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Find The Best Laser Eye Surgery Treatment & Clinic For your Eye Condition
Find The Best Laser Eye Surgery Treatment & Clinic For your Eye Condition
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What is Laser Eye Surgery?
Also known as refractive surgery or vision correction, laser eye surgery is a short procedure that involves using an extremely precise laser to make tiny corrections to the surface of your eye (cornea) so that you can see with greater clarity and sharpness.
Laser eye surgery has evolved significantly since it was first introduced in the UK in 1990. These days, it makes up around 75% of all surgical procedures carried out in the UK and the success rates are above 99%. Given the increasing patient demand and competition between clinics, there is a huge amount of money spent each year on research and development globally which drives ongoing improvements in the laser technology and patient outcomes.
In this guide we are going to go cover who is suitable for laser eye surgery, the different types of treatments available, typical prices as well as recommended UK clinics and surgeons.
If you are interested in lens surgery check out our guides to lens replacement surgery and implantable contact lens surgery.
Who Is Laser Eye Surgery Suitable For?
More people than ever are suitable to have laser eye surgery but there are still some restrictions on who can have refractive surgery. Below we’ve put together a guide to the criteria normally used by clinics to select who is eligible for vision correction surgery:
You are suitable if:
- You’re fit and healthy.
- You aren’t allergic to anaesthesia.
- You’ve had stable vision for around 2 years.
- You’re over 21. There is no upper age limit for laser eye surgery patients, although some clinics that will not operate on those over 70.
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You have a refractive error, which tends to be in the following range:
- Up to -10.00D of nearsightedness (myopia)
- Up to +4.00D of farsightedness (hyperopia)
- Up to +/-6.00D of astigmatism
You are not suitable if:
- You have dry eyes.
- You have cataracts or glaucoma.
- You have thin corneas.
- You’re pregnant or breastfeeding.
- You’re taking immunosuppressant drugs.
- You suffer from certain medical conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis, hepatitis C, diabetes, the herpes virus and lupus.
- You have a job that’s dependent on your eyesight (although not an exclusion per se, professional athletes, pilots and so on are told to consider the implications if the procedure does go wrong).
You can read more about which prescriptions are suitable for laser eye surgery here.
Assessment
Do not worry if you are not sure as your vision will be assessed by the ophthalmologist who’ll be able to determine whether or not you’re a suitable candidate for laser eye surgery and which type.
What Laser Eye Treatments Are Best For My Eye Condition?
There are three main types of laser eye surgery: surface laser treatments, LASIK and SMILE.
LASIK
An acronym of Laser In Situ Keratomileusis, LASIK surgery is now the most common form of laser eye surgery procedure. LASIK is used to correct both short and long-sightedness. However, for people who require higher prescriptions it may not be the best form of treatment.
LASIK treatments are performed by the surgeon cutting across the cornea and subsequently raising a flap of tissue. The excimer laser is then used to reshape the exposed surface and the flap is replaced (see illustration below). For more information on this, read our guide on LASIK eye surgery and costs.
Wavefront-Guided LASIK and LASEK
Rather than a one size fits all treatment, this is is a tailor-made form of laser eye surgery where treatment is customised to a patient’s particular eye shape and prescription through the use of computerised 3D imaging technology.
SMILE
ReLEx SMILE (Refractive Lenticule Extraction and Small Incision Lenticule Extraction), is a relatively new minimally-invasive ‘key-hole’ laser eye treatment which offers a great offering a great alternative to LASEK and LASIK treatment.
Rather than creating a flap in the cornea for the laser, this procedure involves making a small hole in the cornea using a state of the art laser that places a series of pulses in the centre of the cornea. which will heal on its own afterwards.
Although it is more expensive than the other techniques, very good results have been achieved using this method. This technique allows surgeons to treat patients with even higher prescriptions than previously deemed possible. The procedure is even suitable for many patients with thinner corneas, drier eyes, or contact lens intolerance.
Surface Laser Treatments
These surface level treatments remove the clear skin covering the cornea so the surgeon can reshape your cornea with a laser. The skin will then grows back naturally.
LASEK
An acronym of Laser Epithelial Keratomileusis, LASEK surgery is closely related to PRK, with the only difference being that the surface layer (epithelium) of the cornea is not removed, but rather retained as a flap. Retaining the flap is considered to prevent any complications while at the same time speeding up healing.
PRK
An acronym of Photorefractive Keratectomy, PRK surgery is form of eye correction was widely used since the early 1980s, but since the introduction of LASIK and LASEK, it’s now widely used in the correction of low prescriptions. Reshaping of the cornea is done without eliminating a flap of tissue using the excimer laser. This is normally the cheapest form of laser eye surgery.
TransPRK
An acronym for transepithelial photorefractive keratectomy, TransPRK is by Schwind is the most advanced version of surface treatments. It is the only surface treatment where no contact between the eye and an instrument is required.
How Much Is Laser Eye Surgery?
The costs of laser eye surgery can vary dramatically depending on the treatment you have and the clinic you use, but to help give you an idea, here’s a table which demonstrates some of the potential costs involved (prices correct as of February 2020):
| Treatment Type (Prices Are Per Eye) | From | To |
|---|---|---|
| LASEK / PRK | £1,195 | £1,795 |
| LASIK | £1,195 | £2,700 |
| LASEK (Wavefront) | £1,495 | £2,450 |
| LASIK (Wavefront) | £1,695 | £3,250 |
| ReLex SMILE | £2,495 | £3,250 |
Typical Laser Eye Treatment Prices In National Clinics
| Company | Treatment Name | Consultation | Price Per Eye |
|---|---|---|---|
| Optical Express | LASIK with iDesign | Free | £1,495 |
| Optegra | LASIK (blade-free) | Free | £1,795 |
| Optimax | IntraLase® LASIK | Free | £1,795 |
| Ultralase | Wavefront LASIK | Free | £1,795 |
Typical Laser Eye Treatment Prices In London
| Company | Treatment Name | Consultation | Price Per Eye |
|---|---|---|---|
| Focus | LASIK (blade-free) | £25-£50 * | £2,400 – £2,800 |
| London Vision Clinic | LASIK (blade-free) | Free | £2,600 – £3,250 |
| Centre for Sight | IntraLASIK Supracor | £500 ** | £2,675 |
Reviews of Laser Eye Surgery Clinics - Which Can You Trust?
Although it is hard to know which reviews are genuine and impartial it is important to try and find them. Although websites like Trustpilot and Reviews.io can be useful you need to be aware they can be managed somewhat by the company being reviewed (if companies pay to manage their profiles they have more control on what reviews get published and therefore the average score).
It would better to build up an overall impression from looking at multiple review sites and also Google reviews where companies have less control over what is published.
The inspection reports published on the Quality Care Commission site are totally independent so it is well worth reading the specific QCC review of any clinics you are considering. They go into depth about their findings and publish inspection reports for individual laser eye surgery clinics around the UK.
Do take care to consider factors that will have affected the previous patients’ reviews and don’t be put off straight away if you find a small number of negative reviews. The nationwide clinics like Optimax and Optical Express treat thousands of patients each year so it is natural they that they are going to have at least some unhappy customers. It is therefore important you look at the proportion of negative vs positive reviews.
Also, you should take in account that some ex-patients give negative reviews because they experienced complications that may not have been avoidable no matter what clinic they used. Surgery results will depend not just on how good the surgeon is, but also on the patient’s sight problem and prescription, as well as the type of procedure used.
How Is Laser Eye Surgery Performed?
This steps below are just a high level summary and will vary by treatment type and clinic.
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Step 1: Anaesthetic Eye Drops
The eye is quickly numbed with some anaesthetic eye drops.
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Step 2: Surgery
You'll only be in the surgical theatre for around 10 minutes and the actual laser will only be used from just a few seconds to two minutes depending upon the complexity of your prescription. The procedure should be painless.
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Recovery
The length of your recovery period depends on the type of laser eye surgery you’ve had and your overall health. In general, LASIK surgery patients can expect to have normal vision and return to work within 24-48 hours after surgery. Patients who underwent LASEK surgery may take up to one week to recover. Your surgeon will give you an expected recovery duration in your initial consultation.
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Aftercare
The length of your recovery period depends on the type of laser eye surgery you’ve had and your overall health. In general, LASIK surgery patients can expect to have normal vision and return to work within 24-48 hours after surgery - SMILE patients possibly sooner. Patients who underwent LASEK surgery may take up to one week to recover. Your surgeon will give you an expected recovery duration in your initial consultation.
So, Who Are The Best Laser Eye Surgery Companies?
You can read about our view on the best laser eye surgery companies here.
When deciding which laser eye surgery company to use be aware of sales tactics and try not to succumb to any pressure to commit to the surgery. A survey by Which found around a quarter of people who had laser eye surgery felt pressure to sign up.
Given the sheer number of places to have laser eye surgery and the plethora of reviews available online, the question of which surgeon and clinic to use can be really daunting. It is imperative that you do your own research as prices, treatments and aftercare vary significantly. You can access our profiles and reviews of the main UK clinics in the drop down menu above within the Clinics section.
Outside of London and the South East, there is less choice and you are likely to have to choose between Optical Express, Optimax or a clinic with just one or two local sites.
Who Are The Best Laser Eye Surgeons?
The UK has quite an impressive number of surgeons with great credentials and extensive experience in carrying out laser eye procedures. As long as you do your research you should be able to find a highly professional laser eye surgeon in good clinic which will provide you with the treatment and aftercare that you require.
Here are a sample of some of the best laser eye surgeons in the UK today:
Allon Barsam
MB BS MA FRCOphth
Mr Allon Barsam is an internationally recognised consultant laser eye surgeon. He is founding Partner and Director of Ophthalmic Consultants of London – a multi-location team of leasing eye vision correction and cataract surgeons.
Professor Dan Reinstein
MD MA(Cantab) FRCSC DABO FRCOphth FEBO
Professor Dan Reinstein is well-known not just as a pioneering surgeon but also as an academic. He heads the team of surgeons at London Vision Clinic.
Mr C T Pillai
MD DO, FRCS (Edin), FRCOpth (UK)
Mr C T Pillai Founder and Medical Director of Harley Street laser eye surgery clinic Advanced Vision Care. He has who has performed over 20,000 successful laser eye procedures to date.
Paul Rosen
BSc(Hons), MB ChB, FRCS, FRCOphth, MBA
Mr Paul Rosen first performed laser refractive eye surgery in 1991 and he carries out more than 1000 cataract and refractive surgical procedures each year between his NHS and private practices. He is currently listed as a Consultant Ophthalmic surgeon at Optegra.
Valerie Saw
MB BS (Hons I) FRANZCO FRCOphth PhD
Ms Valerie Saw specialises in laser refractive surgery, cataract and implant surgery, dry eye, contact lens problems and corneal transplantation. She joined Moorfields Eye Hospital as a Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon in 2004.
Ali Mearza
MB BS FRCOphth
Ali Mearza runs his private practice in Harley Street (London) whilst also working as a consultant ophthalmic surgeon and Iin July 2016 he was appointed as the Clinical Director of ophthalmology of Ophthalmology Services at the Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust in West London.
Ms Marcela Espinosa-Lagana
MD
Ms Marcela Espinosa-Lagana is an internationally recognised consultant laser eye surgeon. He is founding Partner and Director of Ophthalmic Consultants of London – a multi-location team of leasing eye vision correction and cataract surgeons.
David Garty
MD DSc(hon) FRCS FRCOphth DO FCOptom
Mr David Garty is is one of the world’s leading authorities on laser eye surgery and is the senior accredited NHS Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon at Moorfields Eye Hospital (appointed in July 1995).
Mr David Allamby
FRCS (Ed), FRCOpth
Mr David Allamby is the founder and medical director of Focus in central London. He works as a full-time laser eye surgeon and was the first surgeon to perform laser blended vision surgery in the UK to treat presbyopia, a degenerative sight problem brought on by ageing.
What Are the Possible Risks of Laser Eye Surgery?
Whilst the procedure is very quick unlikely to hurt it is important to understand there are some risks with laser eye surgery to be aware of including:
- Glare, halos and double vision. Most common at night, these symptoms do tend to disappear within a few days.
- Dry eyes. For up to six months after your operation you may experience dry, gritty sensations in your eyes, which can affect the quality of your vision. Eye drops often help ease these symptoms, though.
- Undercorrection or overcorrection. Sometimes, not enough or too much tissue is removed which may mean you need further surgery. The latter is harder to rectify due to the amount of tissue that’s already been removed.
- Astigmatism. This occurs when tissue is removed unevenly and glasses, contact lenses or more surgery may be required.
- Changes to or loss of vision. In extremely rare cases, vision loss can arise due to a complication in surgery. Some patients also find they can’t see as sharply or clearly as they did before the procedure.
You can find more information about risks in this Guide to Vision Correction produced by the Royal College of Ophthalmologists.
What Are the Possible Side Effects of Laser Eye Surgery?
It’s common to experience some of the following side effects after your procedure but these will often disappear with time:
- Vision changes. These include starbursts, glare, ghost images and halos. These are more common if you had a high prescription but should disappear within a few months.
- Eye blurring and/or discomfort. As well as the dry sensation mentioned previously, some patients may find their eyes blur intermittently. Again, this should rectify itself within a few months.
- Infection. Although rare, you are at risk of infection post-surgery, particularly if you’ve had a surface ablation (e.g. PRK).
- Appearance. Red blotches can appear in the whites of your eyes and are caused by small blood leaks, but these aren’t harmful and don’t affect your eyes’ health. They should disappear within six weeks
You can read more about the potential side effects here.
How Can I Reduce The Side Effects?
To help reduce any of the potential issues that may arise during or after your surgery, there are a number of things you can do:
- Stay calm and relaxed throughout your surgery: Even though this is easier said than done, it does help the surgeon immensely if you can follow their instructions and remain calm throughout the procedure. However, as mentioned previously, there’s no need to worry too much about your eyes moving while the laser’s focused on it, as they will track this movement.
- Keep your eyes well lubricated: Every effort should be made to keep your eyes as moist as possible after laser eye surgery, using the drops provided and keeping your eyes closed while you’re awake (for the first few hours afterwards). This is particularly important after LASIK.
- Use your anti-inflammatory and antibiotic drops as prescribed: This will help your eyes heal properly. Try to leave around two minutes between the two different types of eye drops, too, so each is thoroughly absorbed before the next is applied. Not sure if the first drop went in? Applying a second drop is fine.
- Contact your surgeon if you have any concerns: Always get in touch with them if you have any light sensitivity, increasing pain, blurring or injury to the eye that’s followed by watering, blurred vision or pain.
- Don’t swim for a week: Most surgeons will recommend this.
- Avoid contact sports after LASIK surgery for a month: Non-contact sports like jogging or going to the gym are fine after surgery, though.
- Always attend your follow up consultations: You might not be aware of a problem that’s arisen after your surgery so always attend the scheduled follow up meetings with your surgeon.
What Are The Alternatives to Laser Eye Surgery?
If you are not suitable for any type of laser eye surgery and don’t want to persist with reading glasses or contact lenses then there are some alternatives available:
Phakic Intraocular Lens Implantation (PIOL)
In essence, phakic intraocular lenses (PIOLs) are like having permanent contact lenses placed in your eyes because the natural lens isn’t removed beforehand. It also eliminates many of the restrictions faced with contact lenses as this lens is inside your eye.
This type of surgery is often recommended for younger patients who have a high degree of astigmatism, aren’t suitable for laser eye surgery or have a high eye prescription.
The Royal College of Ophthalmologists produce a good guide on PIOLs.
Lens Replacement Surgery
In contrast, refractive lens exchange (RLE) is often better for older patients who aren’t suitable for laser eye surgery, have a high eye prescription or are suffering from the start of cataracts. This procedure is the same as cataract surgery as the natural lens is removed before a monofocal or multifocal lens is put in its place.
Checklist for Patients
There are a lot of things you’ll need to consider before you proceed with laser eye surgery, and it’s inevitable you’ll have lots of questions for your surgeon. Be sure to write these down so you don’t forget anything in your initial consultation. To help you come up with some questions, here are a number of things you might want to ask:
- Does the surgeon have a Cert LRS qualification or are they on the General Medical Council’s register for ophthalmology?
- Is the surgeon fully insured to carry out this procedure in the UK (you’re entitled to see a copy of this insurance)?
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Is the clinic or hospital regulated by one of these organisations?
- England - Care Quality Commission
- Scotland - Healthcare Improvement Scotland
- Wales - Healthcare Inspection Wales
- Northern Ireland - Regulatory and Quality Improvement Authority
- How many procedures has the surgeon carried out previously using the same laser they’ll use on your eyes? (According to the Royal College of Ophthalmologists, a good laser eye surgeon performs at least 500 procedures a year.)
- What kind of aftercare will you receive for free and what will be charged extra for?
- What potential complications could arise during or after the surgery? How have they corrected these in the past?
- What is included in the price and what isn't?
FAQs
Most clinics require patients to be at least 21 years old to perform the procedure. This is because our eyes normally stabilise around this age after changing throughout our childhood and teenage years.
There isn’t an upper age limit and suitability will depend on other health factors for older patients.
Laser eye surgery is very safe and the complications are thankfully rare. If problems do arise they tend to be relatively minor and can be overcome with additional treatment. Severe loss of vision is extremely rare.
You’ll be in the operating theatre for about 10-15 minutes but the lasers are only used for a very short period of time – from a few seconds up to 2 minutes. You should plan to be at the clinic for 2-3 hours to take account of the preparation and aftercare required.
It is very rare that a patient would feel any pain during laser eye surgery, especially LASIK & SMILE. To ensure a painless experience, anaesthetic drops are applied before the procedure.
The price of laser eye surgery depends on the treatment and clinic but can expect to pay over £3,000 for both eyes as shown in our price tables above.
Our guide to laser eye surgery costs will give you more information about prices charged for treatments throughout the UK.
The majority of patients will experience improved vision just 24-48 hours after the procedure. Some patients report seeing improvements almost immediately.
You need to remember even if the surgery is successful, nearly everyone over 45-50 will need reading glasses.
If you decide you want laser eye surgery in the UK you will then need to decide on whether you want to use a private clinic or an NHS supported facility if you are eligible. However, not everyone qualifies for laser eye surgery on the NHS.
Under the NHS provisions, not all of these conditions (myopia, hyperopia, astigmatism and diabetic retinopathy) can be treated. The NHS only allows for treatment of eye conditions, which if left untreated, can result in loss of vision and even blindness. Therefore, only diabetic retinopathy is considered to result in loss of vision, while myopia, hyperopia and astigmatism can be successfully treated by other options such as wearing eye glasses or contact lenses.
Therefore, laser eye surgery is rarely available on the NHS, although some NHS trusts operate laser eye surgery clinics that charge a fee. This makes private clinics the only option for anyone seeking to have laser eye surgery to correct refractive errors that are not covered by NHS.
For most laser eye surgery patients, the treatment gives a permanent alternative to wearing glasses or contact lenses.
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