Laser eye surgery at The London Vision Clinic

<a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/9559047/?claim=krrmhux2y28">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>

Well hello to everyone reading this!

About a year a go I was told by my eye consultant, Professor Ayliffe of The Lister Hospital that Laser eye surgery could be a good idea for me as it would decrease payments out for glasses, contact lenses etc and also it is more convenient. You must think, laser eye? surely that's expensive! But actually once you think about how much you pay out for contact lenses per year, a pair of glasses plus all the check up appointments, over time you will find that laser eye will actually be of a better value!

Let me just give you a brief description of my eyes:
My prescription prior to laser eye was -1.50 in both eyes, I also have a genetic condition In my left eye which results in a blind spot of a 1/4 of my vision. This cannot be corrected by laser eye, however the surgery was able to give me the same if not better performance of when I had to wear my contact lenses.

• Initial Scans and tests

In regards to the whole laser eye process, I was recommended by my eye consultant to get my eyes done at The London Vision Clinic at Harley Street with Professor Dan Reinstein. Firstly, I booked in to have all the initial scans and tests to see if I would be a suitable candidate for laser eye. Prior to attending this appointment, I had to pay a £500 deposit practically to secure my surgery date to insure that I had this date already booked in if I was able to go ahead with the procedure. Let me just add here, that if you are not a successful candidate (which is quite unlikely at the LVC) you will get this £500 back as all the scans and tests are essentially free of charge. I was at the clinic for around 2.5-3 hours for all the tests and scans, but its quite a comfortable experience as the waiting room is very nice, with complimentary drinks from tea and coffee to soft drinks and juices. All the staff are lovely, very welcoming and very friendly. Once I had all of these tests done, I had a short meeting with one of the Patient Care Co-ordinators who let me know I was successful and therefore able to go ahead with treatment. With my dates already secure, I was going to meet Prof Reinstein on the 13th of May, have surgery on the 14th of May and have a 1 day follow up on the 15th of May. I was sent home with an information pack in which I had to sign every page to show that I had read the information, plus sign the consent forms. I had to return this information when I went along to meet my surgeon on consultation day.

• Meeting Professor Reinstein

On the 13th of May, I arrived at the LVC to meet my consultant surgery for laser eye. It was a short half an hour appointment in which he basically double checked my vision of what he hoped to achieve and he also ran through what would happen on the day, the minimal risks and what I should hope to experience. He was very friendly and made me feel at ease, if I had any questions he would answer them with no hesitation. It was settled that I would be having the Lasik ReLEX surgery, also known as Keyhole Lasik, I believe this is one of Prof Reinstein's specialities. Before leaving, I paid the remaining balance to settle the bill for my laser eye. The cost for my surgery was £4800, but with the £500 already paid, the remaining balance that I had to pay was £4300. This price is all inclusive of the procedure, the medications to take home, the 1 day post op appointment, plus all the other appointments that would take place over the next 12 months to monitor my eyes. If the vision had decreased over a year to less then what was hoped which can be common, the clinic would correct this and there would be no extra charge. There are no hidden costs at the LVC. With the forms signed, I was ready to go for the next day!

• Laser eye day!

My set arrival time at the LVC was at 9.40am on the 14th of May. It was required that I wore no make up, no deodorant, no perfume or aerosols plus no pieces of clothing such as wool that would produce lint. After a little while of sitting in the main reception as I had arrived early, I was escorted with my mum to a waiting area downstairs which is quieter and it is also the floor where the surgery takes place. At this point I was given a medications sheet which I would have a discussion with the nurse about plus I was asked how I was getting home- (the tube/underground is not advised due to dust and dirt). The clinic arranged a taxi for me for my return journey. Shortly after, a lovely nurse named Angela collected me from the waiting area and took me to a consultation room in which she in thorough detail explained to me all my medications such as my drops and tablets, night time eye shields etc. She was very helpful and showed me how to apply the drops. I was given several tablets to take before surgery such as painkillers, antibiotics and steroids to basically prevent any form of infection, its more of them being over precautious which I totally agreed with. I was able to ask Angela any questions that I had. Angela then put my hair into a hair net, put shoe protectors on my feet, gently wiped around my eye area with an alcohol wipe and then applied the anaesthetic drops to my eyes. I was then taken into the surgery room.

I was laid onto the bed and given a teddy to hold (they give one to everyone) and then covered with a blue blanket and told to just relax while they completed their final checks. Professor Reinstein then entered the room and sat behind me and ran me through the process and what I should expect to happen. He talked me through every single step of the surgery, even if he just said the words 'super' 'you are doing very well' 'are you ok' 'excellent' 'nearly finished' etc. There was never a moment where he went silent which would have made me panic to be honest!
The surgery was completely painless and was over within minutes. My eyes were blurry afterwards which is expected and Prof Reinstein looked into both eyes with a microscope after the surgery before escorting me to a relaxation room where my mum was waiting where he would explain how well the surgery went, how long I had to keep my eyes closed for and that he looked forward to seeing me again the following day. At this point I was offered a head and shoulder massage by a nurse named Denise who was also very lovely to help relax me before my taxi arrived to pick us up. I also from this point onwards put my sunglasses on which I was told to bring to protect my eyes from sunlight, the wind and outside dust.

I had to lubricate my eyes with artificial tear drops every 15 minutes (the medication kit came with a timer) for 24 hours. Professor Reinstein also gave me a little text later on in the day to check up on me which I thought was very good of him. I experienced no pain or discomfort, it just was a bit difficult to eat with my eyes closed- what a mess I must of made, sorry mum!
I spent the day relaxing on the sofa and was finally able to open my eyes at 3pm (my surgery took place around 10.30). My vision was cloudy but I was able to make out things and surprisingly already able to read number plates off of cars in my street! Progression had begun :)

                                                                    Resting at home (No make up)!

 

Wearing my shields, ready to go to bed!

• 1 day post op check up

As I was not able to use the underground yet, my mum and I took a taxi from my sisters back up to the LVC clinic for my post op check up with Prof Reinstein. He looked into my eyes and took some photos and was also asked to read the letters off the board. He was very happy with the results and had told me the eyes had healed beautifully. I was now glasses free/contact lens free! I had told him that my vision was still cloudy which he assured me was completely normal and that over the next month my eyes would go up and down with their vision, no worries. He let me know that I was now able to go back to wearing make up, perfume, deodorant, able to wash my hair etc and that I was now also legally able to return to driving or use public transport. I was extremely happy with this and was so happy that I chose to have laser eye!


I have a 1 month check up already booked at the clinic to again assess my results and I am very much looking forward to being able to go on holiday and not having to worry about being blurry around the swimming pool!

If you are considering getting laser eye surgery, I thoroughly recommend the London Vision Clinic and having your surgery done with Professor Dan Reinstein. This clinic is the best in the UK and is most definitely not in the same league as Optimax or similar places. I know people who have been to the likes of Optimax and have very disappointed by their results and have said their after care has been nothing like mine is and will be.
The website for the LVC is www.Londonvisionclinic.com

If you have any questions, feel free to send them over and I will answer them to the best of my ability!

I hope this extremely long blog has helped!

Georgia xx

My medical bag to take home with all my drops, tablets, eye shields, tape etc. Basically everything I need!