uk11to20

Patients' Journal (UK: 11 to 20)
(posted: date)

11. CLARE FROM ESSEX in London, UK: April 2003 LASEK

12. COLIN S in London, UK: December 2001 LASIK

13. DANCING-PEANUT in London, UK: December 2002 Wavefront LASIK

14. DOPHUS in UK: January 2003 Wavefront LASIK

15. ELAINEOK in Leeds, UK: December 2001 LASIK

16. FIOBES in Glasgow, UK: February 2003 LASIK

17. FIONA W in Southampton, UK: February 2003 LASIK

18. FOREVERAMBER in London, UK: October 2002 LASIK

19. HARRY in London, UK: January 2003 LASIK

20. HEAVYBONED in UK: April 2003 Wavefront LASIK

11. CLARE FROM ESSEX, London

1. Vitals

Surgery date(s)	April 2003
Time elapsed when survey submitted	4 months
Age at time of surgery	36
Type of surgery	LASEK
Laser	Unknown
One eye or both	Both
Correction before surgery	Soft contact lenses
Vision before surgery	Short-sighted: -3.75 both eyes Astigmatism: No
Vision after surgery (acuity or prescription)	+0.25 both eyes 0.5 astigmatism left eye only
Does patient now need glasses or contact lenses?	NO
Adverse effects (visual)	Poor night vision Altered optical quality
Adverse effects (other)	Dry eye Light sensitivity
Did patient feel the surgery achieved his/her goal?	YES
Does patient recommend to acquaintances?	NO
Patient’s rating of results (1-10, 10 is best)	9

2. Preparation and research

Primary motivating factors in decision to have LVC	Cosmetic benefits Convenience of not wearing glasses Convenience of not wearing and caring for contact lenses Increased safety or convenience at work Contact lens intolerance, discomfort or related problems (eyes dry, tired, red, sore, allergies, etc)
Read about the benefits of LVC in...	Advertising
Read about the risks, complications and side effects of LVC in	Website of the clinic patient attended Independent websites
Read about patients’ experiences (good or bad)	On www.lasik-eyes.co.uk In brochures or other media produced by the clinic
How patient selected clinic and/or surgeon	I compared prices between clinics. The location was convenient. The clinic listed very low complications rates. My surgeon was a consultant ophthalmologist. I read good reviews or reports about the clinic or surgeon.

3. Patient counselling and informed consent

The following were or were not discussed with the patient during the consultation process:
How long patient could expect to be glasses-free after surgery	YES
Night vision problems and what causes them	YES in part
Other problems associated with laser surgery, such as double vision/ghosting and loss of contrast sensitivity	NO
Patient’s pupil size at night and how it may affect the quality of the surgical result	YES
Patient’s corneal thickness and what it means for eligibility for additional procedures	NO
Patient’s professional vision requirements (present or future)	YES
The possibility of dry eye requiring ongoing treatment (i.e. after the healing period)	NO

4. How patient rated their clinic and surgeon
(5=best, 1=worst)

Overall experience with the CLINIC	4
Impression of the CLINIC’s quality standards	4
How CLINIC’s staff responded if patient had any problems or concerns after surgery	5
Overall experience with SURGEON	5
Time SURGEON spent with patient before the day of surgery	NO/A
SURGEON answered patient’s questions prior to surgery	4
SURGEON discussed pre-operative evaluation test results with patient	4
SURGEON spent time with patient at follow-up examinations	NO/A

5. Patient’s comments about their experience
We asked patients to describe a single aspect of their experience that they thought future candidates might benefit from.

Had LASEK both eyes for moderate short sight. One eye healed perfectly in 2 days!!!! The other cornea was described as “badly distorted” and “hyperplasic”. Double vision, scarring, ghosting lasted about 2 weeks. Astigmatism took much longer to settle and the eye became long sighted for a while. This gradually got better over 2 months and I have been left with a very pleasing result. The optician dealing with me was somewhat surprised that the left eye has caught up so well! Was not prepared for night time starbursting. No one showed me a picture of how this could look. Does not impede driving in any way but is slightly distracting and disturbing. I have the rest of my life to get used to this apparently! Operation achieved its ends… I have supersharp, almost synthetically good vision (- 0.25 in both eyes, 0.5 astigmatism in left eye which I honestly don’t notice.) And overall night vision is far better than it was before. (I understand that this is unusual). Dry eyes have persisted into the evening but nowhere near as bad as they were with contact lenses. If both eyes had healed like my right one I would have been running up to people in the street and snatching their glasses! Due to spending a week thinking I’d ruined my left eye, in numb terror, I’m not in a position to recommend this op to anyone. In rare cases this damage is permanent and I feel that I have been very lucky.

12. COLIN S in London

1. Vitals

Surgery date(s)	December 2001
Time elapsed when survey submitted	18 months
Age at time of surgery	35
Type of surgery	LASIK
Laser	Unknown
One eye or both	Both
Correction before surgery	Glasses
Vision before surgery	Short-sighted: Apprx -1.75/-2.25 Astigmatism: Yes
Vision after surgery (acuity or prescription)	Unk
Does patient now need glasses or contact lenses?	Yes for certain activities
Adverse effects (visual)	Loss of contrast Poor night vision Lack of crisp vision
Adverse effects (other)	Dry eye Occasional severe eye pain
Did patient feel the surgery achieved his/her goal?	NO
Does patient recommend to acquaintances?	YES with reservations
Patient’s rating of results (1-10, 10 is best)	7

2. Preparation and research

Primary motivating factors in decision to have LVC	Convenience of not wearing glasses Poor vision with glasses (at night)
Read about the benefits of LVC in...	Advertising
Read about the risks, complications and side effects of LVC in	Television, radio or other press reports Independent websites
Read about patients’ experiences (good or bad)	In news reports Unspecified (other than online)
How patient selected clinic and/or surgeon	I read good reviews or reports about the clinic or surgeon.

3. Patient counselling and informed consent

The following were or were not discussed with the patient during the consultation process:
How long patient could expect to be glasses-free after surgery	YES
Night vision problems and what causes them	YES
Other problems associated with laser surgery, such as double vision/ghosting and loss of contrast sensitivity	NO
Patient’s pupil size at night and how it may affect the quality of the surgical result	YES
Patient’s corneal thickness and what it means for eligibility for additional procedures	YES
Patient’s professional vision requirements (present or future)	Can’t remember
The possibility of dry eye requiring ongoing treatment (i.e. after the healing period)	NO

4. How patient rated their clinic and surgeon
(5=best, 1=worst)

Overall experience with the CLINIC	4
Impression of the CLINIC’s quality standards	5
How CLINIC’s staff responded if patient had any problems or concerns after surgery	5
Overall experience with SURGEON	4
Time SURGEON spent with patient before the day of surgery	4
SURGEON answered patient’s questions prior to surgery	4
SURGEON discussed pre-operative evaluation test results with patient	4
SURGEON spent time with patient at follow-up examinations	3

5. Patient’s comments about their experience
We asked patients to describe a single aspect of their experience that they thought future candidates might benefit from.

Towards the end of 2001, I starting noticing “ghosting” in my vision, particularly at night or when looking at teletext. Having been checked a couple of times at my opticians and told that my prescription was correct, I assumed that the ghosting must be caused by the refraction of the glass in my glasses. I decided that laser surgery would get rid of the need for glasses and therefore get rid of this problem. Whilst I was aware that ghosting could be a side effect of surgery, I decided to go ahead with it. After surgery, whilst I was able to walk along the street with no need for glasses, all writing on signs, etc., be they close or distant, was not crisp. I went back for a further consultation and told that this was caused by “Higher Aberrations” and that my eyesight was good enough not to require a prescription. A year later I started to get headaches, and pains in one eye. Whilst I do not for one minute believe that this is a result of the surgery, I decided to get checked out again as one of many lines of enquiry. I went to an independent optometrist who said that there was a slight prescription there that might help. I went back to my original surgery and discussed this with them. My original surgeon told me once again that he would not recommend a prescription for me, as it was so low. I wasn’t too concerned prior to surgery that I might need a prescription for night driving, but I was a bit peeved that it had not been suggested to me that the original problem I had which had prompted me to make the decision was “higher aberrations” which the surgery would not have fixed from the start. Following a couple of letters I realised that as I had signed a piece of paper prior to the surgery, I was aware of all the potential risks. However, if I wanted a prescription to help with the slight problem, they would provide the lenses free and give me £50 off the cost of the frames. I went ahead and got these last week. Although I have worn them a couple of times, and they do make a slight difference on some things, I am still not comfortable with the glare I get from tail lights when night-driving. What I would say is that yes, over all I am happy with the result, in that I do not necessarily need to wear glasses any more. What I would say to potential new patients is to make sure you ask if the surgery is definitely likely to cure the problem for which you are considering surgery.

13. DANCING-PEANUT in London

1. Vitals

Surgery date(s)	December 2002
Time elapsed when survey submitted	7 months
Age at time of surgery	26
Type of surgery	Wavefront LASIK
Laser	Wavelight Allegretto
One eye or both	Both
Correction before surgery	Glasses
Vision before surgery	Short-sighted: -3.5 and -4 Astigmatism: Yes, high
Vision after surgery (acuity or prescription)	“Better than 20/20”
Does patient now need glasses or contact lenses?	NO
Adverse effects (visual)	None reported
Adverse effects (other)	None reported
Did patient feel the surgery achieved his/her goal?	YES
Does patient recommend to acquaintances?	YES
Patient’s rating of results (1-10, 10 is best)	9.5

2. Preparation and research

Primary motivating factors in decision to have LVC	Cosmetic benefits Other: “I am a dancer and could never wear contact lenses so I needed another solution.”
Read about the benefits of LVC in...	Family, friends or acquaintances who have had laser surgery
Read about the risks, complications and side effects of LVC in	Television, radio or other press reports Family, friends or acquaintances Other: At the clinic
Read about patients’ experiences (good or bad)	On www.lasik-eyes.co.uk
How patient selected clinic and/or surgeon	The clinic was recommended by an acquaintance. I intended to try out more than one clinic, but I was impressed with the first one and went ahead with them.

3. Patient counselling and informed consent

The following were or were not discussed with the patient during the consultation process:
How long patient could expect to be glasses-free after surgery	YES
Night vision problems and what causes them	YES
Other problems associated with laser surgery, such as double vision/ghosting and loss of contrast sensitivity	YES
Patient’s pupil size at night and how it may affect the quality of the surgical result	YES
Patient’s corneal thickness and what it means for eligibility for additional procedures	YES
Patient’s professional vision requirements (present or future)	YES
The possibility of dry eye requiring ongoing treatment (i.e. after the healing period)	YES

4. How patient rated their clinic and surgeon
(5=best, 1=worst)

Overall experience with the CLINIC	5
Impression of the CLINIC’s quality standards	5
How CLINIC’s staff responded if patient had any problems or concerns after surgery	5
Overall experience with SURGEON	5
Time SURGEON spent with patient before the day of surgery	5
SURGEON answered patient’s questions prior to surgery	5
SURGEON discussed pre-operative evaluation test results with patient	4
SURGEON spent time with patient at follow-up examinations	4

5. Patient’s comments about their experience
We asked patients to describe a single aspect of their experience that they thought future candidates might benefit from.

I had very sensitive eyes before the operation, and was never able to wear contact lenses because of this, also dispensing eye drops was a problem for me.

After surgery I managed to get over the eye drops problem, as I knew I just had to get the drops in to heal the eyes properly.

My only complication with surgery was bad bruising in both of my eyes. I was told this was probably due to my hyper-sensitivity before, however they also admitted that it was the worst bruising they had ever seen. Basically the whites of my eyes went red (Dracula!!), they took about a month to clear completely back to white.

I must praise the clinic and all the staff for the concern and additional appointments/ check ups they made me have regarding the bruising. I will say that although the eyes looked very scary and painful, they did not hurt. Interestingly enough the eye that was bruised the worst, the flap healed the quickest!

14. DOPHUS in UK

1. Vitals

Surgery date(s)	January 2003
Time elapsed when survey submitted	6 months
Age at time of surgery	30
Type of surgery	Wavefront LASIK
Laser	Wavelight Allegretto?
One eye or both	Both
Correction before surgery	Glasses
Vision before surgery	Short-sighted: “low prescription” Astigmatism: Yes, “medium/high”
Vision after surgery (acuity or prescription)	20/20
Does patient now need glasses or contact lenses?	NO
Adverse effects (visual)	Poorer night vision
Adverse effects (other)	Dry eye
Did patient feel the surgery achieved his/her goal?	YES
Does patient recommend to acquaintances?	YES
Patient’s rating of results (1-10, 10 is best)	8

2. Preparation and research

Primary motivating factors in decision to have LVC	Cosmetic benefits Convenience of not wearing glasses Increased safety or convenience for sports or other leisure activities Poor vision with contact lenses Contact lens intolerance, discomfort or related problems (eyes dry, tired, red, sore, allergies, etc) Generally tired of the hassle of glasses or contacts and attracted by the idea of not needing them
Read about the benefits of LVC in...	Online Other: Media reports
Read about the risks, complications and side effects of LVC in	Website of the clinic patient attended Websites sponsored by other clinics or industry sources Independent websites
Read about patients’ experiences (good or bad)	On www.lasik-eyes.co.uk In brochures or other media produced by the clinic In news reports
How patient selected clinic and/or surgeon	I had an evaluation at more than one clinic and selected the one I thought was best based on my experience during the evaluation. I was looking for a very specific type of procedure or model of laser. The clinic listed very low complications rates. I read good reviews or reports about the clinic or surgeon.

3. Patient counselling and informed consent

The following were or were not discussed with the patient during the consultation process:
How long patient could expect to be glasses-free after surgery	YES
Night vision problems and what causes them	YES
Other problems associated with laser surgery, such as double vision/ghosting and loss of contrast sensitivity	YES
Patient’s pupil size at night and how it may affect the quality of the surgical result	YES
Patient’s corneal thickness and what it means for eligibility for additional procedures	NO
Patient’s professional vision requirements (present or future)	NO
The possibility of dry eye requiring ongoing treatment (i.e. after the healing period)	NO

4. How patient rated their clinic and surgeon
(5=best, 1=worst)

Overall experience with the CLINIC	4
Impression of the CLINIC’s quality standards	5
How CLINIC’s staff responded if patient had any problems or concerns after surgery	4
Overall experience with SURGEON	5
Time SURGEON spent with patient before the day of surgery	1
SURGEON answered patient’s questions prior to surgery	2
SURGEON discussed pre-operative evaluation test results with patient	4
SURGEON spent time with patient at follow-up examinations	3

5. Patient’s comments about their experience
We asked patients to describe a single aspect of their experience that they thought future candidates might benefit from.

I am 100 % happy with the outcome however I found the surgery one of the most unpleasant things that I have ever gone through. I read prior to surgery that it was no worse than a filling I would take the filling any time. I felt under prepared for how unpleasant the experience would be and would have welcomed more reports about what to expect. The process of having my eye pinned open was very traumatic and the flap creation ‘painful’. Maybe not in the traditional sense of breaking your arm but in a different way. The laser part was not painful in any way.

Following surgery I was taken into the waiting room where I felt very emotional. I would have welcomed a separate recovery area. I also felt that a preop anxiolytic would have made the experience less unbearable.

15. ELAINEOK in Leeds

1. Vitals

Surgery date(s)	December 2001
Time elapsed when survey submitted	18 months
Age at time of surgery	48
Type of surgery	LASIK
Laser	Unknown
One eye or both	Both
Correction before surgery	Glasses
Vision before surgery	Short-sighted: About -7 in each eyeAstigmatism: Yes
Vision after surgery (acuity or prescription)	20/20
Does patient now need glasses or contact lenses?	Yes, reading glasses, as expected
Adverse effects (visual)	Altered optical qualityIncreased floaters
Adverse effects (other)	Dry eyeLight sensitivity
Did patient feel the surgery achieved his/her goal?	YES
Does patient recommend to acquaintances?	NO It’s down to the individual
Patient’s rating of results (1-10, 10 is best)	8

2. Preparation and research

Primary motivating factors in decision to have LVC	Cosmetic benefits Convenience of not wearing glasses Increased safety or convenience for sports or other leisure activities Increased confidence of your performance in an emergency Generally tired of the hassle of glasses or contacts and attracted by the idea of not needing them
Read about the benefits of LVC in...	Advertising Family, friends or acquaintances who have had laser surgery Online
Read about the risks, complications and side effects of LVC in	Television, radio or other press reports Website of the clinic patient attended Websites sponsored by other clinics or industry sources Independent websites
Read about patients’ experiences (good or bad)	On www.surgicaleyes.org On an independent web forum (other than www.surgicaleyes.org and www.lasik-eyes.co.uk) On a website sponsored by the clinic In brochures or other media produced by the clinic In news reports
How patient selected clinic and/or surgeon	The surgeon was recommended by an acquaintance. The clinic was recommended by an acquaintance. The location was convenient. They were able to schedule a more convenient appointment than another clinic. I intended to try out more than one clinic, but I was impressed with the first one and went ahead with them. My surgeon was a consultant ophthalmologist. My surgeon had extensive training in refractive surgery. My surgeon had very low complications rates. I read good reviews or reports about the clinic or surgeon.

3. Patient counselling and informed consent

The following were or were not discussed with the patient during the consultation process:
How long patient could expect to be glasses-free after surgery	NO
Night vision problems and what causes them	YES
Other problems associated with laser surgery, such as double vision/ghosting and loss of contrast sensitivity	NO
Patient’s pupil size at night and how it may affect the quality of the surgical result	YES
Patient’s corneal thickness and what it means for eligibility for additional procedures	NO
Patient’s professional vision requirements (present or future)	NO
The possibility of dry eye requiring ongoing treatment (i.e. after the healing period)	NO

4. How patient rated their clinic and surgeon
(5=best, 1=worst)

Overall experience with the CLINIC	4
Impression of the CLINIC’s quality standards	4
How CLINIC’s staff responded if patient had any problems or concerns after surgery	Blank
Overall experience with SURGEON	4
Time SURGEON spent with patient before the day of surgery	3
SURGEON answered patient’s questions prior to surgery	2
SURGEON discussed pre-operative evaluation test results with patient	NO/a
SURGEON spent time with patient at follow-up examinations	2

5. Patient’s comments about their experience
We asked patients to describe a single aspect of their experience that they thought future candidates might benefit from.

Selected “How your corrected vision has affected your life”

I would have been happy to see as well as my corrected vision was with glasses I was really quite short-sighted and had been since 13 years of age - but my vision is so much different to what I expected. Colours are sharper, night vision is MUCH better (don’t know how I managed before especially driving). Peripheral vision is fantastic could only see through my lenses before e.g. not above and below or either side of glasses makes the world looks really different. Also, it is difficult to describe but I feel I can see in more depth than before. Another experience, which I cannot explain, is that flickering lights used to bother me before made me feel slightly sick and strange, don’t now, I can look at them with no effect.

These improvements simply amazed me for about the first year but I am used to them now.

There have been some small trade offs though. Eyes are slightly dry sometimes but not really a problem. Left eye, which was the worst before, still has small prescription, which I am aware of but doesn’t bother me. At night I see slight starbursts on headlights, streetlights etc but only an issue during the part of the year it is dark in the evening e.g. not a problem at all in summer. Vision is by far the best in good, natural daylight (I call these ‘crystal days’). Not quite so good in artificial light, and poorer under fluorescent light. I was told about this, and, owing to strong prescription before surgery, I did not see well in low light levels before anyway. I do wear reading glasses (am 50 years old) and was told this would be necessary before surgery. As with the improvements, these small problems are things I have become accustomed to and don’t really notice just mentioning them for the sake of description.

Didn’t have the surgery for the sake of vanity but I do like not wearing glasses very much, not only for comfort (strong lenses are heavy!) and appearance but I did worry in the back of my mind how I would cope in an emergency if I lost them and couldn’t see.

I have read of many people having problems with LASIK, particularly in the USA. Perhaps I was lucky or perhaps in the UK we have better procedures to select candidates who are likely to be successfully treated. Although I have had some side effects they are not serious and, all in all, definitely nothing worse than I endured wearing strong glasses.

16. FIOBES IN GLASGOW

1. Vitals

Surgery date(s)	February 2003
Time elapsed when survey submitted	5 months
Age at time of surgery	29
Type of surgery	LASIK
Laser	Unknown
One eye or both	Both
Correction before surgery	Gas permeable contact lenses
Vision before surgery	Short-sighted: -3/-4 in otherAstigmatism: Yes
Vision after surgery (acuity or prescription)	20/15.
Does patient now need glasses or contact lenses?	NO
Adverse effects (visual)	None reported
Adverse effects (other)	None reported
Did patient feel the surgery achieved his/her goal?	YES
Does patient recommend to acquaintances?	YES
Patient's rating of results (1-10, 10 is best)	10

2. Preparation and research

Primary motivating factors in decision to have LVC	Convenience of not wearing glasses Convenience of not wearing and caring for contact lenses Increased safety or convenience for sports or other leisure activities Contact lens intolerance, discomfort or related problems (eyes dry, tired, red, sore, allergies, etc) Generally tired of the hassle of glasses or contacts and attracted by the idea of not needing them
Read about the benefits of LVC in...	Advertising Family, friends or acquaintances who have had laser surgery Online
Read about the risks, complications and side effects of LVC in	Television, radio or other press reports Family, friends or acquaintances Website of the clinic patient attended Websites sponsored by other clinics or industry sources Independent websites
Read about patients' experiences (good or bad)	On www.lasik-eyes.co.uk In news reports
How patient selected clinic and/or surgeon	I compared prices between clinics. The location was convenient. I intended to try out more than one clinic, but I was impressed with the first one and went ahead with them. My surgeon had extensive training in refractive surgery. I read good reviews or reports about the clinic or surgeon.

3. Patient counselling and informed consent

The following were or were not discussed with the patient during the consultation process:
How long patient could expect to be glasses-free after surgery	YES
Night vision problems and what causes them	YES
Other problems associated with laser surgery, such as double vision/ghosting and loss of contrast sensitivity	YES
Patient's pupil size at night and how it may affect the quality of the surgical result	YES
Patient's corneal thickness and what it means for eligibility for additional procedures	YES
Patient's professional vision requirements (present or future)	YES
The possibility of dry eye requiring ongoing treatment (i.e. after the healing period)	YES

4. How patient rated their clinic and surgeon
(5=best, 1=worst)

Overall experience with the CLINIC	5
Impression of the CLINIC's quality standards	5
How CLINIC's staff responded if patient had any problems or concerns after surgery	5
Overall experience with SURGEON	5
Time SURGEON spent with patient before the day of surgery	5
SURGEON answered patient's questions prior to surgery	5
SURGEON discussed pre-operative evaluation test results with patient	5
SURGEON spent time with patient at follow-up examinations	5

5. Patient's comments about their experience
We asked patients to describe a single aspect of their experience that they thought future candidates might benefit from.

I had my eyes done yesterday at [clinic] in Glasgow. I can't remember the surgeon's name but he was fantastic - very gentle and put me at ease. He even went over to speak to my mum to advise how I was doing. Everyone was great and very professional. I spent the 20 minutes on the table extremely tense as I was scared I'd feel some sort of pain. However, I felt nothing at all. The most discomfort I felt was when suction was applied before they cut the flap and then that was just like someone pressing on your eye. Honestly, I am a complete woos when it comes to my eyes so this was a huge thing for me. I was worried about the speculums they use to keep your eye open as they look nasty and I was worried I feel my eye drying up and I would want to blink. However, the speculums were not sore. They felt a bit tight at first but you get used to it very quickly. Also, you don't feel your eye drying and you feel like you're blinking anyway as you can blink your other eye. Also, the laser is programmed with an American woman's voice and she counts down so you know how long is left. I could see quite a lot immediately after the operation - though the eye shields were pretty blurry. I could see more as I travelled home and by the evening I could see the TV perfectly clearly if I tilted my head and looked under the shield. I can now see things with an incredible crispness. I can definitely see as well as with my contacts or glasses and will find out how good my eyesight is over the next month. Apparently you get 80-90% of your vision the day after the op and it fluctuates over the next month. Today my eyes are very slightly bloodshot but not sore at all. Last night they did feel a bit gritty but not sore. [Clinic] gave me some painkiller drops but I didn't need them.

17. FIONA W in Southampton

1. Vitals

Surgery date(s)	February 2003
Time elapsed when survey submitted	5 months
Age at time of surgery	Unspecified
Type of surgery	LASIK
Laser	VISX Star [S3?]
One eye or both	Both
Correction before surgery	Soft contact lenses
Vision before surgery	Short-sighted: -3.75L, -3.25RAstigmatism: No
Vision after surgery (acuity or prescription)	20/20. -0.25 left 0 right
Does patient now need glasses or contact lenses?	NO
Adverse effects (visual)	Poor night vision/loss of contrast
Adverse effects (other)	None reported
Did patient feel the surgery achieved his/her goal?	YES
Does patient recommend to acquaintances?	YES
Patient's rating of results (1-10, 10 is best)	10

2. Preparation and research

Primary motivating factors in decision to have LVC	Cosmetic benefits Convenience of not wearing glasses Convenience of not wearing and caring for contact lenses Increased safety or convenience for sports or other leisure activities Generally tired of the hassle of glasses or contacts and attracted by the idea of not needing them
Read about the benefits of LVC in...	Family, friends or acquaintances who have had laser surgery
Read about the risks, complications and side effects of LVC in	Family, friends or acquaintances Independent websites
Read about patients' experiences (good or bad)	On www.lasik-eyes.co.uk In news reports
How patient selected clinic and/or surgeon	The clinic was recommended by an acquaintance. The location was convenient. My surgeon was a consultant ophthalmologist.

3. Patient counselling and informed consent

The following were or were not discussed with the patient during the consultation process:
How long patient could expect to be glasses-free after surgery	YES
Night vision problems and what causes them	YES
Other problems associated with laser surgery, such as double vision/ghosting and loss of contrast sensitivity	YES
Patient's pupil size at night and how it may affect the quality of the surgical result	NO
Patient's corneal thickness and what it means for eligibility for additional procedures	YES
Patient's professional vision requirements (present or future)	NO
The possibility of dry eye requiring ongoing treatment (i.e. after the healing period)	NO

4. How patient rated their clinic and surgeon
(5=best, 1=wyorst)

Overall experience with the CLINIC	5
Impression of the CLINIC's quality standards	5
How CLINIC's staff responded if patient had any problems or concerns after surgery
Overall experience with SURGEON	5
Time SURGEON spent with patient before the day of surgery	5
SURGEON answered patient's questions prior to surgery	5
SURGEON discussed pre-operative evaluation test results with patient	5
SURGEON spent time with patient at follow-up examinations	1

5. Patient's comments about their experience
We asked patients to describe a single aspect of their experience that they thought future candidates might benefit from.

My experience has been very good. I no longer need glasses and although I was told I would need reading glasses as I am 47 I can still read very well without them. I felt I had to wait a full 3 months before my eyes felt settled but I never experienced any pain and was able to see well the very next day after surgery. My left eye is still very slightly out of focus but the only time I notice the effect is when I watch TV and when I'm very tired and even that is getting better.

My surgeon [name omitted] was excellent.

18. FOREVERAMBER in London

1. Vitals

Surgery date(s)	October 2002
Time elapsed when survey submitted	9 months
Age at time of surgery	37
Type of surgery	LASIK
Laser	Unknown
One eye or both	Both
Correction before surgery	Soft contact lenses
Vision before surgery	Short-sighted: -3.0L, -2.75RAstigmatism: Yes
Vision after surgery (acuity or prescription)	L 0, R -0.75
Does patient now need glasses or contact lenses?	NO
Adverse effects (visual)	Some alteration of optical quality and lack of crispness
Adverse effects (other)	None reported
Did patient feel the surgery achieved his/her goal?	NO
Does patient recommend to acquaintances?	YES
Patient's rating of results (1-10, 10 is best)	7

2. Preparation and research

Primary motivating factors in decision to have LVC	Cosmetic benefits Convenience of not wearing glasses Convenience of not wearing and caring for contact lenses Generally tired of the hassle of glasses or contacts and attracted by the idea of not needing them
Read about the benefits of LVC in...	Advertising
Read about the risks, complications and side effects of LVC in	Television, radio or other press reports
Read about patients' experiences (good or bad)	Unspecified (not press or websites)
How patient selected clinic and/or surgeon	I compared prices between clinics.

3. Patient counselling and informed consent

The following were or were not discussed with the patient during the consultation process:
How long patient could expect to be glasses-free after surgery	NO
Night vision problems and what causes them	NO
Other problems associated with laser surgery, such as double vision/ghosting and loss of contrast sensitivity	NO
Patient's pupil size at night and how it may affect the quality of the surgical result	NO
Patient's corneal thickness and what it means for eligibility for additional procedures	NO
Patient's professional vision requirements (present or future)	YES
The possibility of dry eye requiring ongoing treatment (i.e. after the healing period)	NO

4. How patient rated their clinic and surgeon
(5=best, 1=worst)

Overall experience with the CLINIC	4
Impression of the CLINIC's quality standards	4
How CLINIC's staff responded if patient had any problems or concerns after surgery	4
Overall experience with SURGEON	4
Time SURGEON spent with patient before the day of surgery	NO/a
SURGEON answered patient's questions prior to surgery	3
SURGEON discussed pre-operative evaluation test results with patient	3
SURGEON spent time with patient at follow-up examinations	1

5. Patient's comments about their experience
We asked patients to describe a single aspect of their experience that they thought future candidates might benefit from.

Selected topic: Vision After Surgery

Happy I don't have to wear glasses or contacts, however vision is not as perfect as with glasses. Was told I had a small prescription and should expect 0.00 in each eye but right eye still slightly short-sighted. Reading with each eye close up was different - blurry with left eye and clear with right but long distance reading slightly blurry with right and clear with left. Over 6 months this has nearly gone now. Told I won't need reading glasses due to slight short-sightedness in right eye and both eyes together have 20/20 vision so happy enough with that. Shouldn't get hopes up and expect perfect vision or the same vision as with glasses/contacts.

19. HARRY in London

1. Vitals

Vision before surgery	L -3.00 R -3.50 plus astigmatism (unclear..)
Vision after surgery	Reports slightly poorer night vision and mild dryness.
Surgery date(s)	January 2003
Time elapsed when survey submitted	6 months
Age at time of surgery	Unspecified
Type of surgery	LASIK
Laser	Nidek
One eye or both	Both
Correction before surgery	Soft contact lenses
Vision before surgery	Short-sighted L-3.00 R -3.50Astigmatism: Yes
Vision after surgery (acuity or prescription)	L 20/20 R +0.5.
Does patient now need glasses or contact lenses?	NO
Adverse effects (visual)	Poor night vision
Adverse effects (other)	Dry eye
Did patient feel the surgery achieved his/her goal?	YES
Does patient recommend to acquaintances?	YES
Patient's rating of results (1-10, 10 is best)	10

2. Preparation and research

Primary motivating factors in decision to have LVC	Cosmetic benefits Convenience of not wearing glasses Convenience of not wearing and caring for contact lenses Increased safety or convenience for sports or other leisure activities Contact lens intolerance, discomfort or related problems (eyes dry, tired, red, sore, allergies, etc) Generally tired of the hassle of glasses or contacts and attracted by the idea of not needing them
Read about the benefits of LVC in...	Family, friends or acquaintances who have had laser surgery
Read about the risks, complications and side effects of LVC in	Website of the clinic patient attended Websites sponsored by other clinics or industry sources Independent websites
Read about patients' experiences (good or bad)	On www.surgicaleyes.org On www.lasik-eyes.co.uk On an independent web forum (other than www.surgicaleyes.org and www.lasik-eyes.co.uk) In news reports
How patient selected clinic and/or surgeon	The surgeon was recommended by an acquaintance. The clinic was recommended by an acquaintance. My surgeon had done thousands of procedures. My surgeon was a consultant ophthalmologist. My surgeon had extensive training in refractive surgery.

3. Patient counselling and informed consent

The following were or were not discussed with the patient during the consultation process:
How long patient could expect to be glasses-free after surgery	YES
Night vision problems and what causes them	NO
Other problems associated with laser surgery, such as double vision/ghosting and loss of contrast sensitivity	NO
Patient's pupil size at night and how it may affect the quality of the surgical result	NO
Patient's corneal thickness and what it means for eligibility for additional procedures	YES
Patient's professional vision requirements (present or future)	YES
The possibility of dry eye requiring ongoing treatment (i.e. after the healing period)	NO

4. How patient rated their clinic and surgeon
(5=best, 1=worst)

Overall experience with the CLINIC	4
Impression of the CLINIC's quality standards	4
How CLINIC's staff responded if patient had any problems or concerns after surgery
Overall experience with SURGEON	5
Time SURGEON spent with patient before the day of surgery	2
SURGEON answered patient's questions prior to surgery	5
SURGEON discussed pre-operative evaluation test results with patient	4
SURGEON spent time with patient at follow-up examinations	1

5. Patient's comments about their experience
We asked patients to describe a single aspect of their experience that they thought future candidates might benefit from.

Selected topic: Healing Process

In my case everything went very well, however it's very clear that giving your eye's time to heal is important. Almost instant results give you the Wow factor, and then you tend to be constantly checking for floors in your sight and worrying.

I had what seemed to be very poor night vision for the first month but you really can't remember what it is was like before surgery, I also went to read a paper the day after the op and couldn't read a thing, which was a concern but I understood the risks and still thought that to swap short for long sight was worth it. The main point is that I had some problems but kept up the eye drops and looked after my eyes well and after a month night vision improved, reading vision took about a week to return to a comfortable level.

I'm absolutely delighted with the overall results. It's the best decision I have every made and the best money I've ever spent.

20. HEAVY-BONED in UK

1. Vitals

Surgery date(s)	April 2003
Time elapsed when survey submitted	3 months
Age at time of surgery	34
Type of surgery	Wavefront LASIK
Laser	Bausch & Lomb Zyoptix
One eye or both	Both
Correction before surgery	Contact lenses (toric)
Vision before surgery	Short-sighted: -3.50 both eyes Astigmatism: -0.75 both eyes
Vision after surgery (acuity or prescription)	Overcorrected (apprx +1.00) and planning second treatment.
Does patient now need glasses or contact lenses?	NO
Adverse effects (visual)	Poor night visionFloaters
Adverse effects (other)	None reported
Did patient feel the surgery achieved his/her goal?	YES
Does patient recommend to acquaintances?	YES
Patient's rating of results (1-10, 10 is best)	9

2. Preparation and research

Primary motivating factors in decision to have LVC	Convenience of not wearing glasses Convenience of not wearing and caring for contact lenses Increased safety or convenience for sports or other leisure activities Generally tired of the hassle of glasses or contacts and attracted by the idea of not needing them
Read about the benefits of LVC in...	Online
Read about the risks, complications and side effects of LVC in	Television, radio or other press reports Website of the clinic patient attended Websites sponsored by other clinics or industry sources Independent websites
Read about patients' experiences (good or bad)	On www.surgicaleyes.org On www.lasik-eyes.co.uk On an independent web forum (other than www.surgicaleyes.org and www.lasik-eyes.co.uk) On a website sponsored by the clinic In brochures or other media produced by the clinic In news reports
How patient selected clinic and/or surgeon	I had an evaluation at more than one clinic and selected the one I thought was best based on my experience during the evaluation. The clinic listed very low complications rates. My surgeon had done thousands of procedures. My surgeon had extensive training in refractive surgery. My surgeon had very low complications rates. I read good reviews or reports about the clinic or surgeon.

3. Patient counselling and informed consent

The following were or were not discussed with the patient during the consultation process:
How long patient could expect to be glasses-free after surgery	YES
Night vision problems and what causes them	YES
Other problems associated with laser surgery, such as double vision/ghosting and loss of contrast sensitivity	YES
Patient's pupil size at night and how it may affect the quality of the surgical result	YES
Patient's corneal thickness and what it means for eligibility for additional procedures	YES
Patient's professional vision requirements (present or future)	YES
The possibility of dry eye requiring ongoing treatment (i.e. after the healing period)	YES

4. How patient rated their clinic and surgeon
(5=best, 1=worst)

Overall experience with the CLINIC	5
Impression of the CLINIC's quality standards	5
How CLINIC's staff responded if patient had any problems or concerns after surgery	5
Overall experience with SURGEON	5
Time SURGEON spent with patient before the day of surgery	5
SURGEON answered patient's questions prior to surgery	5
SURGEON discussed pre-operative evaluation test results with patient	5
SURGEON spent time with patient at follow-up examinations	5

5. Patient's comments about their experience
We asked patients to describe a single aspect of their experience that they thought future candidates might benefit from.

Selected topic: Vision after Surgery

I'm lucky as I went to the best around and I now have fantastic vision by day. At night the only problem is with bright light as there's a slight halo and star burst Ð as you'd get from a rainy night driving, but it doesn't cause any real problems.