Wait times were not longer than to be expected. Front end staff from reception through testing and surgery were friendly and professional. I had lens replacement surgery to correct for distance that in my mind and according to a second opinion from an unbiased outside optometrist, was not as successful as should be expected. One eye is 100% near sighted, but the other eye is slightly far sighted. After 9 months, the surgeon was still evasive and did not agree with my concerns about the results and the Gimbel Operations Manager was rude and unresponsive to my emails. read more

This place is like a well oiled machine. They do on average approximately 16 of these procedures a day. I had the Lasik surgery with cross linking. They start off giving you a mild oral sedative that's supposed to calm any nerves. A nurse will come and get you, and take you to the surgery room. Introduction's are made, doctor and assistants. Then the procedure begins. The only discomfort I felt was the pressure on my eyeballs. They freeze your eyes, so you feel slight sensations from where the push around your eyes. The lasering only takes 1 min or so, and you smell what people have described as a burnt hair aroma. That's exactly what it smells like. More time is spent in preparation of the eyes then the surgery itself. Oh one more thing. They have a really comfy waiting area with recliners. They also let family members watch the procedure if you so desire. Still to early to say what the outcome will be. I just had the surgery yesterday. So far so good. Just a little blurry/ foggy from the post op eye drops. read more

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This is the place to go if you need laser correction for your vision. Office space is immaculately clean, but slightly dated. Wait times were reasonable for pre-screening and testing. Staff are decent, not overtly friendly nor belligerent but professional. Fees are slightly higher for laser surgery here but if you check their reviews, they actually are one of, if not the best facility in Calgary, probably Canada. Dr.VanWestenbrugge, who preformed my surgery was the pioneer for PRK surgery. I don't believe that saving yourself a couple hundred dollars when a lasering off part of your eye is worth it, so I didn't think twice about getting another doctor's opinion, ahem- Mitchell. My vision is still not 100% but for the first time since I can remember, I can see things that I would have never been able to see without my glasses. I have no night vision problems, or halo's and know that it could take about 6 months for my eyes to stabilize. Overall very happy with the results and would have done it sooner if I could. read more

It has been a very disappointing experience! Lost all faith in the Gimble Eye Center after waiting for two hours for my appointment and told that there is still four patients waiting ahead of me that will be at least another hour for a total of three hours over my appointment time! Asked to speak with someone and they said that they aren't over booked and this is an acceptable wait time for my follow up appointment that I had to pay an additional $200. Very unprofessional and rude service!! I have no trust or faith in this company with my eyes!!! The excuses run thick and it is just a money grab. I am now asking my friends who have had the surgery instead of the advertising I had received from this company and now see it is just a money grab over booked unprofessional company! Never told me that I shouldn't drive after the appointment when I booked the appointment which is just one of the examples of what they aren't tell their patients and risks they are willing to take!!! Also got a parking ticket in the own lot because I took to long. Please consider any other eye professional as there is nothing professional behind this company read more

I had PRK done at Gimbel, by Dr. Gimbel, and I have no complaints about the actual procedure. A week later I could almost see 20-20. Pretty awesome actually. The downside of Gimbel Eye Center is behaviour that I would expect out of a naturopathic doctor, not a medical doctor. First they tried selling me on "crosslinking" which involves putting some vitamins in your eye and running UV light over them in an attempt to make your eyes heal faster - to the tune of $350 an eye. To her credit, the MD that was discussing this with me very clearly stated that there are no clinical studies to support crosslinking as being effective. So I stated very clearly that I had no interest in paying $700 to be a guinea pig. They pushed it on me three or four more times. I didn't get crosslinking done and my recovery is way ahead of schedule. Having an MD suggest a procedure that has no evidence of working is sketchy, especially when the procedure lines their pockets. That is what you expect out of an ND. Next, they prescribed Gabapentin after surgery for pain relief. I didn't know what it was and I was pretty useless, so my girlfriend went and grabbed the prescription. Gabapentin is an anti-seizure medication commonly used in treating epilepsy. It's expensive and again . . . clinical studies have shown it to be no more effective than acetiminophen in treating post-PRK pain. It also had some nasty side-effects such as acne and turning some of my skin very leathery. On the whole a good experience as I can see great now. But watch them. There's a bit of snakeoil sales going on at that place. read more

Gimbel is an eye center thats been around for a while, so when my brother and sister had eye surgery done, i trusted them to do mine at the location in edmonton. They claim it lasts 8 to 10 years based on the person, mine lasted 3 years before i started noticing change and by 4 years i need glasses again... they want another couple thousand at least to correct my eyes again, i said forget it... they only guarantee 18 months, so as long as you are comfortable about paying nearly $3000 for only 18 months and cross your fingers it lasts at least 8 years, i would think about the cost... because i didnt find the disposable contacts that much of a hassle and they were cheap compared to gimbels cost for the surgery read more

My mom was recently a patient at Dr. Gimbel's and the results have been just OKAY so far. Clear vision has not been fully restored as well. Recently she returned to get a sick note for work and Dr. Gimbel's assistant was incredibly rude to her. Jesus, what kind of service is that. My mom is a little older and is obviously already worried since she still can't see 100% even after several weeks and doesn't need to receive this kind of attitude from the staff. Unfortunate encounter. Hopefully we don't continue to receive this uncouth treatment should she have to return. read more

I was told that I am not a good candidate for the surgeries. Thanks for putting my health above making profit. Other places did not do the same and I am thankful for second opinion from Gimbel. read more

Their surgeons may be competent (I'm not sure yet as I have not been booked in for a surgery date yet) but their reception and booking staff are rude and incompetent. It is very difficult to speak to a person if you have a question. I had a simple question and it took multiple phone calls across several weeks to get someone who had access to my chart. No one seems to know what's going on or who to talk to in order to find out. This makes me feel very anxious about having a procedure done there. read more