Which? probed into the matter with the help of five researchers, including a laser-eye surgeon, who, posing as potential customers, visited 18 clinics including four Optical Express clinics, five run by Optimax and five by Ultralase. Four independent or smaller chains were also investigated.
The investigations exposed the extent of “inappropriate” advice, both pre-operative and post-operative.
While 11 outlets provided ' unsatisfactory' or 'very unsatisfactory' advice to potential patients, just 7 were 'satisfactory'. Not one was considered 'good', ratings of the 5-member-panel suggest.
Likewise, the risks of possible complications, which can include permanently poor night vision, binocular vision, dry eye problem and, in rare cases, corneal ectasia, where fluid pressure builds up on the eye, were played down.
Over a 100,000 people, wishing to rid themselves of glasses or contact lenses, undergo corrective laser eye surgery in the UK every year. But, interestingly, the ophthalmic surgeons at almost half of the clinics failed to inform that this might not be the desired result.
“While some people will be able to throw away their glasses, this is not the case for everyone,” Martyn Hocking, editor of Which? magazine pointed. "Some people would probably need glasses again when they grow older."
Moving forward to the so-called ‘transparent pricing structure’, one of the undercover researchers who visited Optical Express was quoted a surgery price of £1,090, as against the advertised cost of £790 for both eyes. On questioning about the difference, Optical Express worker said, "We keep the lower prices for advertising, really."
Meanwhile, the high-street optical clinics condemn the results and call them "misleading and poorly researched".
"We do hundreds of thousands of examinations and to base it on a sample size of four is frankly just not scientific. The whole thing is predicated on their experts but they've not disclosed who their experts were," Steve Schallhorn, chief medical director of Optical Express, averred.
"We take our responsibility to patients very seriously and follow stringent guidelines and practices to ensure the highest levels of care, advice and treatment are provided,” a spokesman for Ultralase said.
Meanwhile, Which? advises potential customers to do proper research about doctor’s credibility and risks before considering surgery. “The Royal College of Ophthalmologists has a certificate of competence for surgeons in this sector. Patients should check whether their surgeon holds the certificate,” Hocking emphasized.
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