The Best Eye Care – Because You’re Worth It

Auxiliary nurse, Melanie, saved up for many months to pay for her Laser Eye Surgery at the London Vision Clinic.

“And you know what;  even if it had taken another year of saving, I would have waited the extra time to get the money together – I would never have gone anywhere else to have it done”, she told me at her one month post-operative check up.

Melanie lives in Norfolk with her adult daughter who has special needs. She arrived at 138 Harley Street after a consultation in a local High Street centre where, despite being offered easy credit for the procedure, she had left neither convinced nor reassured.

Melanie was concerned that the operation would be painful and felt no better after being told that the sensation was like: “putting your thumb in your eye and pushing”.

She decided to: “think about it” and had further doubts after a phone call from the eye centre the following morning.

“I was just not happy with the set up – they kept telling me that it would be easy for me to get credit for the operation – I felt uncomfortable, they were being too pushy.”

Melanie also wanted to find out more about the surgeon who would be operating on her eyes.

“I had his name, but had been told that I wouldn’t be able to meet him until the day of the treatment”, she explained.

In addition she was aware that her sister, who had had Laser Eye Surgery locally a few months before, was far from happy with the outcome or her after care. Her eyes still felt dry and itchy, the procedure itself had been quite uncomfortable and – to make matters worse – she was now telling Melanie that she was beginning to regret ever having had it done..

Melanie turned to the Internet, found the London Vision Clinic website and watched some patients’ stories on video. The more she saw and read the more convinced she became that this was the right place for her.

“I clicked on Prof Dan Reinstein and I was so impressed to read about his knowledge, experience and research. I thought this guy is amazing – he’s done it all.

“That’s what made me decide.”

Melanie had worn glasses since the age of eighteen and had a prescription for varifocals at the time of her surgery … and she hated wearing her glasses.

“The service you get at the London Vision Clinic is just amazing – from the first day of my initial screening I knew that this was the place for me.”

However, Melanie’s journey was not straightforward.

“I was terrified and so I phoned up a few times before the operation. They (the patient care coordinators) were wonderful. They could not have treated me better if I had been rich or famous – they are the same with everybody – whatever your background”, she said.

But despite all the care she had received, on the day of surgery she was very close to walking out of the clinic. She was, by her own admission “absolutely petrified”.

“I am squeamish and anything to do with eyes just scares me – if something does go wrong you are not going to get another pair!”

The operation itself was not nearly as bad as Melanie had feared.

“Maybe because of all the emotions – but I never felt a thing, not even the sensation of pressure I had feared. It is an amazing high class procedure without any pain.

“It was much better than a trip to the dentist! I would rather get my eyes done here than have a tooth filled.”

And was it worth the pre-op, terrifying emotional rollercoaster ride?

“The evening after my operation I received a text message from Prof Reinstein asking if everything was settling down all right. It was a lovely personal touch, and I was thrilled to be able to read his message clearly, and text back without my glasses.

“The next morning I woke up in the hotel at 5.30 am and I stepped outside on to the balcony for some fresh air. I saw a bus approaching on the road below and was amazed to realise that I could easily see its number.

“I stood there in the early morning light reading bus numbers for twenty minutes with a big grin on my face!”