How to find out what laser eye surgery costs

Elective surgeries such as teeth whitening, rhinoplasty and laser eye surgery are becoming increasingly popular.

With clinics located on most high streets, patients have a tremendous amount of choice, and the internet makes it easy to research clinics, surgeons and treatments. Patients should understand that there are many more factors in choosing the correct clinic than just what laser eye surgery costs.

Some laser eye surgery providers use marketing techniques to make prospects perceive them as offering a cheaper option, which is often only a way to encourage patients to visit the provider for a consultation.

When the patient has their consultation, providers inform them that their prescription is higher than the advertised basic cost of laser treatment, or that a particular type of laser treatment would be more beneficial to them. But once again there would be a cost implication compared with the advertised price. Many patients do not agree with what they might see as a slightly dishonest approach to attracting patients.

The advertised price may be from £595 per eye. But that may be for a patient who has a very mild prescription of around -1, and it would only be a standard treatment rather than one using the latest Wavefront or blade-free technologies.

Let’s suppose that a patient with an average prescription of -3 or -4 went to a provider using these technologies, but the patient was expecting to pay the lowest advertised price. The provider would soon tell them that the fee would be two or three times that amount for their prescription.

The reason for this is because the cost changes depending on how strong the prescription is. That seems an unfair way of increasing the price, considering that the provider’s only extra cost would be to operate the laser for a few more seconds.

A revolutionary treatment: PRESBYOND™

Laser eye surgery has been around since the mid-1990s and is continually evolving. Techniques are rapidly advancing with the introduction of blade-free lasers. These developments have resulted in significantly quicker recovery times for patients.

There is now the technology to treat patients with presbyopia (that is, losing the ability to focus quickly on objects that are close) with laser eye surgery.

Previously, laser patients in their 40s and 50s understood that they would not be completely free of the need to wear glasses and would still need them for reading and close-up work.

Custom Vision Clinic offers PRESBYOND™, which is also known as blended vision. This treatment is a form of laser eye surgery that increases the patient’s depth of field, enabling them to focus at near, intermediate and long distances without glasses.

No obligation consultation

Custom Vision Clinic offers an initial consultation to establish a patient’s suitability for laser eye surgery. We will assess each patient using several in-depth diagnostic scans that take accurate measurements of the eyes. Our specialised optometrist will then give the patient a sight test.

After this, Mr James Ball, the consultant ophthalmologist who performs the surgery, will meet the patient.

During this consultation, Mr Ball will recommend the best treatment suitable for the individual. He will base this decision on the outcomes of the revolutionary diagnostic technology used at Custom Vision Clinic. These techniques have significantly reduced the number of enhancements (top-up or secondary treatments) that patients require.

How much does laser treatment for presbyopia cost?

Many patients want to know what laser eye surgery costs to correct their loss of reading vision. Laser treatment for presbyopia costs the same amount as standard LASIK or ReLEx SMILE™ treatment at Custom Vision Clinic; the cost is £1,990 per eye.

Custom Vision Clinic operates a transparent fees policy. So whether you have a long or short-sighted prescription, astigmatism (curvature of the eye), or presbyopia, Custom Vision Clinic does not charge any additional fees for treating these conditions. The cost of treatment also includes all of your aftercare drops and follow-up appointments.

Many high street providers opt for pricing policies that increase the patient’s prescription. They often tempt patients to book a consultation by advertising attractive prices, such as ‘from £595 per eye’. Some providers base these low fees on the smallest possible prescription and the most basic laser treatment. However, the vast majority of patients would not meet the criteria to benefit from these price offers.

We have the technology

Custom Vision Clinic has access to the most expensive laser eye surgery technology available – the ZEISS Visumax femtosecond laser and the Mel 90 excimer laser.

We use separate surgical instruments for each eye in theatre, which exceeds the industry standard. The ZEISS Visumax is the only femtosecond laser in the world that is sufficiently accurate to perform treatment for short-sightedness with a flap-less SMILE procedure.

Our LASIK patients also benefit from the accuracy of this laser, because the precision of the flap dimensions enhances the safety of the procedure. Also, the Visumax laser is the most gentle on the eye, increasing the patient’s comfort during the process.

The diagnostic equipment used at Bowcliffe Hall represents the very latest technology available. Using our HD Analyser, we can assess the light scatter and optical quality of each patient’s eye.

This process provides an objective assessment of the optics of each eye so that we know which patients are showing signs of early cataract trouble (and who would, therefore, benefit from lens surgery), and those patients who still have clear, crystalline lenses. These patients would benefit from LASIK with or without PRESBYOND™ Blended Vision.

This technique gives us the most accurate information possible to ensure the most successful outcomes for patients.

At Custom Vision Clinic, we are a small, friendly professional team focused on achieving the best outcome for every patient. This is at the heart of everything we do. If you would like further information about our services, please call us.