Page Links : Overview | First appointment | Second appointment and meeting the surgeon | Surgery | Post surgery | Noticing the little things | Roundup

So I woke up today dry and blurry eyed one year on from having my eyes trimmed into shape, however this year it was probably due to the amount I had drunk the night before (oh, happy new years!). Last year (2014…!) I was very fortunate to be able to appreciate the best eye sight I’ve had in about 15 years all thanks to the London Vision Clinic (LVC).

The decision to actually have the surgery definitely wasn’t an overnight thought, with the preparation for travelling already underway and a keen interest of finding an alternative to glasses and contact lenses (and their expense) I had already been thinking about laser surgery for a while, I just didn’t know what results I might get, considering the prices and actually having it done. Before I go on, it was definitely the best decision I’ve made for a long while (and would be even without going travelling).

On the 19th December 2014, I finally managed to pluck up the courage to give LVC a call, just to see what was actually involved with the process, how long it takes, prices etc.. I’d seen a lot online (about other companies mainly) but I wanted to get the information straight from them. Admittedly there is less ‘in your face’ information on the internet regarding LVC as they don’t tend to involve themselves with website advertisements like other companies, however what you do find in regards to their website, formal information and reviews is vast and very informative.

Overview

At the time of writing, they have a blog and YouTube channel with some quite formal videos covering pretty much any question I had (and a few I didn’t), from either of the two surgeons (Prof Reinstein or Mr Carp) or the one of surgery Optometrists. There are also quite a few testimonials included, some from Philip Schofield (ITV personality) and Dr Pixie (Channel 4 – Embarrassing illnesses/bodies) which sounded extremely positive!

I made a conscious effort not to watch many detailed videos of the actual procedure before having it done. Yes they do exist, however they could also introduce panic for fear of seeing something you don’t like and thinking that it is a normal part of the process. I’m glad I didn’t see much, and to be honest, even if you do feel slightly uncomfortable during surgery, it’s usually over with before you have time to do/say something! So in short, for me not watching the procedure before was a good thing!

www.youtube.com/user/LondonVisionTV (don’t let the suit and tie fool you, yes they are professional, but they are also very down to earth and considerate about any questions you may have no matter how silly you think they are)

Since it was getting closer and closer to our leaving date for travel and coming up to the holidays I presumed it would either be full up or too short time frame to actually book in the surgery. After about 20 minutes on the phone chatting to one of the patient care coordinators about the ins and outs of the surgery we got round to talking time frames. There are 4 appointments in total, each with a separate agenda- first the Initial Screening & Ophthalmic Exam to check whether you are eligible for the treatment, second is a consultation with your surgeon, third is the actual surgery and forth is the day after the surgery as a post-operative visit.

As it turned out they had one space left during the holidays (the first appointment being the next day!) so I made the decision to go for it! To book the initial appointment you provide a deposit of £500 (correct at time of writing). This deposit is put towards the total amount for treatment and if for some reason you can’t actually be treated by LVC (which is rare and would be found out in the first consultation) this is refundable.

First appointment

All booked in, the next day I headed into London to my first appointment. This first appointment basically consists of being led to a room with load of kit in it and checking the eyeballs for everything that you could ever need to check for, including eye pressure (using a small air puffer machine) and cornea thickness (using some fancy lasers on the eye surface, less awkward than it sounds). The results of this test basically tells you whether surgery is possible and what type of surgery is right for you.

Second appointment and meeting the surgeon

A few days later I arrived back at LVC for my consultation. This was the first time I met Mr Glenn Carp, one of the two surgeons and I have to say, he definitely made me comfortable with the situation. Even though I’d looked into laser a thousand times before there’s nothing more daunting than thinking it’s actually going to be you, lying on a bed, having laser being pointed at you, and knowing that at some point during this operation you are going to have the worst eye sight you have ever had because someone has taken then top layer of your eyes off. And you do this voluntarily. I put it like that, because it’s what it is, putting aside all the things that are actually great about going through it! My main worry was not about whether the surgery would go ok, it was about the actual trade-off of the procedure compared to the results. And this is one of the things that are described in the consultation. Mr Carp describes what the best, and the worst, outcome could be after surgery. For me, the worst being 20/20 vision (ok that’s pretty good) and the best being 20/16 (even better!). Obviously things cannot be guaranteed, it all depends on how your eyes heal.

Surgery

The day had come (30th December) for my surgery. I must admit I was pretty nervous, but once again the team at LVC were amazing. I had a last check and a bit of prep before going in and then it was a go.

At about 7am I was met by Mr Carp again and throughout the process he told me exactly what was happening and what I should expect. When I sat down on the bed I was given (apparently as everyone does) a cuddly toy to hold. At this point I had no idea why I was given this but during the procedure it became apparent!

The surgery starts off lying down and constant commentating from Mr Carp, the first major thing that happens is a clamp is put into an eye to hold the lids open and a few drops are put in. The clamp for me was the worst part and the bit that caused me to really squeeze the toy, mainly because I was fighting the urge to blink! Once the clamp is in, which is surprisingly very little discomfort, you can get used to the feeling. You are then placed under a machine which resembles a glowing egg cup. The ‘egg cup’ then lowers itself down onto your eye, at which point the word ‘suction’ was used, but yes, it applies a light pressure/suction to steady your eye while all you can see are bright green laser spots. This part of the process uses the lasers to create a flap so the cornea can be accessed. When both eyes are done, the clamp is placed back in and the surgeon gets to work lifting back this newly created flap. For me, this was the most stressful part and I gripped that toy like I was crushing a tin can! You may feel a little tugging and it may get a little stressful if you feel it not separate first time. Once the flap was up, I could tell that the world is very very blurry, however luckily I didn’t know by how much because I could only see the ceiling and a large pink blurry object (Mr Carps face). At this point I was debating whether it was worth it, as now, I had the worst eyesight than ever and I had put myself there.

The last two parts of the surgery were similar to the first, except now the preparation has finished and the real work can begin. This next stage was to actually shape the cornea. You are given a light to watch and keep watching while other red lasers are dancing around apparently fighting for your attention. I was assured that even if I did stray and take my blurry gaze off of the point the lasers would automatically cut off. At this point you can feel something is happening, but you have no idea what, because the drops that you were given earlier have numbed the nerves in your eye. Very strange.

Once the process of lifting the flap, and lasering has been done to the eye, the flap is placed back onto the eye and smoothed over and the exact same is done to the other eye. A few more drops are placed in the eye and then mission complete!

I was very glad when it was done as at every point I had to remind myself to loosen my grip on the toy! But then I was asked to open my eyes for the first time and yes, I had a bit of blurriness (much like when you wear contacts for the first couple of blinks) but then it faded away and I could see so clearly! A quick examination later and I was being led (eyes closed) into the recovery room where my dad and girlfriend were waiting.

The last challenge of the day was getting back home. Due to the fact you aren’t allowed to use the underground after surgery (because of the dust in the air) my Dad drove us back home. This however proved slightly challenging as every 15 minutes (and for the entire next day) we had to stop as I need to put drops in to keep the eyes moist. This proved challenging in inner London as there aren’t that many places to stop, but we got home eventually!

The rest of the day was full of the fun of attempting to administer eye drops every 15 minutes, something I’m apparently rubbish at. And when it came to going to bed, you are given a pair of eye covers which you affix to your face with surgical tape, something that’s pretty hard to remove in the morning, even with the removing wipes.

Post surgery

The next day I attended the follow up consultation with Mr Carp and the optometrist. This was basically to check nothing had moved in the night, to check my initial vision results and give me clearance for doing things like using the train etc.. All of which turned out ok.

So that night being New Years eve, we headed to see the fireworks with my new eyes! Wearing sunglasses to protect me from smokers around, and from having my eyes dried out constantly I saw my first fireworks I had for a long while, without my glasses. Awesome!

After a couple of other checkups later that month, that was basically it! LVC usually do provide checkups over the next year, but because of going travelling I obviously couldn’t make them, but they were more than helpful suggesting where I could get them checked out in a years time….now in-fact!

Roundup

All in all, even with the nerves of going through it, it is a big thing for me as I’m not a surgeon and don’t really know exactly what could go wrong with this kind of thing. That’s why I basically chose LVC instead of another because of the great reputation they had and also a few high profile clients they had in the past.

For me having the pricing upfront was great, nothing was left out because I didn’t want to pay for that little added extra. I don’t know what extra procedures would benefit me, I’m not a doctor! So just having one (yes rather large) lump sum was a real bonus (there are finance offers available – check the website). That way I knew there were going to be no surprises, no one was trying to fleece me when I was potentially vulnerable and I knew that I was going to be getting a great service. Everyone knew where they stood.

From the outset LVC was brilliant, great staff, informative, all the free biscuits/tea/coffee/snacks you want (apparently that was to make sure you have a high sugar level before you have surgery which keeps you calmer, apparently!), and the feeling you could ask anything, to even having your surgeons personal mobile number should anything go wrong (or if you suddenly remember something you wanted to ask) during the first night. Everything was great.

For me though, the real plus comes knowing that because the earlier you have it done, the more time financial benefit you get over your lifetime. Everyones eyes change around age 50 in different ways which means I may need surgery again, but that’s in just over 20 years time! The later you have it, the more expensive it becomes due to the amount of pairs of glasses/contact lenses you’ve had to buy! I would say, if you are thinking about it now, get it done, it’s cheaper in the long run!

Noticing the little things…

You don’t notice the little differences (the amazing things that everyone tells you about when you first have the surgery, reaching for your glasses in the morning etc.) until a week or so after surgery because you are constantly reminded that you have just had surgery (dry eyes, night patches etc.) and so its only after this short period and your routine gets back to normal that you have the ‘ta da’ moments. Such as:

• ‘non fogging eyeballs’ when going from hot to cold environments;
• having to be half blind on a roller coaster;
• not having to put in contact lenses in just to have a spontaneous swim at the beach;
• not having to remove your glasses when taking off your sweater (my personal favourite);
• and the bane of my glasses wearing time, the 3D cinema.

A year on, and with travelling, not worrying about breaking prescription glasses and being able to pick up an everyday pair of sunglasses is great, the highlight this year was being able to see the fireworks again but this time without the ‘dodgy shades in the dark look’!

Amazing!