Laser Eye Surgery Prices
Dave Allamby | Oct 11, 2008 | Comments 260
How to different laser eye surgery clinics charge for treatment? It can be confusing to understand different prices and messages from various clinics.
For LASIK pricing, there are two common ways to charge. The first is 1 price for all prescriptions – in effect the lower prescriptions are subsidising the higher more difficult cases. The second method, used by ourselves and some others, is to charge based upon the prescription.
So the easier the treatment and the simpler the case, the less that patient pays – and vice versa. This seems the fairer way overall.
Also, younger patients (who are mainly short sighted) generally have less money and so can more easiy afford to have laser eye treatment with FOCUS, as their prescriptions come in at a lower rate. Long sighted treatments are more complex (we specialise in these, unlike most clinics) and are more expensive. These patients are typically in the 40s and 50s and often can often afford a bit more.
I know it sounds rather like Robin Hood(!) but this allows more people to get a superb level of treatment with a very experienced surgeon, with lots more time in a relaxed clinic, away from a high-volume quick turnaround setup. For example, one of the laser chains has surgeons performing up to 40 laser eye procedures per day. At this level, the chances of the surgeon making a mistake increases. For any of us, if we are rushed at work we cannot do our best. We believe it is better to have fewer patients and spend more time.
I really have tried to make top-end ‘Harley Street’ laser eye treatment available to more people, hopefully in a fairer way (we are actually next door on Wimpole Street). I wish everyone with glasses could afford to come for treatment but, if you see my next post, this is not likely to happen.
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I forgot to add my vision. It's -6.50 on both eyes. 
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Hi Dave
I came to the site researching laser eye surgery and wondered if you could give me an idea on cost. I would like Z-LASIK but do not know whether my prescription is in range.
Right eye SPH -7.00 CYL -0.25
Left eye SPH -7.00 CYL -1.00
If surgery is possible I would assume my treatment would be at the higher end as my prescription is quite high.
Regards
Nick
Hi Nick
Yes, your prescription is in range and we would check all other factors at your consultation. The price would be £1,545 per eye for wavefront blade free LASIK (Z-LASIK)
With best regards
Dave
Hi Dave,
I visited your surgery on Friday for consultation and have been given the go ahead for surgery. I’m looking at making my appointment for the near future with yourself as surgeon.
I have one concern since the consultation, my previous prescription was -0.75 in both eyes, this was done in Nov/Dec 08 and at my consultation it was found that my eyes have since deteriated to -1.25 in both eyes. Although your colleagues ensure me this is fine for surgery to go ahead and the fact that blade free has the lifetime guarantee, I am a bit concerned as to the speed my eyes are deteriating.
Is there any simple explaination for this happening? and in your own option, is it wise for me to do the surgery now?
Kind Regards
Paul
Hi Paul
You have increased by -0.5D since last year so we want to take that into account. I don’t have your notes with me so perhaps you could tell me your age and also how many hours of close work (PC etc) that you do each day?
If you are young I will add an extra 0.5D onto the treatment to allow for increase over the next 2-3 years to protect against an increase in myopia, without adverse effects – but all depends on your age.
Thanks
Dave
Hi Steve
Thanks so much for your kind words! And for your great post on lasik-eyes.co.uk.
Your wife’s prescription is in range for treatment, assuming the left eye isn’t lazy since childhood (very poor vision even when corrected by glasses).
The cost for Z-LASIK would be: right eye £1,245, left eye £1,545. Please let me know if I can help further.
We will see you next week for your one week check up. Enjoy those new eyes!!
Warm wishes
Dave
Dave
Many thanks again for the great surgical results from 3 June. The results have exceeded all my expectations; so much so that my wife is giving serious thought to corrective surgery but is concerned her astigmatism may either exclude her from treatment or make it cost prohibitive.
Her prescription is:
Right Eye SPH -3.25 CYL -1.50 AXIS 55
Left Eye SPH -3.50 CYL -3.50 AXIS 165
I’ve transcribed those numbers from a prscription dated April 2009 but with no real appreciation as to whether they will enable you to offer an indicative view.
I look forward to hearing from and thanks again. I really cannot speak highly enough of you and your team at Focus Vision.
Kind regards
Steve
Hi Dave,
I havent worn them for 3m,as i am preparing for my clinic appt. The GOS 2 provided by my optician was -4.5 RE and -4.10 LE. I’m not sure if this included the monvision but I definitely had my left eye for reading and my right for distance. Since removing them I have become -5.5 RE and -5.0 LE.
Not sure whether this helps. I have my appt now for the 2nd July and I cant wait!
Thanks Lynne
Hi Lynne
Yes, that helps a lot. When correcting myopia for blended vision (monovision), the long term reading results are excellent. Myopic corrections are very stable over time. If you did get a mild regression of 0.25 or 0.50 dioptres over the years, this would actually increase the reading power and so keep up with any presbyopic progression from lenticular ageing changes.
Yes, its an exciting time.
Best regards
Dave
Hi Dave,
I have a query re the merits of monovision to allow for unaided reading. I am 51 and need reading glasses, (1.75). I have worn monovision GP lenses successfully. Please can you tell me if I have monovision correction will I be back to square one on a few yrs?
Thanks,
P.S. I hope to see you in clinic next month!
Lynne
Hi Lynne
Thanks for your mail. Could you pls tell me the strength of each lens you currently wear for monovision?
Thanks
Dave
Hi Dave
My prescription is approx -1 in both eyes with some astigmatism (cant remember exact figures off hand). I train in mixed martial arts (which often involves sparring and grappling, with padded fingerless gloves) although I’m also a climber, and one of my concerns would be any complications if I were to have an accident whilst climbing.
Andrew
Hi Andrew
Direct trauma to the cornea in people who don’t participate in risk activities is actually very rare. We have also see the flap adherence of laser-flaps to be 250-350% stronger at 10 weeks compared to blade cuts. So for most people femtosecond LASIK is the preferred route.
However, in your case, you do participate in an activity (fingerless glove sparring) which had an elevated possibility of corneal trauma and so I would advise LASEK/PRK as the best choice.
With best regards
Dave
Hello Dave
I’m considering laser surgery and one of my concerns will be integrity of the eye after the surgery, because I’m very active and into contact sports. I see that you advocate blade-free LASIK very strongly for how accurate it is and I am wondering how you’d compare the integrity of the eye after blade-free LASIK compared to LASEK…
Hi Andrew
That’s a very good question. Can I ask what your prescription is (approx is fine) and which contact sports you do?
Thanks
Dave
Hi Dave
Thank you for the excellent advice you have offered on this blog which keeps me coming back. I had laser eye surgery exactly 5 weeks ago which has been a success. I would like to take up a martial arts which is semi-contact and would be grateful if you would advise how long I should wait after surgery before I can pursue this safely. Would any light impact at this stage cause any damage to the eye.
Kind regards
Alex
My pleasure Alex!
You could certainly begin training e.g. katas or technique practice now but keep to body work (body sparring) for the next 4 weeks. If you do spar, use the full gloves, not the ones with the fingers exposed. Light impact at this stage from 4-6oz gloves is very unlikely to cause a problem, but best to keep to the body for the next few weeks.
Best wishes
Dave
Hi Dave,
Thanks for the reply.
One last question, a lot of websites say there is a difference between wavefront-optimized and wavefront-guided. As far as I can tell it seems to be that wavefront-guided uses the specific wavefront pattern from the consultation during the surgery, but wavefront-optimized is more general and doesn’t use the patient’s wavefront using the surgery. It seems to be highly recommended to do a wavefront scan during the consultation, but opinion seems divided on whether its beneficial during the surgery itself.
It’s just that you refer to wavefront-optimized on the website, but not -guided. Could you clarify what your approach is to it?
Thanks for the extremely useful information!
Regards,
Ben
Hi Ben
I know this is a very confusing area with different clinics advocating one approach over another. I wrote on this topic before in one of my replies and include that here. You can see the comparison in results between WFO and WFG (the latter which includes WFO also) on our focusclinics.com website under treatments and results. Interestingly they are almost identical which suggests the WFG component plays a small role and only for higher degrees of wavefront aberration. Also very interestingly, the WFO results for the WaveLight laser in the official FDA results (as seen on the focus site also) show that WFO treatment outperforms the WFG systems from other leading laser systems. So how important is wavefront customisation when you can get better results without any wavefront guided customisation at all? Leading thinker Professor John Marshall, indeed one of the inventors of the use of excimer lasers for laser eye surgery in the 1980s, says that wavefront customisation in laser eye surgery is fundamentally flawed. Its a big topic, clearly, but you will get an excellent result with WFO treatment with the WaveLight laser.
Warm regards
Dave
Hi,
I am comparing PRK/Lasek/trans epithelial surface treatement with Lasik. Is it true that if I opt for Lasek/prk the bowman’s membrane will be lost. Does this have an impact on the overall health of the eye. I read on a website that a disadvatage of lasek/prk/trans epi is that the Bowman’s membrane is lost. Is that true and what is the function of this membrane?
Would appreaciate a response from someone qualified like your self
regards,
F. Hussa
Yes, in PRK/LASEK surface laser procedures, Bowman’s layer is removed by the treatment as part of the reshaping. Bowman’s is located between the front epithelium and the stroma in the cornea and is approximately 10 microns thick. It is composed of strong collagen fibers and helps the cornea maintain its shape. Follow up of PRK treatments for 15 years appear to show no adverse affect from excimer removal and corneal strength remains good.
Best regards
Dave
Hi Dave,
I have been for a consultation with Optical express and they quoted £1975 for both eyes. This was for Lasik wavefront, but not blade free. For blade free they wanted an additional £600, making a total of £2575.
My prescription is -2 and -3 and I have a slight stigmatism.
What would the cost be with yourselves?
kind regards,
Maurice
Hi Maurice
I would recommend getting the blade free wavefront approach for LASIK, rather than the blade. Based on your numbers, the total price would be £2,190 (blade free wavefront LASIK) so you should save around £400 compared to OE.
If you would like a consultation with us, pls call 0845 5000 500 and ask for Paula. Just let me know if you have any other questions.
WIth warm regards
Dave
Dave,
Many thanks for the very quick response. Yes your prices are cheaper than Ultralase. I have booked an appointment to check my eyes for 28 May. Having wtched the testimonial by Paul Ross it would be good to have the distant and reading sight correction explained to me again when I visit you. Thanks again this has been really helpful. One final questions is there any statistics yet on the safety record of the no blade LASIK treatment?
Adam
Hi Adam
My pleasure to help. When you come along, we can demonstrate blended vision for you with contact lenses while you are with us and get a feel for how your brain likes the combination. We find 90+% of people like it, but does depend on you, your eyes and vision demands, e.g. how much reading or driving you do, for example. We can explain all that at the consultation. For the femtosecond laser approach, we have done a couple of thousand treatments with that system with no visual problems.
Best regards
Dave
Hi Dave
I have recently been for a consultation with Optimax, and have been told I am suitable for Intralase Lasik with Wavefront. I have a low prescription (-0.75 both eyes), and my only concern now is my age !
At the consultation I was told that when you hit the age of 40 your eyes can start to naturally deteriorate and at some point would need reading glasses. I am 39 !
I am now wondering whether to go ahead with the surgery or not. I have also heard of a procedure called blended vision, and wonder if I should wait for this ? Any comments gratefully received.
Thanks
Michelle
Hi Michelle
A quick reply for you! Usually we need reading glasses between 45-50 if our distance vision is otherwise good. We do specialise in blended vision, where one eye is more for distance and the other better for reading with a mild amount of short sight.
Your best, and cheapest, option may be just to have one eye corrected and leave the other at -0.75. This should keep you out of readers until 50-52, but still keep a balanced distance vision.
To do one eye with blade free (Intralase type) wavefront is only £595, as you come in our lowest price band. If you want to go ahead with us, you will still need a consult with ourselves, and Paula can help you with that on 0845 5000 500.
Best regards
Dave
Dave,
Firstly well done on such an informative website. I am really impressed that you manage to answer all these questions.
I have just been to see Ultralase and was very happy with their service but a little bemused at their pricing – it semms dear. Tentatively I have agree for LASEK wavefront surgery as I have reservations about LASIK and flap complications. I can see that your preference is for blade free wavefront LASIK.
Firstly how much would charge I am short sighted – contact lense prescription L -3.75 R -4.0, have a slight stigmatism. I have reading glasses as an adaption of my short sighted classes which is between +1.5 and +2.0. I do a lot of sport so I do not want one eye for reading and the other for long distance and I guess i am happy to wear reading glasses – unless there is a treatment that sorts out both.
Roughly what would I be paying? How quickly could I come in for a check and surgery? Thanks – urgency is due to a holiday at the end of June and I believe there is no swimming for four weeks after surgery?
Regards
Adam
Hi Adam
Thanks! There isn’t an easy way for prospective patients to get info and I felt a Q&A web resource would be of use. Yes, Ultralase are high end on price as you can see from my last blog post. Correcting your eyes for distance vision is pretty straight forward and doesn’t need to be that expensive – I try to keep the prices down for this group. You will get a good result with both LASEK and LASIK. I used to do mainly LASEK (surface laser) until the femtosecond lasers came along and now I do blade free LASIK routinely. Works extremely well and with a great safety record. However, as said, LASEK will do very well but just takes a week of downtime and is painful for 3 days after surgery, whereas with LASIK people are often back at work the next day.
I can do your surgery at the beginning of June if you need. Just call my team on 0845 5000 500 and they will help sort it out. Just explain the need to get it done in early June. Total pricing (both eyes) based on your numbers for wavefront LASEK would be £1,690, and blade free wavefront LASIK would be £2,390 – should be considerably less than Ultralase, although I am not sure what they quoted to you.
With best regards and hope that covers everything.
Dave
Hi Dave,
Thank you for your honest and again prompt reply.
David are you saying that in my case although reading glasses are inevitable at some point with LASIK treatment,that you would be willing go ahead and correct my high long sight ?
Wearing glasses for reading has never bothered me,But it would be nice for me to leave the house,drive and socialise without glasses.
If you could go ahead, obviously after consultation,what roughly would the cost be ?
Or would you advise to wait until my mid 50′s and opt for RLE ?
kindest regards
James
Hi James
I do really try to give the right perspective as I think patients should have the full picture. I have and do treat patients such as yourself for distance vision, rather than waiting e.g. for RLE, and it will make a big difference, but there is a slow movement back to longsight. I don’t have the exact price as I am out of the UK but it will be approx £1900 per eye for blade free wavefront LASIK.
Just let me know if I didn’t answer fully!
Dave
Hello Dave,
I’m 42and have been wearing glasses for 6 years, though I’ve needed them longer. My prescription hasn’t changed greatly in 4+ years and is:
Dist : Sph : Cyl : Axis
right : +0.75 : -1.50 : 94
left : +0.25 : -1.00 : 82
Near : Add
right : +1.00
left : +1.00
As you can see, I have an astigmatism. I mainly use my glasess at work, for reading computer screens but also wear them to watch football (from some distance in the terraces). Even with glasses, my vision is not as good as others. My questions are:
– Is laser surgery suitable for my prescription?
– what might I expect? Will my post-op vision be as good or better than my vision with glasses?
Regards,
Steve
Hi Steve
Yes, laser eye treatment is certainly effective for your kind of prescription, which is known as mixed astigmatism – basically you are long sighted for light in one direction and short sight for light at 90 degrees to that. (horizontal light and vertical light rays) You can expect your vision to be as good as with glasses, and about 40% of the time is it better than that level.
To correct your distance vision then is routine. However, the other issue is that you are 42 and so approaching the age when people need glasses for reading, typically between 46 and 50. You already have a near addition for reading in your glasses which is a bit surprising as you are still a youthful 42! I wonder if you really need that +1.00 Add in your lenses.
I would normally aim to leave one eye slightly short sighted to protect you against needing reading glasses for a few years but eventually you will need them, or come back for a second procedure around age 50-52, or we can target both eyes for full distance and you would need reading glasses sooner or even straight away.
Hope that makes sense! Cost for both eyes (total) would be £1,540 for blade free LASIK, incl wavefront.
Best regards
Dave
Hi, I am seriously considering having laser eye treatment, can you tell me if you offer a payment plan or if payment is upfront?
thanks
Donna
Hi Donna, we have interest free plans over 6,10 and 12 months, and interest bearing plans over 1-5 years. Or you can pay up front with a credit or debit card. Paula will be able to advise you more if you call her on 0845 5000 500.
Thanks
Dave
HI Dave
I have been to Ultralase and they have given me a quote for wavefront lasik (the only treatment recommended). They said I have some ‘aberrations’ on the eyes which make cause glare at nightime. My prescription has been stable for long time now: R: -3.75 and L: -3.50. I don’t think they really explained the difference between ‘standard’ Lasik and ‘wavefront’ apart from saying the recovery time is quicker, the surgery is quicker (30 secs) and the treatment is more customised… however, there is a huge difference in cost!!!!!
What would you charge for Wavefront Lasik ?
Thanks – your website is great
Jo
Hi Dave,
I find I can wear them for typically 5-6 hours. I have accidentally left them in overnight and ended up with very red eyes, but I think that was more due to sleeping with them rather than the length of time.
Also a bit concerned about vision afterwards, I’m somewhat deaf so need to be able to make out peoples faces to lipread. I’m fairly sure it’d be ok the day afterwards, but I’m just concerned about not being able to see anything immediately after the surgery, which would be the worst bit.
Ben
Hi Ben
Your vision will be pretty good within 1 hour after LASIK and very good by 3-4 hours, and you are welcome to stay in the clinic until you can manage for lip reading.
If you can wear your lenses for 5-6 hours you should be OK for LASIK. If you don’t take omega-3 supplements, you can begin to take flaxseed oil capsules (3-4 grams daily by mouth) which can help stabilize your tear film and is often helpful for post-LASIK dryness, until the tear film returns to normal. Omega-3 & 6 oils contained in flaxseeds are good for your general health by the way. There also appears to be less dry eye with femtosecond compared to blade LASIK.
Best regards
Dave
Hi Dave,
I’m looking at getting Lasik, and went for a consultation with Focus and booked the surgery for next week. I didn’t think I had dry eyes, but after having read up on it, it seems some of the symptoms are watering in wind and irritation with contacts, both of which I have.
I’m 22 and -3.75 (stable for 4 years) – what are the chances of dry eye occurring on a basis that needs artificial tears for more than a month or so? Would the consultation have picked up on it in the slit examination, even though I said that I didn’t believe I had it (then)?
Thanks,
Ben
Hi Ben
Everyone actually does get some reduced tear production for 3-6 months post femtosecond LASIK although this is not noticed by many patients. We do check your tear film and dryness at the consult so I can assume this was passed (I am away out of the UK on holiday so haven’t seen your results). As a guide, how many hours a day can you comfortably wear your contact lenses??
Dave
Hi, I’ve been wearing glasses for the past five years and find them very uncomfortable as they give me pain on the bridge of my nose. I would like to book a consultation, Thank you.
Hi Paula
Yes, happy to help. Please call to Paula on 0845 5000 500 between 9am and 6pm and she will be happy to help arrange a consultation, and run through some screening questions with you.
Best regards
Dave
Hi David ,
Thanks for prompt reply, my cyl readings are both minus.
I am 47 years old.
Can i assume that yours is one of the few clinics that perform this treatment,or is there somewhere more local to Yorkshire.
Kind regards
James
Hi James
High long sight in the 40s is a more complex issue actually and there is no perfect solution. Your long sight will still get worse for a few years yet unfortunately, so the vision is not yet stable. LASIK can make you tremendously better right now at improving your distance and even fairly close vision, but you will find you need reading glasses within 1-2 years (over the counter glasses would be fine) for some print, and this need will increase with time.
For these prescriptions we often look at what is know as refractive lens exchange (RLE), basically an operation similar to cataract surgery, but you are on the young side for this, as we prefer patients to be 55+, when all their natural focusing ability has pretty much gone. RLEs can be done more local to you, but I don’t know of clinics in that area specialising in high degrees of long sight. I like the WaveLight laser for these prescriptions and I don’t know of a new 400Hz system outside London.
If you will be coming to London at some point, then it would be best to arrange a private consultation with myself rather than one of my team, as this isn’t a straightforward case (the fee is £170) -but as I said, there is no ideal ‘never need glasses again’ solution here that doesn’t have some compromise.
Best regards
Dave
Hi David,
Could you please give me a rough idea how much it would cost to have the same treatment as Paul Ross.
My spectacle prescription is:-
Right Eye sph +4.50 cyl 0.50 axis 105
Left Eye sph +4.25 cyl 0.75 axis 95
Regards
James
Hi James
Actually, Paul Ross had PRK for his short sight, but you would be best served by LASIK for your high degree of long sight. Could you please let me know your age and whether the cyl in your prescription is down as + or – ?? These are the most expensive treatments (v high long sight) and there are only a few specialist clinics that do them. Once I know that info I can advise you better.
Thanks
Dave
I visited a local consultant corneal surgeon last week re laser surgery. He told me that I may not be suitable as my left eye is showing some corneal abnormality with could possibly turn out to be a FF Keratoconus. I told him that I have worn hard lenses for about 35 yrs and asked whether he thought the abnormality could be due to this. He said that this is unlikely as I have now been out of these lenses for 5weeks and in his experience it only takes one week for every 10yrs of wear to return the cornea to normal. I was very disappointd but have since spoken to others and they say that the return to normal curvature can take up to 6 months! I am 51 and have -4.75,cyl -.75 Left and -5.00 -.75 right. Please can you tell me whether it is worth coming up to see you as I live in Devon!
Hi Lynne
The best guide is to allow 4 weeks for every 10 years of hard lens wear, so you should leave off for 14 weeks total to fully allow for the corneal shape to return to normal. If glasses are too much hassle, you could try to switch over to soft lenses for 12 weeks and then go contact lens free (glasses) for a further final 4 weeks only – so 12 weeks in soft lenses plus an extra 4 weeks in glasses. Then come along for a consultation with us and we can determine if there is any sign of FFKC present. If things are borderline we may be able to opt for PRK rather than LASIK.
Best regards
Dave
Thanks for the quick reply Dave.
I am keen to have you as my surgeon, do I still need to book in for a consultation since I’ve just done one with another clinic? Or can I just book for a treatment?
My pleasure. I am very happy to be your surgeon. We would need to do our own consultation actually. I am sure you would be almost certainly suitable but it’s best that we do the consult and examination to our own standards. I am away on holiday out of the UK at present, but if you call Paula on 0845 5000 500 she will be happy to arrange a date for you.
WIth best regards
Dave
Hi Dave,
I came across your blog and am very impressed by some of the feedbacks. I am considering Intralase Lasik Surgery (with wavefront as an addition). I just had a consultation and they said my eyes is suitable for surgery. I’m doing some research on the different options, are you able to provide me a quote?
Age: 26
Left Eye – Sph:-3.25 Cyl: -0.5
Right Eye – Sph: -3.25 Cyl: -0.5
Thanks
Hi Jinny – thanks for your comment. Yes, blade free (Intralase/femtosecond) with wavefront is the way to go. You should have an excellent result as your prescription is actually not so high (at least in terms of laser eye surgery!) and you have only a small degree of astigmatism. We charge £1145 per eye for that treatment including our lifetime care guarantee.
Let me know if you need any more info. Best regards
Dave
Hi Dave,
Thanks for the prompt reply, since then i have booked a consultation on 28th May.
Is it possible to see yourself for the consultation or the actual surgery if needed?
Regards
Hi Paul
That;s great. You can certainly have myself for the surgery. If you want me to do the consultation personally the fee would be £170.
With best regards
Dave
Hi Dave, Thanks for such a speedy repsonse, especially on a Sunday. Please could you tell me what the blended vision is? It had never occured to me that I would need glasses for reading, as I currently don’t need them. Regards, Mark.
Hi Mark
Yes, you can get away without reading glasses now because you are short sighted. Most people start to need reading glasses though, assuming normal distance vision, between 46-50. So if we treat your short sight, you will likely need reading glasses straight away or within 1-2 years. Blended vision is where we combine one eye more for distance vision and the other weighted towards reading. We are a UK specialist centre for that kind of correction, actually. My team can explain more if you come along for a consultation. Just call 0845 5000 500. Thanks
Dave
Hi Dave
I wish to find out the chance of success/side effects & costs for someone of my prescription.
I’m a 31yo male who’s been shortsighted with astigmatism since 8yo.
My glasses prescription are:
R -9 cyl -2.5 axis 15
L -10 -1.75 150
My RGP lenses are:
R 7.8 (9.5) -8.75DS, tricurve sphere, boston es
L 7.9 (9.5) -8.75DS, tricurve toric periphery, 6/10 TP
I have large pupils as gathered from my 9.5cm lens.
Also, how long do I have to stop wearing my RGP’s before consultation or surgery?
Thanks
Wei
Hi Wei
It will all depend on what we find at your consultation as you will need thick corneas to have any chance with this extreme prescription. You will need 4 weeks out of your lenses before the consultation for a complete exam, but in your case you could come along just so that we can measure the corneal thickness and pupil size, then put those numbers into the laser and tell you quickly if you might get a full correction, or if we could only leave you at -1, -2, -3D etc if a partial only treatment is available, if you elect to proceed. If we have to leave you at -3D or greater you are prob best to carry on with CLs. However, being -1 or -2 is much better than where you are now, and will keep you out of reading glasses after 45 as a bonus. All up to you of course.
Just call on 0845 5000 500 if you want a provisional consult without leaving your lenses out, and tell my staff that we have discussed this here.
Best regards
Dave
Hi Dave,
I am considering Laser treatment but am concerned I will not be able to do it due to weak perscription. Could you please advice?
My last prescription was Dec 2008
Right Sph -0.75
Left Shp -0.75 Cyl -0.25 Axis 28
Regards
Hi Paul
In the past when laser treatment was less accurate clinics may not have advised for as low as -0.75D. However, with an accuracy of + – 0.25D with the blade free wavefront LASIK I do treat these levels now very successfully. The cost is v low actually at £595 per eye for the most advanced treatment, as we price according to severity of prescription, so that’s good news for you!
Best regards
Dave
Hi Dave,
You should really stop working on Sunday! ;-P
Daryl
Yes, you are right!!
hi dave again,
since my earlier discussions with you i have had my optical express consult, which was fine although they stated that my vision was:
r= -2, -1.5, 95 axis
l= -2, -1.5, 75 axis
this was confirmed by the customvue scan they did also… (OS= -1.96, -1.7, 70 and OD= – 2.02, -1.73, 95)
does this better visual check affect the price at all?
also they and optimax do an nhs discount (10% and 25%), is this something you give for nhs professionals? i am asking these questions as i am sold on having it done with you but need to discuss whether we can go for it financialy with my wife and an accurate price is helpful for this decision.
they also stated that my corneas were thick (626 and 607) but i had large pupils (around 8mm) which would benefit wavefront, which i know you do anyway.
if i am able to go ahead what are the chances that i would get you as the surgeon? i looked on the site and it seems there are only 2 of you anyway?
thnx again for your help. your comments really reassured me last time
trev
Hi Trev
Yes, you can certainly have me as your surgeon, just make sure my staff know that when booking your treatment day. You just might have to wait an extra week or two.
The price from that prescription would be £1145 per eye for femtosecond wavefront LASIK. We actually discount everybody rather than any particular profession, to make it as affordable as possible for as many people as we can. So we are approximately £1000 cheaper for this prescription than both OE and Optimax already so please understand that there is no more margin we can remove, as we have removed it already!, but still aim to offer the highest quality of laser eye surgery out there.
WIth best regards
Dave
Hi Dave, I am 48 and have decided to try for Wavefront Lasik. My last prescription about 17 months ago was: Right SPH -1.75, CYL -1.00, Axis 85; Left SPH -1.75, Cyl -0.50, Axis 90. Please could you let me know how much this is likely to cost? Kind regards, Mark
Hi Mark
If you want just your distance corrected, but still needing reading glasses, it will be a total of £2,090 for both eyes with blade free wavefront LASIK, the most advanced treatment. If you would like blended vision (assuming you are suitable, and 94% are), then add £600 to that total.
Best regards
Dave
Wow, thanks for the quick reply.
Dear Mr allemby,
No they dont have the femto laser yet in Manchester as far I am aware. Still its a blade used there. I just heard some issues with using a laser to create the flap like it fails sometimes and more visual disturbances afterwards with it?? Is it something to be bothered about in your opinion or to be aware of?
Their laser is the wavelight allegretto. I’m sure yr clinic uses the same one?? Is this the most respected one overall?
With my prescription any figures for chances of achieving 20/20?
Thank you again
Amit
Hi Amit
We dont see any of those issues with our femtosecond laser, having done 2000 procedures with the new Ziemer LDV. There were some problems with the earlier Intralase femtos, and still with the current model very occasionally, such as transient light sensitivity, opaque bubble layers or residual tissue bridges, which we dont see with the LDV at all. But both femtos will do a very good job, and you should opt for either of those above a blade cut.
Yes, Manchester EH uses a WaveLight laser, in my opinion the overall #1 ranked laser. I believe MEH had (or still has) the older 200Hz model – you would need to check with them on that. We have the new 400Hz machine which is twice as fast. We certainly saw better results when we upgraded from the 200 to the 400 Hz machine 18 months ago, but you can check with MEH on their outcome results.
For your prescription, 99% of these cases are 20/25 or better at 3 months and 97.5% are 20/20 or better.
Regards
Dave
Oops, I forgot to say, I have an astignatism.
Lindz
Hi Dave
I would really like to have surgery. Would you be able to give me a quote please and what sort of treatment would be suitable for me.
I am 37 and have needed glasses since I was 11.
My prescription is:-
Right Eye Sphere (SPH): -2.00
Right Eye Cylinder (CYL): -0.75 (CYL)
Right Eye Axis: 175
Left Eye Sphere (SPH): -1.50
Left Eye Cylinder (CYL): -1.00 (CYL)
Left Eye Axis: 25
Thanx
Hi Lindz
95% of all our patients opt for the most advanced treatment – blade-free wavefront LASIK (using a laser instead of a blade). Your prescription would cost £1,890 in total for that option for both eyes (not per eye).
Best regards
Dave
PS I really should stop working on Saturday nights!
dear mr allamby,
I am a clinican myself (not in ophthalmology though!) my prescription is approx. -4.5 bilateral (low cyl -.5). i went for an initial assessment corneal thickness around 600+ microns bilateral, nothing on topography of note but said would benefit from wavefront..nothing on dry eye screening.
was told by consultant that am suitable for lasik or lasek and choice was mine! no real advice to sway for one or other..
just heard stories regarding flaps and things..
would be grateful for your thoughts mr allemby regarding expectations with my prescription? i went for initial screening at manchester eye hospital and was seen by consultant corneal surgeon there.
If you have any suggestions for surgeons/places in the north west area again any input would be grateful?
kind regards
amit
Dear Amit
Your prescription is very routine actually, nice thick corneas, normal topography. I do all these now with blade-free wavefront LASIK (femtosecond flaps – very accurate, safe and definitely preferable to a blade cut in my opinion). Not sure if they have a femtosecond in Manchester Eye Hospital now but this would be the way to go. I don’t see the need to have the prolonged recovery and pain associated with LASEK/PRK.
I do have an optometrist who works with me in the North West and have plenty of patients who come down for treatment with myself and get aftercare up in Cheshire. We charge £1245 per eye for femtosecond laser flap LASIK including wavefront.
Best regards
Dave
Hi Dave,
Growing up I had extremely good vision, but in my late teens it started to get a little worse. I only needed a mild prescription… and at first I was able to treat glasses as a new fashion accessory. But once glasses were less of a prop, and more of a necessity they started to get old. I’m an avid shooter, skeet and photography… and glasses keep getting in the way. I’d love to have my old (young) eyesight back.
I’m 35, my prescription has been unchanged in almost 10 years. Here’s my ‘script:
Right: -.75 sphere, -1.25 cyl axis 95
Left: -1.00 sphere
My wife would just like to be able to see the alarm clock in the morning, her stats:
Right: -4.75 sphere, -3.50 cyl axis 15
Left: -4.50 sphere, -3.75 cyl axis 158
Could you quote a price…
And in my case Is it reasonable to hope for better than 20/20?
Regards,
Mark
Hi Mark
Yes, for you I would expect better than 20/20, assuming your eyes are capable of that level with glasses or contacts. Your treatment is very straightforward for blade free wavefront LASIK, and the total cost for both eyes would be, from your numbers, £1,540.
Your wife’s prescription is clearly more complex although we expect very good results here all the same. The total price for both eyes is quite a lot higher (again for the most advanced blade free wavefront LASIK) at £3,290.
And both of you would be eligible for our lifetime guarantee.
Best regards
Dave
Hi Dave
I had LASIK done just over two weeks ago (22/4/09)and the procedure seems to have gone pretty much perfectly. The vision in my right eye is excellent and my left eye is almost as good. I have noticed daily gradual improvements over the days. The only thing is I still have a tiny bit of ghosting in my left eye in certain lighting conditions and when using the PC. My night vision though is excellent. My question is how long will it take this ghosting to completely go?
Also how long should I use the blink intensive lubricating drops for and what frequency should I be using them. I do not really experience any significant dryness, therefore should they only be used when my eyes feel dry or more regularly?
Kind regards
Alex
Hi Alex
Residual ghosting will disappear over the coming few weeks. For lubrication, it can help to use tears such as Blink or Refresh 3-4 times a day during the first couple of months. However, many or even most patients have few or no symptoms of dryness. If you miss or forget your drops there is absolutely no harm done and everything will still be fine. You might just notice a intermiitent blurring which clears immediately with blinking.
Regards
Dave
I have been to Optimax today and they recommend lasek although the optomitrist felt that the surgeon may be able to do an intralase lasik with my corneal measurement. Right eye corneal thickness was 474 and the more problematic left eye with mixed astygmatism was 462. So i think lasik is out, although still waiting for a decision from ultralase.
To recap then, would you suggest lasek with wavefront even with my difficult left eye? Or should i not bother and just stick with my glasses.
What about monovision (i am 38) and am used to reading etc without glasses.
Are there any clinics you would recommend in or around Leeds/ West yorkshire? What about the Yorkshire Eye Hospital?
Hope you can help
Melanie
Hi Melanie
Lasik is definitely out here, so please don’t go that route. The left eye is borderline at 462 but may be possible if your scans are absolutely regular and have a perfectly normal appearance. I would not recommend monovision here as you aren’t guaranteed to get a good result for the reading eye, which would have to be your left.
I would recommend Andy Morrell at St James’ Hospital in Leeds.
Best regards
Dave
Hi Dave,
Thank you so much for your quick and clear response. I will check my corneal thickness at tomorrows consultation. I would definately prefer the intralase lasik if possible.
Interestingly neither clinic has mentioned the 10% chance of needing the retreatment. Are there any clinics you would recommend in or around the Leeds area? What about The Yorkshire Eye Hospital, i think they charge a flat price of £3000 whatever treatment is needed.
I would come to London for treatment if necessary, its the trip home with painful eyes i dont fancy. How much would the intralase lasik wavefront procedure cost for each eye if i find my cornea is above 490 microns?
Thanks
Melanie
HI Dave
I really hope you can help. I have considering laser treatment for three years but it has taken me this long to go for a consultation. My prescription is Right eye -2.00 sphere +0.75 cyl axis 83. Left eye -1.50 sphere, cyl +3.25, axis 89.
First consultation at optical express in leeds. I was told i could only have lasek wavefront due to thin corneas at a cost of £1000 right eye and £1400 left eye. I was also told that my left eye is short sighted which was a surprise to me as i have always been told i am shortsighted and have worn glasses since i was 5 years old. (I am currently 38 years old).
Second consultaion at ultralase in leeds. I am told i can only have lasik wavefront due to longsight in left eye cost (£2000) and lasek wavefront (£1700) or lasik wavefront(£2000) in righteye. I am told there it is not possible to carry out lasek on a longsighted eye. They then sent my file to the surgeon to decide whether my cornea is thick enough for the lasik procedure. I am still waiting a decision.
I am going to see Optimax tomorrow for a third opinion.
I would appreciate some honestly because it feels like i am being sold whatever is best for them and not what is best for me and i am hoping you can help.
I dont know exactly how thin my corneas are but are less than 500 (i dont know what the measurement is in).
I really hope you can help.
Thanks
Melanie
I am very confused
Hi Melanie
Interesting story. Your right eye is short sighted with a small amount of astigmatism (rugby ball shape rather than a true football shape). Your left eye has what is know as mixed astigmatism, which means it is both long sighted (vertically) and short sighted (horizontally).
If your corneas are less than 490 microns thick, most surgeons agree that you will need LASEK whatever. Some surgeons are stricter and say less than 500 means automatic LASEK. So ask your surgeon at the next consultation what the corneal thickness measurement is.
For your right eye, wavefront LASEK will be fine and give you a very good result -just painful for 2-3 days and several days for the vision to recover (with LASIK vision is good within a few hours and no real pain, which is why LASIK is much more popular). If your cornea is 490 or more thick, blade free (femtosecond, Intralase) LASIK may well be OK too.
For your left eye, I prefer wavefront blade free LASIK for greater accuracy – mixed astigmatism cases are not always easy to eliminate all the prescription – but this will need at least 490 microns thickness and a thin flap blade free (Intralase) approach. LASEK can work but is likely to be a bit less accurate for best vision than the right eye, and you have about a 10% chance of needing a second procedure to fine tune the result, but still doable.
For reference prices, we would charge £495 for wavefront LASEK for the right eye, and £1195 for wavefront LASEK on the left eye, but we are not so local to you.
You can always write back to me here if you have more questions.
Best regards
Dave
No that isn’t a typo unfortunately, my right eye has been a lot weaker ever since i can remember and whilst at school i used to wear glasses which had a rather thick and heavy lens in it on that side.
although for many years i never felt comfortable with wearing them very often as the prescription was so high, usually resulting in headaches.
I’ve not worn glasses for around 8 years now, partly because of this and due to the nature of my job, metal worker / engineer.
Visually i do get a fair amount of correction whilst wearing them but recently i was told that it most likey that i didn’t get on with them due to the extreme differences in lenses and should have maybe just had a ‘balancing lense’, -150ds was suggested if that means anything to you?
At Optical Express yesterday they said that even focusing their work on my better, and leading left eye could bring massive improvements with possibly looking at doing work on my right eye at a later date if costs were an issue to me….wghich they are in all honesty. The thing is i kinda feel like if i’m going to get laser surgery done then i should go the whole hog at once…Hmm??
Hi Calvin
I would want to know just how far down the vision chart you can get with the full correction in front of the right eye. It makes most sense to correct both eyes usually, as long as the right is correctable. The cost for blade free wavefront LASIK £2590, so about £800 cheaper.
Best regards
Dave
Hi dave,
Just like many other people that have written in this blog, i have read many good things about your work so felt it’d only be right to be asking you the questions.
Having considered laser eye surgery for quite some years i finally got around to arranging a consultation with Optical Express yesterday, the reason i chose this particular clinic was simply down to being recommended by my father who used them about 18 months and it’s locality.
Unfortunately i left there a little disappointed due to the figure i was quoted for work on both of my eyes, £3390 for wavefront with intralase.
I am 30 years old and have being short-sighted for most of my life, I also have a tiny cataract in the top of my right which apparently has been there since birth and has undeveloped into anything problematic due to not being in my field of vision thankfully and after several examinations by numerous opticians I’ve being assured there is no reason to remove it either which is good.
The prescription figures from yesterdays tests were:
right eye sph -9.25
left eye sph -1.25
Your opinion on any procedures and costings would be greatly appreciated.
many thanks
Calvin
Hi Calvin
Thanks for your kind comments. Could I just check your prescription isn’t a typo, as there is a huge difference between those numbers. Has the right eye always been extremely myopic? Do you have good vision in that eye when wearing a full correction in glasses or contact lenses?
Regards
Dave
Hi Dave,
Thanks for the reply re Wavefront. I was actually looking at the WFO/WFG chart on the FOCUS website and I wasn’t sure which treatment will be carried out hence the question. You have put my mind at ease now that I know WFO will provide an excellent result. Thanks!
Best wishes,
Daryl
Hi Dave, im 19 but my presciption has remained unchanged since June 2007, is it likely that my eyes would be suitable? What treatment would you recommend and what would be a rough estimate for cost?
my prescription is:
right eye sph -5.25, cyl -0.25, axis 100
left eye sph -5.5
(one of my presciptions is also marked with BVD 12mm is that means anything?)
thanks,
Chris
Hi Chris
As there has been no change in the past two years, then you are suitable from a stability point of view. All other factors will be checked at your consultation. I recommend blade-free wavefront LASIK for most patients, assuming suitability, and the cost would be £1345 per eye.
Best regards
Dave
Hi Chris
As there has been no change in the past two years, then you are suitable from a stability point of view. All other factors will be checked at your consultation. I recommend blade-free wavefront LASIK for most patients, assuming suitability, and the cost would be £1345 per eye.
Best regards
Dave
Hi Dave,
Thank you for coming back to me so quickly.
I have narrowed down my choice to FOCUS and The London Vision Clinic. I am struggling to see why the prices are so far apart. The London Vision Clinic are charging £4,600 and FOCUS £1890 (which is great by the way!).
Does one have better technology than the other? or is the price down to expertise and experience? I know you wrote a feature article about this and am looking forward to your follow up feature.
Many thanks,
Samuel
Hi Samuel
Both clinics are top rated (you can see independent ratings at lasik-eyes.co.uk), use first class equipment and surgeons. We also charge up to £4,600 for some cases, but try to keep the standard treatments (mild to moderate myopia) affordable for as many people as possible, with our prices based upon prescription. I will be posting on price versus ratings this week, so pls look out for that.
Best regards
Dave
Hello David. I’m now 5 months post-lasik and have been using Refresh Plus drops (in vials), however I’m having trouble finding prevservative free vials in the UK but have just found a product from B&L called Hycosan Preservative Free Drops (in a bottle). It says they are suitable for contact lens wearers and sensitive eyes – do you think these would be suitable? I’m really not too sure what is safe to use or look for. Any advice would be appreciated.