Rosie Smith

Laser Eye Surgery

24 year old Rosie Smith from East Yorkshire was becoming more and more concerned with her deteriorating eyesight that she decided she wanted to undergo the very latest laser eye surgery to correct her vision. She was also concerned of negative reports about providers of this treatment so decided to consult eye surgeon Milind Pande who had previously operated on her mum’ s eyes. A graduate of Leeds Metropolitan University, Rosie is in the field of marketing and is a keen artist and painter, something which her new found clarity of vision will help with. Rosie’ s sight was particularly poor and her prescription was at the very high end for suitability for successful laser treatment.

Mr Pande, consultant eye surgeon at Vision Surgery in East Yorkshire, recommended that Rosie should have ‘Bilateral Femtosecond Wavefront LASIK’ laser vision correction which is a new and completely bladeless technique. It is painless to undergo with a very quick recovery period and has a low risk of complication. Improvements in vision are almost instantaneous and improve even further over time. The treatment takes no more than ten minutes per eye and both eyes are treated on the same day.

A recent Which? investigation on laser eye surgery reported that, in many cases researchers found that a number of key providers were failing to explain the potential risks to patients and employed high pressure sales techniques. Milind Pande is a member of the laser eye surgery committee of the Royal College of Ophthalmologists. He has worked in the field for more than 30 years and also campaigns for tougher legislation to ensure better standards for laser eye surgery as currently any doctor is allowed to perform the procedure.

Rosie said “Obviously where your sight is concerned, you want to make sure you are in the best hands possible. I had a first hand recommendation from my mum who had lens replacement treatment with Mr Pande previously. I know there are operators in the region but it is important not to be attracted by special deals and sales techniques and use someone who you trust and that you know you will see, before and after the treatment.”

Mr Pande believes that patients should be made fully aware of the potential risks, benefits, alternative treatment options and potential complications so that they can make a reasoned, informed decision about laser eye surgery. He said: “The bulk of laser eye surgery in this country is carried out in high street clinics by surgeons travelling form clinic to clinic and almost all the pre surgery consultations and assessments being carried out by other staff. Patients can barely get any time with the surgeon before surgery and may never see the surgeon after.”

Rosie is delighted with her new vision and she said that she thinks about this every day. She continued: “There is not a day goes by when I don’ t appreciate my new vision and the fact that I no longer have to rely on contact lenses and spectacles. I went on holiday quite soon after my treatment and it was amazing not to have to worry about where your contact lenses and glasses are. You can relax so much more. It really is life changing and you can’ t appreciate it until you have had this done yourself.”