Patient Testimonials

(from a doctor) I thought you would like to know that I have just finished my clinic at the hospital where I read, wrote, examined, did phlebotomy, microscopy, venesection, machine gazing … ALL WITHOUT GLASSES. I just can’t thank you enough.

I had a brilliant experience using Moorfields eye hospital. From start to finish it felt so simple and I was made to feel at ease throughout the whole process. The procedure was unbelievably quick and Dr Ionides and the nurses made me feel very comfortable! I would definitely recommend Moorfields for this life-changing procedure, the service was second to none.

The procedure itself wasn’t painful, so much as uncomfortable but it was over so quickly that you don’t mind. Within minutes of leaving the hospital, I could already read licence plates on cars that I could never do before! It is one of the best decisions I’ve ever made and my eyes were back to feeling normal within three days.

The procedure itself was extremely quick and went much much easier than I had expected. Completely no pain. A thrilling feeling right after the procedure of getting your glasses in hand (not wearing) and walking out by myself without wearing any glasses or contacts was absolutely unforgettable.

Yes it was painful for a couple of days. But it was far less painful than I had expected. I had drops that I could use to ease the pain that I could use if it was too uncomfortable. But actually it was completely fine without them. And they are still unopened.

Third day after surgery there was no pain at all. My vision was still blurry, but it was already better then before the surgery.I could see shoes I am wearing and the path that my dog walks on. Which is absolutely amazing.

I am still in the first few weeks after my surgery and as Dr Ionides rightly informed me before the procedure one day is different than the other. Sometimes I feel like my vision is perfect and the next day I feel like it is still not there yet. I know that I will need to wait 3-4 months until after my surgery for my vision to be perfect. But this procedure has already had so much of a positive impact on my overall perception of my surroundings that I could never have imagined. I think that only people who have been wearing glasses since childhood and have this treatment can really get this feeling.

It’s fair to say that I’m very pleased by the end result. The actual surgery was far worse in expectation that reality, I didn’t use the supplied pain killers once post surgery, and finally was back to work in 2 weeks as normal. Vision is now slightly better than 20:20, and I recommend the process thoroughly. On one point – the ‘flap’ technique rather than the alternate process I went through – again, I can only say very happy with the result and with vision at or near that provided by my previous contact lenses after c.2 weeks, it suited me fine in terms of recovery time.

All round I am very happy with it. I was nervous on the day, but in fact the procedure was incredible quick (literally minutes) and totally painless. Mr Ionides had stressed that the first few days of recovery were painful, so I had steeled myself for that and actually found it wasn’t as bad as I expected. You have a lot of drops including an anaesthetic drop, so you don’t have any real pain per se. I would call it more discomfort – your eyes feel the way they do when you are very tired and have been somewhere smokey. You just want to close them a lot, although you can see surprisingly well when you do open them. I just chilled out for a few days, listened to audio books, let my partner do the cooking etc. You can’t really use the computer or read because it is a bit blurry and as I said, you like to close your eyes. The most painful part I found was putting in some of the drops, which sting a little, but this passes in seconds. Despite Mr Ionides saying I wouldn’t be able to go outside for 4 days or so (because your eyes are light sensitive), I actually found I was able to go for a short walk most days, with sunglasses on. After the check up with Mr Ionides the following Monday, I took the rest of that week off work and was glad I did because although I felt pretty good, looking at the computer for more than 30 mins-1 hour was a strain. After that week I could get back to normal really. Although my vision was still not perfect, I could see it improving day to day until now it is about 20/20. I’m delighted with the result and can see better than I could with my glasses on, plus no hassle with lenses and glasses. There was no need for a repeat treatment and no side-effects. Apparently it is common for your eyes to be a bit dry in the mornings but my eyes feel the same as they used to in the morning, and I am not using any drops now, not even the tear ones. I was doing everything normally a month later, riding my bike, etc. So, yes, I would definitely recommend it.

The surgery itself is fairly swift. Your eyes are kept open with some sort of clips, there is no discomfort and these are in place to ensure you don’t blink during the procedure. Your eyes are anaesthetized before the procedure commences. The epithelium is removed (quite a strange thing to see happening but no pain and no discomfort) before the laser identifies your eyes, presumably from the results taken from your original consultation, and corrects your vision. Again, quite a strange feeling, quite crackly, some say they can smell burning rubber, for me this was minimal. The eyes are washed thoroughly before the procedure finishes, a protective contact lense is fitted over the cornea which needs to be removed 4-5 days post surgery. The whole procedure takes around 2-3 minutes each eye, and is very professionally executed. Each step is counted so you know when it starts and finishes which I know I found comforting.