By Steve Roberts 

‘Alternative to laser surgery ' is likely to be a more frequent search request on Google following the widespread coverage of Stephanie Holloway's court case against Optical Express in which she claims that a procedure carried out at one of the high street chain's clinics had 'wrecked her childhood dream of a police career'. Stephanie, 28, spent £2,900 in February 2008 to improve her vision because her short-sightedness was preventing her from fulfilling her ambition to join the police. However, the procedure went disastrously wrong and has left her with severe photophobia which is an extreme sensitivity to bright light.

Over the last 15 years, laser eye surgery has become a mainstream treatment for poor eyesight and many celebrities and sports stars have had the operation to enable them to enjoy perfect daytime vision without needing glasses or conventional contact lenses. However, as a recent expose in Which? revealed, there is still evidence that the high street chains are failing to fully disclose the possible risks of the laser procedure NOT yielding a perfect outcome. Unsurprisingly, with safety issues occupying the headlines, consumer attention has been switching to other means of achieving perfect natural daytime vision. One alternative to laser surgery  is overnight ortho-k lenses which correct short-sightedness whilst the wearer is asleep.

Ortho-k stands for ‘orthokeratology' and is a long-established optical science dating back over 50 years. The treatment involves wearing small custom-designed contact lenses which are inserted before going to bed then removed each morning. The lenses gently flatten the surface of the cornea to ensure that light entering the eyes focuses directly on the retina rather than in front of it which is why distant objects appear blurred to short-sighted people. The effect lasts for over 24 hours so you enjoy perfect daytime vision for work and leisure before reinserting the lenses at night. The treatment is safe and fully reversible so increasing numbers of consumers may find it to be a very attractive alternative to laser surgery .