Laser eye surgery: what do you see?

Hello Fred,

Just to add to what Debbie has been telling you, I also have damaged eyes as a result of RLE with Optical Express. I had a retinal detachment (repaired on the NHS) in the left eye followed by further surgery to correct complications from the detachment. I now technically have 20/20 vision, just like Debbie, but I struggle every day with getting my eyes to work together, they’ve been so distorted by the original surgery and then the complications from the detachment. The OE optom failed to recognise the limits of his competence and declared there was nothing wrong with my eyes when in fact, I had a retinal tear in situ. If he had referred me to the local eye hospital for a proper assessment, the tear would have been found long before it became a detachment and it would have been repaired without the damage my eye has now sustained.

The point of my post, though is to say that I saw a refractive specialist privately who warned me off having laser surgery and I am so glad I did. I was due to have laser on my right eye at OE (I still trusted them at this point) but cancelled at the last minute. I owe my mostly decent right eye to his advice. I could have been having similar problem as Debbie had I gone ahead. I am sure you won’t be considering any voluntary eye surgery now, but if you still were, please heed our advice! Wearing glasses is preferable to having your eyes mucked up for life. I now have to wear them most of the time again, so I’ve spent £3,500.00 on having my eyes damaged for life. I so wish I could turn back the clock.

Thank you so much for this information. I think that it is always good to see both sides of the issue. I have been thinking about getting lasik eye surgery for a couple of weeks now. On tv you hear only good things about it. I assumed that there was some risk, as there is in every surgical procedure. This really helps me to know what I’m getting myself into better.

My vision is damaged by lasek surgery im now classed disabled nHS have treated me &run tests but can not fix this ..i wasn’t told anything of the dangers i was rushed to fill forms out about 5mins before surgery as they forgot to send me files from what they claim i also had dilated eyes when signing & yes i signed somehow!! As i was under pressure to do so ..suring my procedure something foreign went in my eye too .. Iooks like i cant claim against them after 2years of my solicitor investigating my claim because i signed a contract no matter how or what conditions i signed i have also problems in proving it..NHS wont say that my eyes are damaged by laser as its nhs policies not too?? This i find confusing … I need help july is my cut off dead line .

Written on behalf for sharon

Mr Stevens is a highly reputable surgeon. Before going ahead with my laser eye surgery, I put my whole trust and faith in him especially after reading good reviews about him on various websites.

I never thought that a day would come when I will be one of the few people to submit a bad review about him. But I feel obliged to do so after such a horrific experience, which was in fact quite emotional and life changing.

Mr Stevens may have a high success rate, however, please do be aware that if anything does go wrong (or not as expected), YOU WILL BE LEFT COMPLETELY IN THE DARK with no explanation, acknowledgment or any sympathy.
He would not even acknowledge the fact that you did not get the expected result and would more likely make you feel as if you are a stupid psychotic patient, experiencing things that are unreal! and this is the last thing that any patient wants to go through especially when they are unwell.

Despite going through hell after my laser surgery and having a poor visual outcome, I still put my trust in him. I was very patient, calm and waited for him to give me an explanation. I would not have even submitted such a review if he at least ACKNOWLEDGED the poor outcome. But instead I felt that his attitude completely changed after the operation did not go as expected; he was more rushed, dismissive in my appointments and insisted that things were COMPLETELY fine.

I hope the rest of the refractive surgeons in the ophthalmic field do not lack accountability as Mr Stevens does, and I do hope that no one will have to go through my journey.

Julian Stevens is a highly reputable surgeon. Before going ahead with my laser eye surgery, I put my whole trust and faith in him especially after reading good reviews about him on various websites.

I never thought that a day would come when I will be one of the few people to submit a bad review about him. But I feel obliged to do so after such a horrific experience, which was in fact quite emotional and life changing.

Mr Stevens may have a high success rate, however, please do be aware that if anything does go wrong (or not as expected), YOU WILL BE LEFT COMPLETELY IN THE DARK with no explanation, acknowledgment or any sympathy.
He would not even acknowledge the fact that you did not get the expected result and would more likely make you feel as if you are a stupid psychotic patient, experiencing things that are unreal! and this is the last thing that any patient wants to go through especially when they are unwell.

Despite going through hell after my laser surgery and having a poor visual outcome, I still put my trust in him. I was very patient, calm and waited for him to give me an explanation. I would not have even submitted such a review if he at least ACKNOWLEDGED the poor outcome. But instead I felt that his attitude completely changed after the operation did not go as expected; he was more rushed, dismissive in my appointments and insisted that things were COMPLETELY fine.

I hope the rest of the refractive surgeons in the ophthalmic field do not lack accountability as Mr Stevens does, and I do hope that no one will have to go through my journey.