Patients Lucy and Ralf Tell Us of Their Laser Eye Surgery Experiences
At London Vision Clinic, we welcome patients from all walks of life with one thing in common: They want to improve their vision and potentially ditch their glasses and contact lenses. Lucy and Ralf were two such patients who chose London Vision Clinic to help them achieve just that.
In this article, we’ll follow the stories of Lucy and Ralf as they explain their Laser Eye Surgery experiences in their own words. Along the way, our expert surgeon and founder, Professor Reinstein, explains how we use custom programming to correct even high prescriptions and the effects of presbyopia (ageing eyes).
Introducing Lucy and Ralf
Lucy and Ralf first walked through our doors on Harley Street in 2011, each seeking correction for a different refractive error. For Lucy, it was time to finally address her severe short-sightedness.
“I have been short sighted all of my life as far as I can remember. I first wore glasses when I was four and I had one point at school where the glass in my glasses was so thick that I was looking down and it actually fell out and broke through the plastic of my lenses and shattered on the floor, which was very hilarious for all of my school mates.”
And things would only get worse as Lucy entered adulthood and followed her dream of bing an actor: “When I started acting my eyesight wasn’t really a problem, but as I did more work with sort of very bright television and film lights, I just found that my eyes were getting more and more tired at the end of the day with my contacts, which I think is part of getting older as well, but also quite specific to the job I do.”
For Ralf, vision had been slowly deteriorating over time: “It started when I was 18 really, and I partly blame computer work for it, I think, and working in offices with air conditioners and stuff I think I put a lot of stress on my eyes.
“I work for a bank and I’m a Fund Manager, so that involves a lot of desk work. I try to avoid long-haul travelling a bit and do video conferences, but I can’t walk around without glasses.”
Finding the Right Laser Eye Surgery Clinic
Having decided to learn more about Laser Eye Surgery, Ralf and Lucy now had a hard task ahead of them: Finding the right clinic. This is often more difficult than you might think, especially if you have a complicated prescription, as Lucy soon discovered.
“When more and more clinics started opening up I sort of picked up fliers and phoned them up and said, you know, hello, I’m interested. And they would say, what’s your prescription? And when I told them they would say, ‘oh well, we can do one of your eyes, but we couldn’t do the other’.”
Like many patients, Ralf was determined not to settle for anything less than the best.
“I was looking for high quality and the more places that popped up, I felt like I lost my touch with really finding what the best person to go to would be.
“I got generally very good feedback on eye laser, but I also heard about cases where people were just in a queue and then got onto the machine, and got the laser treatment and I just felt that my eyes are so important to me, that I didn’t want to just go to some, some chain that would treat my eyes and maybe mess it up.”
After being turned away by other clinics, a friend of Lucy’s recommended London Vision Clinic.
“I telephoned them and they said, well, rather than straight off we can’t do one [eye], they said, ‘well come in and have a look’. They sat me down, we had a lovely chat, they tested my eyes, and then – blow me down – they actually said, ‘yes we can do something’.
“And then, probably a couple days later, came absolute terror (giggles) but the initial thing was just absolute astonishment when they said yes: ‘yeah, we can do it’.”
Of course, it is normal to be a little nervous, or even scared, when finally getting the go ahead for Laser Eye Surgery. After all, we only have two eyes, and we want to know they safe in safe hands. But, as Professor Reinstein says: “Knowledge dispels fear!“.
Lucy and Ralf’s Experience at the Clinic
At London Vision Clinic, we pride ourselves on our rigorous screening process. We believe this is one of the most important steps in the Laser Eye Surgery process, as it allows us to determine whether we can safely treat you, and what kind of outcomes you can expect. For this reason, our screening appointments are often more comprehensive than other clinics, and our attention to detail wasn’t lost on Lucy.
“At my first appointment they gave me a sheet of questions that the London Vision Clinic recommend you ask any surgeon that you’re considering using for this kind of operation. And, a second sheet of these questions with the answers given by Professor Reinstein, e.g. safety records, safety of all the different procedures, just incredibly detailed, but very impressive.”
Initial appointments at our Harley Street clinic also gives us the opportunity to explain the risks associated with Laser Eye Surgery, which was a key consideration for Ralf: “For me that’s really one of the key points really to see, what risks am I taking? You know, I have only two eyes, I don’t want to mess it up.”
“They’re using the latest technology and they’re using German technology as well, so I could relate to that. I met Professor Reinstein and he explained that he’s actually cooperating with Zeiss designing the machines, you know, to his needs. I just felt I was in good hands when I met him, so I thought I want to go for the best.”
London Vision Clinic: Home to the Most Advanced Technology
We’re proud to be able to offer the latest treatments to our patients. A large part of being able to do so is thanks to our access to the latest Laser Eye Surgery technology – some of which we have even helped develop. Professor Reinstein explains how laser technology allows us to reshape the cornea and correct refractive errors:
“The laser that we use for Laser Eye Surgery is a highly specific piece of equipment (laser noise) and because it’s a very high energy laser the light is absorbed in a very, very small area of the cornea and it just so happens that you can change the shape of the cornea by thousandths of a millimetres and you can affect a change in the focusing of an eye.”
Laser Eye Surgery Results
We’re proud to have an extremely high success rate, with the vast majority of our patients achieving 20/20 vision – or better! – after their treatment. Moreover, while it can take months for the final results to become apparent, many people notice an almost immediate improvement in their vision.
Lucy: “It’s been two weeks since my operation and the first few days were a bit fuzzy because I was on pain medication and then it was just incredible. I can see everything, it sounds like such a stupid thing to say, but I can.
“And, I don’t have to fiddle around with putting my lenses in and you know that was a great moment the sort of glorious, here is my lens solution, here is the bin! Goodbye! I mean it was just fantastic! It changes my confidence in the world enormously.
“On a purely maternal note you know it’s I can see her in focus first thing in the morning and you know I’m going to pick my daughter and I don’t have to think about my glasses and that is a complete joy.”
If you’d like to experience your own journey to glasses free vision, get in touch with one of our friendly clinic coordinators or Book a Consultation today to find out if you, too, could be suitable for Laser Eye Surgery.