Accuvision Laser Eye Surgery Clinic

I never write reviews but to my amazement all the staff at AccuVision are 5 star. I originally went to Optical Express for a quote and thought they were useless with information but from the second I called to book an appointment I felt at ease the professionalism is top class felt at ease the whole way. I had LASIK WAVEFRONT and for me this was a big deal as I have a phobia about touching eyes so I could only wear glasses so let me reassure anyone having doubts that you DON’T feel a thing. I couldn’t be happier with the level of service I received with every question answered in detail and examples. Accuvision actually care about their customers health and have time for you. I can say now that after all the research I put into finding the best company to choose AccuVision are by far the leading company and I am so glad I chose yourselves. Thank you for everything.

I’ve been wearing glasses since I was 8, contacts since I was 13. Consequently, I’ve been wanting to get my crappy vision fixed since the day I found out lasers could fix eyeballs.
I’m now eight months healed from laser eye surgery, so I’m happy to post my experience.
Consultation
I met with Joan initially, and she was friendly and full of info — brimming with explanations, answers to questions I didn’t even have yet, and had assurances about anything you could think of. She was no-​nonsense but not insensitive to the fact that, while exciting, it’s kind of scary, too.
They did some non-​invasive eye tests (reading the letters type stuff) and some fairly advanced CAD ones. Based on the latter, they determined I would be able to have the surgery.
There was no pressure to make a decision right then. Joan simply printed off dates that would be available in the coming month, and sent me on my way to think it over.
I called the next day to make my appointment (£500 deposit required).
Surgery day
As directed, I wore my glasses for one week leading up to procedure day (and no make up 3 days before). On surgery day, I was taken back by Joan about 10 – 15 minutes in to re-​run some tests and ensure nothing had changed.
To calm my nerves while waiting around for things to get going, I read all the thank you cards they have on display. They are all heartfelt and really reassuring that everyone seems to be happy and enjoying their new vision.
I was led back by the surgeon who was very friendly, chatting away and being as relaxed and «nothing to worry about here» as could be.
Mark does a good job of describing the procedure in his review, so I won’t go into that too much. But I will say that I «saw» more than I expected to, and that threw me! I had the impression that your vision would be blacked out for the procedure, but I could see shapes and movement and see the knife/​instruments coming for my eye flap! It’s weird, stressful and intense. But only last like 10 minutes. That about sums it up.
I want to give a BIG shout out to how reassuring and just *human* all the people in the room are. The surgeon talks throughout the procedure to explain what’s happening, what you should be seeing (sometimes the lights on the machine turn red, then green or fade out or black out entirely). This helps keep you calm and from panicking that something’s gone wrong.
They must do thousands of these a year, but they never take for granted how harrowing it can be for the patient, and I was treated with respect and patience at every turn. It really makes a difference!
Immediately afterward, they place a «bandage» contact lens to help aid healing of the flap and keep it in place. For me, it was uncomfortable but not unbearable.
I had severe light sensitivity for a good hour afterward. I could not have opened my eyes if you paid me. By the time I got home (my husband drove — I would not recommend public transportation if you can avoid it, and def need a buddy!), it was much better. But then the anesthetic wore off and the grittiness/​soreness feeling set in. I climbed into bed and hit play on the audiobook I had the sense to download. My husband set a timer on his phone and administered drops every hour. About 6 hours later I felt well enough to get out of bed, eat and try to watch a film (we turned down the brightness on the tv set to make this more comfortable).
By the next day, I was ok to commute on my own (sunglasses on) to the follow up appt. Everything was healing ideally, so the bandage lenses came out and I was on my way.
Recovery — 8 months on
I worked from home the Monday after the procedure but really could have gone in no problem. The rest of the week I wore my sunglasses in the office (much to the amusement of coworkers) to tone down the overhead lights and computer screen.
I found that one eye was pretty much bang on sharp and the other felt like I had an outdated prescription lens in. (I was assured in my next-​day appointment that this is totally normal, and that eyes will heal at different rates). It made reading close up (computer screen) and far away (train board times) difficult but not impossible. Also, since the sharper eye does the «heavy lifting» of processing light/​images for your brain, it’s tiring and headache inducing. It took about a week and a half for this to subside.
You are unable to splash your face with water (making showering and washing your face interesting), wear eye makeup or rub your eyes for the first week. After my one-​week follow up, I was given the go ahead to carefully wash my face, run, wear makeup, etc., but with instructions not to vigorously rub my eyes.
About two weeks on, I felt pretty much normal! It took about 3 months for the more slowly healing eye to finally «catch up». By now, if they’re different I can’t tell the difference.

i got my eyes lasered here almost one year ago. i’ve waited a fair while to put any reviews about the whole process up, because it does take a while for your eyes to heal and adjust, but i think it’s safe for me to assess it all now.
firstly, from my very first consultation to my latest check up, the staff here have always been absolutely wonderful. there was never any pushing for me to take the surgery up, just facts given to me for me to decide whether this was the option for me. they didn’t even push onto me the testimonials of their other (very satisfied) customers. they just let me attend an assessment, and decide for myself.
this particular company specialise in fixing «special» eyes, which perhaps other companies would decline. i had rather severe astigmatism in both eyes, so i was considered within their area of expertise.
once i decided to go ahead with the surgery, they were super quick at being able to fit me in. they recommend getting the surgery on a friday so that you have the weekend to recover. because of my astimagtism they suggested that my recovery period might be slightly longer than most, so i took the following monday — wednesday off work also as a resting period, which i am glad i did (i definitely could have returned to work on the monday, but it’s nice to have a break!)
the surgery itself was… honestly, a little scarier than i imagined it to be, BUT i am the absolute WORST at keeping my eyelids open (that’s actually the reason i opted for surgery in the first place, i can’t for the life of me hold my eyes open long enough to put in contact lenses… annoying), so it was a bit of a struggle to get my eyes clamped open, which is probably why i found it a little more difficult than expected. the clamping is unpleasant, but not at all sore, and it’s nice to know your eye can’t move an inch when a laser is pointed directly in it! the lasering itself lasted for a minimal period of time in each eye, it really just felt like seconds. there was absolutely no pain, but you can smell it burning, and it is a totally weird sensation having the flaps of your eyes lifted up and then replaced. but seriously, no pain whatsoever!
after the surgery you need to wear dark glasses (even to bed!) and keep your eyes closed for as much of the first day as you can. i was super sensitive to light and i must have got my eyes done on the sunniest spring day ever to have existed, so it was no problem for me keeping them shut! the consultants recommend napping after the procedure, and ever a happy napper, i took their advice!
you can see improvements immediately after the surgery, and your eye sight just continues to improve as time goes on. i read somewhere that you could estimate your recovery period by your prescription, so for me at –4.5 in each eye, it took me about 4.5 months for full recovery. i would say this was fair, although i guess it really just depends on each individual and their body’s capacity to heal.
some side effects of the surgery for me was blurry eyes for quite some time after. i could see perfectly clearly, but there was often a layer of blur in my eyes, which made me very tired when straining to see my computer screen etc through it. eyes can also be very, very dry, and lubricating with the provided drops every hour or less was essential, probably for the first 4 or 5 months after surgery. i was also super sensitive to bright daylight, and for a while at night-​time, there would be halos around every light source i could see (this was actually kinda fun!)
yes, some of these things were a nuisance, but they were a liveable nuisance and they really didn’t affect the quality of my daily life at all.
now, almost a year on, i have perfect vision. i can’t even tell you how much of a difference this had made to my life. it is just so AMAZING to be able to see without the need for glasses. it has made everything that bit easier, from work, to walking around in the dark, to spying on animals (my favourite hobby), to sports. every so often, my eyes will feel dry and tired, and i just put in some eye drops and i’m good to go. i’d say this might happen every 6 – 8 weeks or so, so not a common occurance, and it’s more likely to occur after something like a long haul flight, or a period of dehydration (as in a ‘oops, drank far too much alcohol last night’ dehydration).
i absolutely love my new eyes. i’d say the surgery was hands down, the best money i have ever spent, and i would recommend to anyone in a heartbeat. more particularly, i would recommend accuvision in a second — like i stated earlier, from my first consultation, they were so great, not at all pushy, and genuinely seemed to care about making me feel at ease and comfortable. on the day of the surgery they were super kind and caring, and at all my follow up appointments since they have been super pleasant and happy to see the progress that i have made.