] . He wrote a letter to my Doctor recommending treatment on NHS, which he would NOT be able to carry out, as he only does private work. He also gave me the prices to have it done independently by him.

The surgery was performed in Prague by [no advertising]

A week after I got home, I went to [no advertising] to see an optometrist who thoroughly examined my eyes and I must say, I was extremely impressed with their conduct. The Optometrist told me that I had some cloudiness in both eyes, but more in the right eye (which the UK surgeon picked up on).

I don't doubt the Prague surgeons skills and I believe that other Countries can offer far better service than UK. I don't , however, think that these places who feel the need to advertise, ask enough about lifestyle, possible outcomes, limitations and expectations.

Looking at endless charts and outcomes from the trifocal lenses I had, it appears that the halos I am experiencing are far, far, worse than described from others.

First of all, I hope you don't mind me joining. I did not go to Optical Express to have my lens exchange, thanks to reading the reviews PRIOR to my own surgery.

I just want to share my experience with the hope of helping others choose the right lens for them.

I did a lot of research before I chose to go abroad (Prague). The cost was €1300 per eye for the trifocals, done 2 days apart.

Before I had my lens replacement, I was long sighted, so close up reading was impossible without +1.75 glasses. My mid distance was becoming worse, so I required two separate prescriptions.

I had tried multifocal contact lenses, but instantly could not get on with them. I could only see clearly up to 6 foot distance, then everything was blurred. I tried one multi and one normal, but again, the middle distance and long distance were blurred. I would not be able to walk around unaided.

I advised the place in Prague of this. They still recommended trifocals, so I went ahead. After the first op and after removing the patch, I could only see mistiness, but could read words. They told me this was normal. Two days later I had the second op and again the situation was the same.

It has only been two weeks since I had the procedure done and my eyesight is far worse than ever before. It is like walking in fog. The halos around cars and lights are ginormous, like massive spiders webs and blurred. I can read but my world is now looking through misty glass. I am unable to drive. Fluorescent lighting is even more blurred than daylight.

I paid to see a private NHS* surgeon in UK yesterday. He told me that my eyes are healthy and the procedure was done correctly and efficiently. He told me that some people's brains will not adapt to trifocal lenses and they have no option other than to have them extracted and replaced with mono lenses, or one mono for close and one mono for distance. He said it is quite rare**, but he has come across this a few times and no-one can know or predict this until, sadly, they have had the trifocal lens replacement done.

If anyone reading is considering trifocal lenses, consider trying multifocal contact lenses first to see if their brain will adjust.

I now have to face paying £4200 to have the procedure done in UK or €1000 in Prague at the same place (+ Hotel and flights).
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admin: *Private surgeon is NOT NHS !
**Who is the surgeon who told you this? There are 1000s people suffering problems with multifocal lenses so I have no doubt that the problems with trifocals are even worse!

And although I am pleased to hear that OERML stopped you undergoing surgery with OE, I am greatly concerned that you went overseas, where the risks are even higher given that you have NO legal recourse whatsoever if left with problems - as you have been!
Pls contact me if you need help info@opticalexpressruinedmylife.co.uk