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Brighton Sunglasses

Is laser eye surgery a gamble?

Have you seen the recent television adverts which feature golfer Padraig Harrington singing the praises of laser eye surgery?

But if you opt for this treatment, how likely are you to need the services of no win no fee solicitors such as Claims Direct to handle your medical negligence case.

Sara’s success story

While there are dangers to the procedure, it is worth stressing that having laser eye surgery can greatly enhance quality of life and vision.

Sara de Vos, a 30-year old living in Brighton, did not take the decision to have laser-eye treatment lightly.

She underwent the surgery having thoroughly researched the subject in the months beforehand.

Sara said: “I was put under a local anaesthetic so I didn’t feel the lasers on my eyes. Obviously my eyes were teary and sensitive afterwards and I couldn’t have got home without my friend Jolene guiding me by the arm.

We must have looked a sight walking along as I had to wear sunglasses on a foggy day and Jolene was about six-months pregnant at the time?”

I asked Sara how long she was off work for.

She replied: “I took the day off on a Friday to have it and went straight back to work on the Monday. My eyes were bloodshot for about a month but I was still able to work and socialise normally.

It really was as case of ‘I was blind, now I can see!’ as I needed to wear glasses all the time and now I don’t even need them for driving.”

Sara’s expectations of laser-eye surgery seem to be realistic. She admits that since the treatment she sometimes sees ‘ghost images’ out of the corner of her eyes but thinks this is an acceptable price to pay for a successful piece of surgery.

Her father had the same operation which required a follow-up operation ten years later and she is prepared to do the same.

Failure stories

In 2003, the medical journal Ophthalmology reported that the failure rate for eye surgery was one in ten, rather than the one in 100 which clinics claimed.

Last year, an undercover investigation by the consumer watchdog Which? found that over 50 per cent of the laser clinics surveyed were giving “unsatisfactory advice”.

The risk of having poor night vision after the operation was often not being spelled out.

Even more worryingly, the danger of losing your sight after the so-called routine procedure was being down-played by many clinics!

The cost

Incognito Which? researchers found that two clinics were advertising surgery for £790 for both eyes. Yet, surprisingly, the lowest price offered to them in real life was £1,090.

The consumer expert quoted one Optical Express worker as saying: “We keep the lower prices for advertising, really.”

The NHS, Boots and laser eye surgery

So if laser eye surgery is such a routine operation then why doesn’t the NHS offer it free of charge at all its hospitals?

A statement on the NHS website currently reads: “Laser eye surgery for short-sightedness, long-sightedness and astigmatism is not considered an essential medical treatment and are therefore rarely available free through the NHS.

“Some NHS trusts do operate laser eye surgery clinics, but these will typically charge a fee for their services.”

From 2003-2004, the government’s clinical watchdog the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (Nice) conducted a review into laser eye surgery.
Nice concluded that it was not clear what the long-term effects of thinning the cornea of the eye through lasers are.

In 2004, Boots stopped offering laser eye surgery. The company insisted that the decision was motivated by concern about its lack of profitability rather than a fear of medical negligence litigation.

Advice for those considering laser treatment

It is best, like Sara, to research the risks associated with laser surgery before you commit to the procedure.

Also investigate which surgeries have the best success rates. The General Medical Council stresses that its members must be open about how their success rates compare to other clinics.

Ask your surgeon about the likely duration of the operation, how long you could be off work and the likelihood of having to have corrective treatment further down the line.

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Brighton Sunglasses 2010