uk51to60

Patients' Journal: UK (51 to 60)
(posted: date)

Subhead 1

51. NAMELESS26 in London, UK: November 2002 LASIK

52. NAMELESS3 in London, UK: October & December 2001 LASEK

53. NAMELESS4 in Sussex, UK: January 2003 LASIK

54. NAMELESS5 in Manchester, UK: December 2002 LASIK

55. NAMELESS6 in Berkshire, UK: June 2002 LASIK

56. NAMELESS7 in London, UK: February & May 2002 LASEK

57. NAMELESS8 in London, UK: June 2001 LASIK

58. NAMELESS9 in Birmingham, UK: March & October 2002 LASIK

59. NAT NEWPORT in Cardiff, UK: January 2003 LASIK

60. NCRUDEN in north London, UK: December 2002 PRK

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51. NAMELESS26 in London

1. Vitals

Surgery date(s)	November 2002
Time elapsed when survey submitted	8 months
Age at time of surgery	27
Type of surgery	LASIK
Laser	Unknown
One eye or both	Both
Correction before surgery	Glasses
Vision before surgery	Short-sighted: -3.75 / -4.25 Astigmatism: Yes
Vision after surgery (acuity or prescription)	Acuity not reported.
Does patient now need glasses or contact lenses?	NO
Adverse effects (visual)	None reported.
Adverse effects (other)	Light sensitivity.
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 Gift
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	Unspecified
Read about patients' experiences (good or bad)	Unspecified
How patient selected clinic and/or surgeon	The surgeon was recommended by an acquaintance.

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)	NO
The possibility of dry eye requiring ongoing treatment (i.e. after the healing period)

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.

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52. NAMELESS3 in London

1. Vitals

Surgery date(s)	October and December 2001
Time elapsed when survey submitted	21 months
Age at time of surgery	28
Type of surgery	LASEK
Laser	Unknown
One eye or both	Both
Correction before surgery	Soft contact lenses
Vision before surgery	Shortsighted: Apprx -2.75 and -3.0 Astigmatism: Yes
Vision after surgery (acuity or prescription)	ÒPerfectÓ
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 Increased safety or convenience for sports or other leisure activities
Read about the benefits of LVC in...	Advertising Online
Read about the risks, complications and side effects of LVC in	Television, radio or other press reports Websites sponsored by other clinics or industry sources Independent websites
Read about patients' experiences (good or bad)	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	None of these describes my preference for the clinic I chose. [Recommended by optician]

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
Overall experience with SURGEON	5
Time SURGEON spent with patient before the day of surgery	4
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.

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53. NAMELESS4 in Sussex

1. Vitals

Surgery date(s)	January 2003
Time elapsed when survey submitted	6 months
Age at time of surgery	Unspecified
Type of surgery	LASIK
Laser	Bausch & Lomb
One eye or both	Both
Correction before surgery	Soft contact lenses
Vision before surgery	Short-sighted: -6.00/-6.25 Astigmatism: Yes
Vision after surgery (acuity or prescription)	20/10
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 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 Other
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 brochures or other media produced by the clinic.
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. My surgeon had done thousands of procedures. My surgeon was a consultant ophthalmologist. 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	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)	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	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	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.

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54. NAMELESS5 in Manchester

1. Vitals

Surgery date(s)	December 2002
Time elapsed when survey submitted	7 months
Age at time of surgery	32
Type of surgery	LASIK
Laser	Bausch & Lomb
One eye or both	Both
Correction before surgery	Soft contact lenses
Vision before surgery	Short-sighted: -3 Astigmatism: NO
Vision after surgery (acuity or prescription)	20/20
Does patient now need glasses or contact lenses?	NO
Adverse effects (visual)	None reported
Adverse effects (other)	Light sensitivity
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	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 Family, friends or acquaintances who have had laser surgery
Read about the risks, complications and side effects of LVC in	Family, friends or acquaintances Websites sponsored by other clinics or industry sources Independent websites
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 had an evaluation at more than one clinic and selected the one I thought was best based on my experience during the evaluation. 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	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	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	4
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	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.

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55. NAMELESS6 in Berkshire

1. Vitals

Surgery date(s)	June 2002
Time elapsed when survey submitted	13 months
Age at time of surgery	41
Type of surgery	LASIK
Laser	Unknown
One eye or both	Both
Correction before surgery	Soft contact lenses
Vision before surgery	Short-sighted: -2.5/-2.75 Astigmatism: Yes Readers: No
Vision after surgery (acuity or prescription)	Nearly 20/20
Does patient now need glasses or contact lenses?	NO
Adverse effects (visual)	None reported.
Adverse effects (other)	Severe dry eye requiring daily treatment. Mild 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)	2

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...	Advertising Family, friends or acquaintances who have had laser surgery
Read about the risks, complications and side effects of LVC in	Independent websites
Read about patients' experiences (good or bad)	On www.lasik-eyes.co.uk
How patient selected clinic and/or surgeon	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. The clinic listed very low complications rates. My surgeon had done thousands of procedures. 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	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)	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	3
Impression of the CLINIC's quality standards	3
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	4
SURGEON answered patient's questions prior to surgery	4
SURGEON discussed pre-operative evaluation test results with patient	3
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.

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56. NAMELESS7 in London

1. Vitals

Surgery date(s)	February & May 2002
Time elapsed when survey submitted	17 months
Age at time of surgery	40
Type of surgery	LASEK
Laser	Unknown
One eye or both	Both
Correction before surgery	Soft contact lenses
Vision before surgery	Short-sighted: -8.5R, -7.75L Astigmatism: Yes Readers: No
Vision after surgery (acuity or prescription)	6/6 (-0.25R, 0.0L)
Does patient now need glasses or contact lenses?	NO
Adverse effects (visual)	Poor night vision
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 Job requirements Convenience of not wearing and caring for contact lenses Increased safety or convenience for sports or other leisure activities Increased safety or convenience at work Poor vision with glasses (all of the time) 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 Other
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 Other
Read about patients' experiences (good or bad)	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 first clinic I went to told me I was not eligible for treatment, so I found one that agreed to treat me. My surgeon was a consultant ophthalmologist. 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.

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57. NAMELESS8 in London

1. Vitals

Surgery date(s)	June 2001
Time elapsed when survey submitted	25 months
Age at time of surgery	28
Type of surgery	LASIK
Laser	Unknown
One eye or both	Both
Correction before surgery	Toric contact lenses
Vision before surgery	Short-sighted: -6.5 Astigmatism: Yes
Vision after surgery (acuity or prescription)	6/6
Does patient now need glasses or contact lenses?	NO
Adverse effects (visual)	None reported.
Adverse effects (other)	Light sensitivity.
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...	Advertising 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
Read about patients' experiences (good or bad)	In brochures or other media produced by the clinic In news reports
How patient selected clinic and/or surgeon	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. 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	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)	NO
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	4
Overall experience with SURGEON	4
Time SURGEON spent with patient before the day of surgery	3
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	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.

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58. NAMELESS9 in Birmingham

1. Vitals

Surgery date(s)	March 2003; 2nd procedure October 2003
Time elapsed when survey submitted	4 months since original procedure
Age at time of surgery	26
Type of surgery	LASIK
Laser	Alcon Ladarvision
One eye or both	Both
Correction before surgery	Toric contact lenses
Vision before surgery	Short-sighted: -4.25, -3.75 Astigmatism: YES
Vision after surgery (acuity or prescription)	-0.50 after 1st 0 after 2nd
Does patient now need glasses or contact lenses?	NO
Adverse effects (visual)	None reported
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...	Advertising Family, friends or acquaintances who have had laser surgery Other: Newspaper/magazine articles
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
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	The clinic was recommended by an acquaintance. I was looking for a very specific type of procedure or model of laser. My surgeon had done thousands of procedures. My surgeon was a consultant ophthalmologist. 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	4
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.

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59. NAT NEWPORT in Cardiff

1. Vitals

Surgery date(s)	January 2003
Time elapsed when survey submitted	6 months
Age at time of surgery	38
Type of surgery	LASIK
Laser	Unknown
One eye or both	Both
Correction before surgery	Soft contact lenses
Vision before surgery	Short-sighted -2.75 each eye Astigmatism: Yes
Vision after surgery (acuity or prescription)	Uncertain
Does patient now need glasses or contact lenses?	NO
Adverse effects (visual)	Floaters
Adverse effects (other)	Light sensitivity
Did patient feel the surgery achieved his/her goal?	YES
Does patient recommend to acquaintances?	YES with reserations
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 Expected cost savings Convenience of not wearing and caring for contact lenses Increased safety or convenience for sports or other leisure activities Increased safety or convenience at work Increased confidence of your performance in an emergency Poor vision with glasses (at night) 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 Other
Read about the risks, complications and side effects of LVC in	Family, friends or acquaintances Unspecified (not press or websites)
Read about patients' experiences (good or bad)	Did not read about any other patients' experiences.
How patient selected clinic and/or surgeon	I was looking for a very specific type of procedure or model of laser. My surgeon had done thousands of procedures. 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	Unsure
Other problems associated with laser surgery, such as double vision/ghosting and loss of contrast sensitivity	Unsure
Patient's pupil size at night and how it may affect the quality of the surgical result	Unsure
Patient's corneal thickness and what it means for eligibility for additional procedures	Unsure
Patient's professional vision requirements (present or future)	Unsure
The possibility of dry eye requiring ongoing treatment (i.e. after the healing period)	Unsure

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	NO/a
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	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.

The people at [clinic], Cardiff were superb. Professionalism, friendliness and empathetic are words I would use for all the staff. I work in Operating Theatres and was a little nervous but I was made to feel completely at ease and didn't feel a thing. I went straight to lunch after, work the following morning and driving the next evening. It is the best thing I have spent money on in a long time and completely changed my life.

Plus I no longer have unsightly marks on my nose and temples from specs and it is such a relief to not have to reach for glasses or lenses every morning in order to see what I'm doing.

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60. NCRUDEN in North London

1. Vitals

Surgery date(s)	December 2002
Time elapsed when survey submitted	7 months
Age at time of surgery	40
Type of surgery	PRK (one eye only)
Laser	Unknown
One eye or both	One. Unclear from comments whether deliberately chose monovision correction for near vision, or decided after first eye was done.
Correction before surgery	Soft contact lenses
Vision before surgery	Short-sighted: -2.75 Astigmatism: ?
Vision after surgery (acuity or prescription)	+0.75 in lasered eye
Does patient now need glasses or contact lenses?	Doesn't say, presumed not
Adverse effects (visual)	None reported
Adverse effects (other)	Light sensitivity
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 Convenience of not wearing and caring for contact lenses Increased safety or convenience for sports or other leisure activities Increased safety or convenience at work Poor vision with glasses (all of the time) 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	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	The surgeon was recommended by an acquaintance. The clinic was recommended by an acquaintance.

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	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	3
Impression of the CLINIC's quality standards	3
How CLINIC's staff responded if patient had any problems or concerns after surgery	2
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	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.

Overall I had a good experience, but I was unaware at the time of surgery that I would not see the consultant again. Only had follow-up treatments by opticians Ð from the day I had surgery I never saw the consultant that carried it out. I would really have liked to have seen him to discuss the outcome and progress of surgery.

6. Patients with complications and/or serious adverse effects

Has the problem(s) been resolved?	Partially
Did the patient get additional opinions and if so how many?	YES
Has the surgeon told the patient what caused the problem(s)?
Did the patient have risk factors s/he did not know about?	NO
Who took responsibility to look after the patient, examine and treat them when the problem(s) arose: the surgeon, other staff in the clinic, or neither?	Surgeon