Realistic expectations

If your vision problems are mild to moderate, there's a good chance you can throw away your specs or contacts. But if you're very short-sighted, you may still need them for driving or watching movies.

Success depends on your expectations. Researchers found that 95 to 97 percent of patients were happy with the outcome, even though up to 20 percent of them had what others might consider unacceptable side effects.

Some people are prepared to make trade-offs: the positive aspects from improved vision in other parts of their life may make up for the inconvenience of not driving at night.

Your experiences

We asked our members to tell us about their experiences with laser eye surgery. We were overwhelmed with the response.

More than 160 members responded and the majority were very happy with their surgery results. Our thanks to everyone who contacted us.

For Consumer member June Stanbury, laser eye surgery is the best money she's ever spent. "I've suffered from short-sightedness since my teens and have worn contact lenses for 38 years. The freedom is worth the cost.

"The procedure was painless, my distance vision has been restored to normal, and I've had no problems since the operation."

Erin Billing agrees. "It was over so quickly and the freedom I've gained is amazing. I went white-water rafting and had to smile when I realised I couldn't lose my glasses or contacts."

But other members aren't so satisfied. The surgery left Dorothy Simpson with severely dry eyes. "I've spent a lot of money on eye drops and special glasses, as well as visiting other specialists."

Other members have also experienced dry eyes and vision problems.

More members' comments

Kira Bacal

"I love it. I'd recommend it to others - but make sure you do your homework and go to the best surgeon you can find. Most people lose some vision with age so it's important to know the surgery isn't a cure-all. After nearly 10 years my vision is slowly starting to erode."

Sue

"It's great not to wear glasses or contacts, but so far I'm not happy with my vision. It's taking a long time to improve and may need an enhancement. The surgery was painful but I think I underestimated the procedure."

Cheryl Redit

"No fumbling for glasses at night, no more streaming eyes from dirty contacts on a windy day, no more mucking around cleaning contacts every day. I would recommend it for convenience."

Ron Keen
(pictured below) "It's wonderful to go tramping and cycling in the rain without having to wipe my glasses."