You are interested in laser eye surgery. You have been doing what everyone else does first, which is search through the websites of various laser eye surgery clinics including the big three chains: Ultralase, Optical Express and Optimax, plus independent clinics such as FOCUS Laser Vision, Centre for Sight, London Vision Clinic etc.

The first thing you notice is that some clinics outline some or all their prices, while others give a headline price and give more details after you contact the clinic directly. One very handy site that can help you get all that information quickly is www.lasik-eyes.co.uk where patients can post independent reviews of their experiences at all of the UK’s laser eye clinics plus the price they paid for surgery.

There is a huge variation in the prices paid at UK clinics. Prices paid for both eyes for laser eye treatment vary from around £1,500 up to over £6,000.

But what does this mean for you? What about quality? Do you get what you pay for? Or do prices not correlate well with the quality of the surgery, vision result or service?

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Leeds-based laser eye surgery company Ultralase has increased its network of clinics by acquiring The Cambridge Eye Laser Clinic for an undeclared sum. The purchase is the company’s second since it was bought by 3i in February for £174 million, and follows the acquisition of Belfast’s Allclear clinic in April.

The Cambridge Eye Laser Clinic was created in 2002 by eye surgeon and clinical director Chris Stephenson as part of the Allclear Group of clinics. Stephenson bought out the clinic from the group in 2006.

The Cambridge centre add to Ultralase’s 23 UK clinics as part of the group’s ambitious expansion plans. Ultralase recently opened a new consulting room in Sheffield, with plans to open 3 more in 2008.

To help you find a UK laser eye surgery clinic, I have put together two maps. Just click on each marker to see the name and telephone number of each clinic or click on the name to go straight to their website. Couldn’t be easier.
They maps don’t include the big 3 laser chain centres, who now have 60 locations. The map shows independent clinician run (usually NHS consultants) clinics rather than commercial chains.

1. London laser eye surgery clinics
2. United Kingdom laser eye surgery clinics (click on London to see details)

Enjoy!

[tags] UK, clinics, laser eye surgery, LASIK, locations, map, UK [/tags]

You can see a below all the GB laser eye clinics that have an actual building and their own laser – what we can call ‘complete’ self-contained laser eye clinics.

Click on each clinic name to visit their website.

If you would like to more easily see where laser eye surgery is happening near you, click here to see laser eye clinics in the UK, or click here to see laser eye clinics in London.

I have excluded a few others that you can find listed elsewhere but which do not have a dedicated clinic building of their own or have their own laser (some surgeons use a mobile laser delivered on a truck as and when they have a need). Clinics in N. Ireland will also be added presently.

Below are actual permanent clinics that have invested in a premises and laser and offer routine ongoing laser eye treatment on a daily basis. If you find this permanence reassuring you can start with these clinics in your search for a laser vision centre for your treatment. The three big laser chains (Optical Express, Ultralase, Optimax) operate 60 out of the 82 clinics listed here.

So there is a clear split between the three large volume chain operators and the independent single clinics.

** The big 3 are owned and managed by business interests and are commercial ventures. They employ clinicians (surgeons and optometrists) and other staff to deliver the laser eye service to customers. They all have a stated goal of expansion to more locations and compete with each other in most locations around the UK.

** The single independent clinics are owned and/or managed by surgeons or optometrists. These are business ventures although can be thought of usually as a committed private practice by an individual or a team of clinicians and without the goal of geographical expansion. They are likely to stay as solo clinics.

British private equity firm 3i has agreed to buy Ultralase from Spain’s cosmetic surgery group Dermoestetica. The Spanish group said the price was 174.5 millon pounds (238 million euros, 348 million dollars). There is an exclusivity period on this deal until January 30 2008. 3i made an approach to Dermoestetica just recently in November 2007.Dermoestetica has 90 clinics across Europe and is a leading cosmetic surgery provider. It bought the British firm Ultralase in 2005 for 29 million pounds in 2005. With a bump in price of £145 million in 2 years, or a mere £200,000 per day, the Spanish group will be all smiles, and no glasses!