General Chat

I’m not often lost for words, but this left me speechless

Sickening 'entertainment' at the American Society of Cataract Refractive Surgery (ASCRS) convention in 2012...




In case you’re in any doubt, the performers are all ophthalmic surgeons, and sitting in the audience cheering them on were a number of UK surgeons!!

Well, some of us pay in our loss of vision and other problems all the time. So this is a tiny tiny inconvenience for an evil industrialist to defend and then pay small sums to Sasha.
Best wishes and good luck Sasha, go get them.

Optical Express are suing Associated Newspapers Limited for malicious falsehood and defamation in relation to an article published in the Daily Mail in 2015.
www.opticalexpressruinedmylife.co.uk/ind....html?start=30#11669

The fifteen day trial is scheduled to start on 31 January 2017 at the High Court in London - and I am very much looking forward to it!

It will be interesting to see whether OE do let this into court, because - win or lose - the press and media coverage is guaranteed to be extensive, something OE cannot afford!

Especially as I will be offering interviews and hard copy documents sent to me by OE insiders to any journalist interested!

OE have not been entirely open about the matter and neglected to mention the scheduled trial on their website!

www.opticalexpress.co.uk/optical-express-news

I will of course keep you updated and post a reminder nearer the trial date...

I was booked in for laser eye surgery with Optical Express when I decided to do some more research and came across this website and other information which convinced me to cancel my surgery (mainly because I have dry eyes and large pupils and this seems to cause lots of people problems post surgery).
[advertising removed]

On their website Optical Express claim that, 'we back our commitment to patient care with membership to various governing bodies', and list the following organisations:

• Care Quality Commission (CQC)
• General Optical Council (GOC)
• International Medical Advisory Board (IMAB)
• Association of Optometrists Ireland (AOI)
• The Optician Board of Ireland (Board na Radharcmhastoiri)
• The Ireland Medical Council (IMC)
• General Medical Council (GMC)
• Royal College of Ophthalmologists (RCO)
• The Eye Laser Association (ELA)
www.opticalexpress.co.uk/the-optical-exp...ality-and-governance

Firstly, I am unable to find any evidence that the ELA still exists, and secondly, I am concerned that Optical Express include the International Medical Advisory Board (IMAB) in their list of ‘Governing Bodies’!

I don't know who they purport to govern as the IMAB is in fact owned by Optical Express, who pay its global members to attend an annual event and allow their names to be used for advertising.

IMAB members:
• Jan Venter
• Yoshihiro Kitazawa
• Stephen Slade
• Marguerite McDonald
• John A Vukich
• Colman Kraff
• Michael C Knorz
• Burkhard H Dick
• Steven J Dell
• Stephen Coleman
• Steve Schallhorn

David Teenan is also listed as a Board member here:
www.opticalexpressgroup.com/imab

On 1 January 2014 David Moulsdale sent a five page email to OE directors and senior staff, assuring them that Optical Express was in 'great shape’.

In his summary of OE's 2012 activities he wrote, ‘In October, we held our 7th annual International Medical Advisory Board, IMAB 3 day event in Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands’

In his summary of OE's 2013 activities he wrote, ‘In November, we held our 8th annual International Medical Advisory Board, IMAB event in Glasgow,UK'

(Although considerably less expensive I bet Glasgow wasn't as much fun as Grand Cayman)

I have talked to many OE patients, none who realised that IMAB was not an independent organisation...

I believe this is misleading advertising...

3 recent studies show that lasik patients need cataract surgery a decade earlier than regular patients.

2016 - www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27163615
"Patients with a history of microkeratome-assisted LASIK under-went cataract surgery a decade sooner than patients with similar demographic and ocular characteristics."

2015 - www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26703483
"Corneal refractive patients were younger than patients without corneal refractive surgery (nonrefractive patients) (62.9 years versus 74.0 years"

2015 - www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25661126
Japan population "Group 1 (lasik patients) was 54.6 years ± 8.1 (SD), which was significantly younger than in Group 2 (by approximately 10 years) and Group 3 (by approximately 15 years) "

Taken from an OE training programme for ‘Counsellors' (salespeople)...

'I act as if they (the lies) were true'

Joe Tye recorded a brilliant piece on 'Perfect Candidate' myth
and the more I dig the less a perfect candidate I become, sadly after the fact.

During my consultation I did talk about my concerns whether I was suitable for the procedure as my brother has juvenile glaucoma and a optic nerve issue which is genetic and effects his field of vision. I never had any symptoms but my daughter has regular tests and my son is due to start when he reaches 8 ( that's when my brother's problems reared their ugly head). The optometrist said they routinely monitor for glaucoma and family history was not a factor for suitability.

'Patients with personal or family history of glaucoma, as well as AION, systemic diseases, or ophthalmic risks such as small optic nerve, glaucoma, a family history of glaucoma, as well as glaucoma suspects should be cautioned of LASIK associated visual field loss prior to the procedure. For many of these patients continued use of contact lenses or eyeglasses may offer satisfactory vision without subjecting the optic nerve to the small but real risk of pressure-associated visual field loss.'
Reference: J. Fernando Arevalo et al, Management of Complications in Refractive Surgery, p.157-8

The purpose of this post is to raise awareness. If you are considering Laser Eye Surgery and suffer from PCOS - please be proactive and ASK questions. At the time of my consultation I didn't know my condition had implications for my procedure and its outcomes and now I'm stuck with an array of problems.

We all heard about laser eye surgery and diabetes.

Given the large number of corneal complications and depressed immune activity seen in diabetic patients, there are questions regarding the safety and efficacy of LASIK in this patient population.
source: eyewiki.aao.org/LASIK_in_Patients_With_Diabetes_Mellitus

Sadly insulin resistance is not given much press. I've had PCOS from the age of 14, treated with Metformin for the last 15 years. Before LASIK I never experienced dry eyes. But during my consultation my conditions was not flagged up - I was a PERFECT CANDIDATE.
My notes list PCOS and Metformin in the meds taken. It should have been at least discussed - otherwise how can one make INFORMED CONSENT !

In patients with PCOS, the blood-glucose increase after eating stimulates immune cells to activate inflammatory responses, which does not happen in lean women without PCOS. The inflammation process impedes the action of insulin, leading to insulin resistance and the development of type 2 diabetes, but some studies have suggested that inflammation can also disrupt the secretion of insulin. Studies have also reported that patients with PCOS have poorly functioning β-cells. The research team sought to determine if inflammation was the cause of the β-cell malfunction.
www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/06/150603181739.htm

Several studies have compared eye health of women with PCOS and non-PCOS women. All the studies have confirmed that women with PCOS have drier eyes than women without the syndrome. Why? The reason is because of an imbalance of sex hormones, which can affect eye surface and the function of tear glands. Increasing evidence indicates that the structure of the eye are under a sex hormone control. High androgens affect the lipid layers of tear glands.
PCOS is also associated with inflammation which can cause inflammation in the eyes as well as insulin resistance. Dry eye syndrome is estimated to affect 54% of individuals with type 2 diabetes.
Reference:Yuksel B, Ozturk I, Seven A, Aktas S, Aktas H, Kucur SK, Polat M, Kilic S. Tear function alterations in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome. Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci. 2015 Oct;19(19):3556-62

'A common laser optical zone currently is ~6.5 millimeters, and varies based on laser capability, surgeon preference, and patient parameters ( ...)
A patient should never consent to surgery where the fully treated area (optical zone) is smaller than his or her dark-adapted pupil diameter.'

for Pupil size and spherical aberrations and more info go to
lasikscandal.com/What/LASIK-And-Pupil-Size with further clarifications lasikscam.com/viewtopic.php?t=1667


My notes show two different measurements at separate consultations before the procedure - the first one notes a size of 8.3 mm and the second 7 mm.

This issue was NEVER mentioned. I was classed as a perfect candidate when in fact I was not.




'In modern LASIK with an optical zone of 6.5 mm, a pupil diameter greater than 6.5 mm is considered "large". (...) The greater the disparity between the effective optical zone and pupil size, the more severe the visual disturbances.'
www.lasikcomplications.com/largepupils.htm