OPTIMAX | ULTRALASE

Hello all, my name is Jan Fearnley and my eye was permanently damaged by surgery at Ultralase - now owned by Russell Ambrose, CEO of Optimax. My story, or part of it, can be found here: www.lasereyenightmare.com



I'm aware that Sasha is facing the prospect of 2 days in court with Mr Ambrose, and that many people who have had awful, terrible, life-changing experiences at the hands of these people have been 'gagged'.

Sasha, I want you to know that I have not been gagged, nor were the people I spoke with before they were pressured to accept money for their silence. So, if you need me, I will be right there by your side in court, and I will tell my story to the press, and the stories of the others who have been bullied into silence.

I am here for you and I will speak out for them too. They will not silence me!

We all know that it can be a very difficult battle to obtain justice against these huge soulless, greedy companies - especially when one can barely see - and I have been following your campaign and wish you all the very best.

Ultralase were a total disgrace, as were my solicitors. Thank you for shining a light onto the grubby world of high street eye surgery clinics, and for all the support you offer the many people whose lives have been adversely affected by these *******s.

When my eye was ruined, I felt completely isolated, and very, very frightened. But thanks to you, others who have had their lives ruined by these negligent and ruthless companies can now obtain information, support and understanding.

Thank you for reading, and I wish for everyone reading this that their eyes will improve. I know, but we can only hope...

See you in court Mr Ambrose

My Optimax records said that my complaints were "vague" when in fact I was describing classic symptoms. They didn't want to know because they'd had my money so Malcolm Samuel did not want to waste his time on me. I only saw him on my 3rd post op visit, even though I had explained that I was having very worrying problems, when he told me that I should be grateful that I am not blind, and if I did not like the result, I should have thought about it before having the treatment. He told me that there were no such complications as mine, which is nonsense, and that the treatment would not cause the symptoms that I described - he was talking about my loss of contrast sensitivity. He also played down all the other complications I suffered.

A few people (including Sasha who represented me at meetings with Russell Ambrose) know that my records contain some truly shocking and untrue comments about my personal life, which I believe were put there to try and silence me. Even Russell Ambrose cringed when he read them. My husband and I met him after Sasha arranged a meeting for us.
Malcolm Samuel told the GMC that he was shocked that the optometrist had written these comments, but she told the GOC that he knew about it.

These are my notes from Optimax - ring any alarm bells for those who've been fobbed off?

Tese are my actual notes obtained by my acting solicitor.

Operation day, 8th July 2009: first major erosion 11th July flap fell away the very same day they took away my contact bandage felt like nothing I could explain!!

Reviewing medical records from Optimax

16/07/09 - optician says cysts on the eye and px quite concerned. Micro-cysts, nothing abnormal.
22/07/09 - LE uncomfortable this am. Vision variable. Unusual cornea appearance. Lacrilube at night both eyes.
27/07/09 - Suitable for epilasik with MMC due to thinnish corneas
26/08/09 - Some corneal haze, scar interiorly form epith erosion.
08/10/09 - Not good, can see scar tissue when moves eyes and feels sick. Can be quite dry. Some mild epithelial disruption. Cannot explain syptoms, quite vague. Should see surgeon.
04/11/09 - Over corrected left eye.
10/12/09 - Pt insisting eye drops caused a stroke. Doesn't understand
03/03/10 - was in severe pain, keep eye moisturised, a+e visit due to pain, hes epthilium very unstable, feels has messed his life up. briefly advised px dryness causing most problems
21/04/10 - feels risks of dry eye not explained
Consent form - reversal results, dry eyes
03/03/10 - consultation in London: Dry eye symptoms are better and vision improving - whose eyes was Dr Malcolm Samuel looking into?

Bullsh*t every day experiencing same problems, will say more later.

Cornea Surgeon not OE wrote: • The surgeon's gloves are supposed to be sterile, but at 1:00 (minutes in) and again at 1:48 he touches the patient's head, which has definitely not been sterilised, and continues surgery without changing gloves.

OMG! Of course this seems obvious now, but when I had my surgery at Optimax the surgeon Malcolm Samuel rested his 'sterile' gloves on my forehead while working!
Do these cowboys have no respect for their patients' precious eyes?
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admin: See General Chat topic to read review from 'Cornea Surgeon not OE'

Hi Ashley, I'm so sorry that Optimax ruined your eyes too! I don't really know your whole story, but I think that you should put it right here for everyone to read, because people need to know what kind of treatment they might get from Optimax. I'm guessing the Nidek laser caused a problem? Am I correct in thinking there have been problems with these? I had Epilasek and wavefront with an Optimax Nidek laser 8 years ago, and my eyesight has been dreadful ever since, and is now getting worse. I'm also getting even more sensitive to light, which was only a slight problem at first. I am very interested in your story, and I've no doubt everyone who reads these posts would be!

Nidek state that specifications from country to country will vary, so there is no benchmark that can be relied upon.


www.nidek-intl.com/product/ophthaloptom/...ors/gyc-500vixi.html

The CQC need to look into this!!!

This is the balloon I wish I'd never seen at Optimax!

Nice to hear from you Jane one of the best corners I turned was to the RNIB. I recommend some of their services as I had emotional support from trained counselors which have really helped pull me back from this troubled place.
I have asked Sasha to share my email address with you so I can talk about it in more detail if you would like to.

Hi Ashley, thank you for your words of support.

Like you, Optimax has taken away my quality of vision, quality of life, and total well being, thanks to lasik surgery. I feel so tired with it most of the time, but somehow I keep going. But I have to, I'm 33 with two very young children.

I long for the day that Optimax and the rest like them are closed down and no longer able to carry on destroying other peoples lives.

I would like to read your story.

Thanks again for your support.

Jane, far from being invisibly disabled you have a real condition so never think you're alone.
Like many others in this hideous process I too have not been taken seriously and dismissed as a time waster by an uneducated ophthalmologist. Truth is that laser eye surgery damage is something that you cannot compare to anything else.

The truth has always been suppressed in the vain hope that you will stop complaining about your pain and visual problems.

Keep focusing on the importance of the victory to come and shock this industry and its cohorts into being held fully responsible for the perpetuity of these problems that are dismissed as side effects and not given any credence in law.

I have decided to write my story soon. It's a long and gritty one, however it may help others reading this forum to see that you can keep going, although I do understand how low it makes you feel

It's no secret that I am suing Russell Keith Ambrose t/a Optimax Clinics Unltd and Optimax Clinics Ltd (one and the same in my humble opinion) for breach of our Settlement Agreement.

I was required to sign a gagging order (non-disclosure agreement/NDA) in return for the compensation settlement I received in 2012, unfortunately standard procedure with most out of court settlements.

However, heard before two Judges in open court, with Press Association reporter Brian Falmer attending the Allocation hearing in January, the salient points are now a matter of public record. But even so, at this point I will continue to tread carefully until the expected 3 day trial, date to be scheduled between November ’15 and January ’16.

I tried my utmost to settle this dispute without legal intervention but eventually had no option but to issue proceedings via the Small Claims Court in August 2014, claim amount less than £3,500.

Russell Ambrose/Optimax retaliated with a Counterclaim, including (but not limited to) accusations of breach of agreement and harassment. In my opinion his claim is without merit, but Russell obviously thinks otherwise as he is spending an enormous amount of money on his legal team and the case is now allocated to the Multi track.

At the CCM Conference last Monday, Russell’s barrister told District Judge Silverman that his client’s costs budget was £67,850 - plus VAT!

That made me feel cheap, because my costs budget is only £7,520 - and that includes approx £3,500 for a company to transcribe up to 40hrs of recordings I have of meetings with Russell Ambrose (and his employees) spanning almost three years.

This is vital evidence in my Defence to his counterclaim, value as yet unquantified. But as Russell claims I am responsible for the loss of business Optimax has suffered over the past few years it could be millions of pounds.

So not only is Russell Ambrose ultimately responsible for ruining my quality of life, he wants to make me homeless too!

Although I am representing myself at the trial, I am taking legal advice concerning disclosure of documents, witness statements, evidence etc… as advised by Judge Silverman.

Stephanie Holloway has agreed to attend the trial as my 'McKenzie Friend’.
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-...amaged-eyesight.html
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McKenzie_friend

To call a witness to testify in person at court I must have first asked them to provide a Witness statement, otherwise I am not allowed to call them to give evidence later.

I am therefore covering all eventualities and asking a lot of people for statements in case I do need them to testify in person.

There are a few surprise names on my list and I expect some to ignore my request. That being the case I will then apply to the Court to issue a Witness Summons forcing them to attend the trial in person. I’m not sure if that covers a hostile witness in Scotland.

The following message therefore is addressed to all Optimax/Ultralase patients I have accompanied to medical consultations at the Optimax Finchley Rd clinic, and/or represented in meetings with Russell Ambrose (Optimax) and Mark Korolkiewicz (Ultralase) since 2012.

It’s unlikely that I will ask you to attend in person but I do need your Witness statements.

NB: Even if you have since signed a Settlement Agreement prohibiting you from talking about Optimax/Ultralase the Court will allow you to provide a statement without prejudicing your agreement. If you have any concerns about this I will be happy to explain.

I have contacted most of you but there are still a few I haven’t, so would appreciate it if you would please email me with your phone number asap: info@mybeautifuleyes.co.uk

Thank you