Wollongong Refractive Laser Eye Institute (WRLEI)

If you've ever wondered whether you should get your eyes lasered, you're probably wondering who you can trust to make sure you have the most careful, friendly and most professional team working on your eyes. My wife has been wearing glasses for over 30 years and finally took the plunge with Dr Smita Agarwal. Her team looked after my wife so well, and their 'bedside manner' was exceptional! They worked together like a well-oiled machine who checked each others work and notes to make sure not a single error was made. My wife received the SMILE procedure for her eyes, and the procedure itself took less than half an hour. Thank you Dr Agarwal, Justin, Rae and Erin for looking after my wife. My wife can now see the world in a whole new light.

The staff at Wollongong laser eye institute were professional and polite .Dr Smita was amazing I have my vision back I couldn’t be happier.Thank you so much .

Would 100% recommend A/Prof Smita Agarwal and her team. Had such good experiences in both their Nowra and Wollongong facilities and the team there is just lovely. My LASIK surgery went super smooth and felt comfortable and relaxed the whole time. Thank you!

I had my smile laser done with mono 2days ago. All I can say this was a great experience A/Prof Smita Agarwal and her team were great, she would not do the procedure until she got the swell down that I had in my eye. When swelling went then she done the procedure. I’m very happy with how it turned out.I would definitely recommend them.

Having crossed paths professionally with Dr Smita Agarwal in the past, when it came time that I wanted to explore laser surgeries, I instantly thought of approaching WRLEI for said procedure and I'm happy that I did.

Dr Agarwal and the staff at WRLEI were very friendly and helpful, I was presented with a few options for corrective surgery and ultimately went for the one called SMILE, the procedure was rather quick and easy and Dr Agarwal talks you through it every step of the way, recovery has been quick as well, cleared to drive within 48 hours and I feel normal (or better than my normal) after only a week! I cannot express how great it feels to be able to see properly!

I highly recommend WRLEI for your vision correction needs.

I had the SMILE laser surgery. The team at the Wollongong Refractive Laser Eye Institute were absolutely amazing.
I was very nervous going into the surgery but Prof Smita Agarwal was very calming and reassuring throughout the whole procedure.
Highly recommend!

Genuinely could not have had a better experience. I am beyond happy with the outcome of my Smile Procedure.
Dr Smita Agarwal and her team were fantastic. They were beyond friendly and kind, before, throughout, and after the procedure. I went from having minus 9 vision to now seeing 2020 within days post op. Would 100% Recommend Dr Agarwal and her team!

I have struggled with my eye sight for a long time. After having glasses for so long I thought it's time to look into laser surgery. Prof Smita Agarwal and the team made me feel very relaxed on the day and I was surprised at how quick and easy the surgery was. The very next day I had clear vision and no longer need my glasses, it was literally too easy! Laser eye surgery has been a great success for me and I really wished I had done it sooner. Thanks again to the team.

In short - I can't recommend Wollongong Refractive Laser Eye Institute highly enough. I am super happy with the results from my surgery. If you are interested in knowing about what is involved, you may want to read about my experience below.

As a female in my late 40s I was having problems seeing clearly at close distances, especially when reading and working on the computer. After discovering, through a friend, that Wollongong Refractive Laser Eye Institute had opened a surgery at Warilla (which is very close to home for me) I decided to book an appointment to have a consultation about options for improving my vision.
Orthoptist, Kate Llewelyn examined me at my initial consultation. At this time she examined my vision and eye health using a range of state of the art technologies and she gathered information about my vision issues and what I hoped corrective surgery would achieve for me. Her professional yet very personable and caring approach made for a very pleasant, positive and informative visit.
I am fortunate to have excellent distance vision and luckily all tests indicated I would be a suitable candidate for corrective surgery. The only issue for me was that because my vision issue was age related, I would be looking at having a 'blended vision' or 'mono vision' procedure. With such procedures, one eye would be corrected for close up vision and the other would be for distance vision.
Initially the idea of both eyes seeing differently 'freaked me out' and when it came to making the appointment to see Dr Agarwal who performs the actual procedure, (I did need to get a referral from my GP to see her) I had decided to back out of having the surgery done. Fortunately when I phoned the surgery to cancel my appointment, the lovely receptionist encouraged me to go in and at least speak to Dr Agarwal, so I did.
During my consultation with Dr Agarwal I expressed my concerns. She addressed my concerns directly and suggested a contact lens trial so I could make an informed decision either way. She organised to have a contact lens made to replicate the effect I would experience if I had the surgery. A few days later, I had the contact lens fitted and I wore it for four days - day and night.
Initially, the sensation was unusual but I adjusted very quickly and decided that I would go ahead with the surgery. It appeared that I would be able to cope well with 'mono vision' so my right eye with excellent distance vision would be left untouched and my left eye would be corrected for close vision.
I was booked in around 3 weeks later to have Presby Lasik done on my left eye. Drops were required the day of the procedure that was scheduled for the evening. From arriving to leaving I was there for around an hour and a half but the procedure itself was super quick, around 5 -10 minutes. I was expecting some discomfort or pain afterwards but there wasn't any. No pain or 'gritty' sensation at all for me, I was very surprised.
After the procedure, I had to put drops in 4 times a day for a week and then 3 times a day for week after that. Systane drops were also recommended to lubricate the eye. Again, I was fortunate and found I didn't experience a dry sensation like some people do after surgery. I also slept with an eye mask for a week so I wouldn't accidentally rub my eye during the night.
I have had several follow up appointments since (my most recent with Kate today) and I couldn't be happier. I no longer need glasses for reading which is awesome at work or reading food labels when shopping!! My eye has healed beautifully without a single issue.
While the procedure is not cheap it has been all inclusive (except for the one off initial fee to see Dr Agarwal) and I have had numerous consultations, check ups, eye drops, the contact lens trial and there are more follow up visits to come. It has been well worth it given the results.
I would like to publicly thank Dr Agarwal, Kate, Amelia and the other staff at the surgery for the excellent care they have provided me throughout my experience.

Highly recommend.
All the girls were really helpful and polite ,
Also dr Agarwal was very professional and a great optical surgeon I highly recommend her to anyone getting laser eye surgery.

To the Surgeon Dr Agarwal and rest of the team that looked after me I would like to say a huge thankyou for your professionalism, support and the results of the procedure.

Absolute awesome job.

I will be back too see the team again when my son turns 21yo to get the same procedure.

Thanks again

Awesome experience from start to finish from the whole team! Thank you guys!