Refractive surgery · UK
Excimer laser eye surgery, honestly explained.
LASIK, SMILE, PRK / LASEK and PRESBYOND — four platforms, one goal. A consultant ophthalmologist, a CQC-registered laser suite, and the recommendation that fits your cornea rather than the clinic’s marketing.
Why patients choose us
- 01
A consultant refractive surgeon, in theatre
Not an optometrist-led screening room. A named consultant ophthalmologist, a CQC-registered theatre, and the platform that suits your eyes.
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All four options on the table
LASIK, SMILE, PRK and PRESBYOND — each has a job. We say which fits your cornea, your prescription and your work, before you book.
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Independent, and free
We are paid by no clinic, so the recommendation is impartial and costs you nothing.
Indicative pricing
What private laser eye surgery costs in the UK.
Indicative ranges across our vetted UK clinics — both eyes, full workup, all follow-ups and enhancements within 12 months included. Cheaper per-eye headlines usually are not.
In short
LASIK in our network: £3,800–£5,500 both eyes, back at work the next day.
| Procedure | Indicative range | Typical duration | Recovery |
|---|---|---|---|
| LASIK (both eyes, wavefront-optimised) | £3,800–£5,500 | 15 min/eye | Same visit |
| LASIK topography-guided (Contoura) | £4,500–£6,500 | 15 min/eye | Same visit |
| SMILE (both eyes, ZEISS VisuMax) | £4,500–£6,500 | 15 min/eye | Same visit |
| PRK / LASEK (both eyes) | £3,200–£4,800 | 10 min/eye | Same visit |
| PRESBYOND laser blended vision (both eyes) | £4,800–£6,800 | 15 min/eye | Same visit |
| Consultation and full workup | £250–£500 | 60–90 min | Same visit |
Prices vary by clinic, by surgeon, by platform (wavefront-optimised vs topography-guided) and by prescription. NHS provision for refractive surgery is very limited — almost all UK laser vision correction is self-pay in the private sector. We come back with a firm quote within one working day.
The problem
The right platform, the right surgeon, the right screening.
High-street laser clinics tend to sell you the platform they own — not the one that fits your cornea. Missed keratoconus, wrong technique for a thin cornea, and headline prices that do not include the enhancement. We fix all three before you commit.
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Not sure you are a candidate?
A full Pentacam or Orbscan topography and endothelial count rules keratoconus in or out. We only book patients whose numbers are clean.
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Worried about which platform?
LASIK, SMILE, PRK / LASEK or PRESBYOND — the right choice depends on your cornea, prescription, dry-eye status and job. We say which, and why.
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Want it done properly?
A consultant refractive surgeon on the GMC Specialist Register, a modern excimer or femtosecond platform, and all your follow-ups in the price.
The journey
From enquiry to three-month review — what happens, in order.
One clinician from first message to review — including the recovery window.
Phase 1 · Before your procedure
Concierge, off-stage for you
Phase 2 · On the day
A few hours at the clinic
Phase 3 · After
Concierge, back on
- 01
Before
You tell us what is going on
A short, confidential form. Prescription, contact-lens history, dry-eye symptoms, occupation, and what you want laser vision correction to fix.
- 02
Before
We come back with a recommendation
Within one working day: the right platform (LASIK, SMILE, PRK or PRESBYOND), the right surgeon, an indicative price. If you are not a candidate, we say so plainly.
- 03
Before
Full pre-op workup at the clinic
Pentacam or Orbscan topography, endothelial cell count, tear-film testing, cycloplegic refraction. Contacts out first — soft 1–2 weeks, RGP 3–4 weeks.
- 04
On the day
Arrival at the clinic
Consent and a chat with the consultant. Numbing drops, a mild oral sedative if you want one. You are awake throughout.
- 05
On the day
The procedure itself
10 to 15 minutes per eye in a proper laser suite. Both eyes are usually treated the same session. Painless — some pressure only.
- 06
On the day
Home the same day
A short rest, a shield to wear at night, and someone to drive you home. LASIK and SMILE feel usable by the next morning; PRK takes 5 to 7 days.
- 07
After
Recovery and review
Drops for one to two weeks. Reviews at day 1, week 1, month 1 and month 3. Dry eye and night halos usually settle by six months.
Typical end-to-end: 3–4 weeks from enquiry to procedure. Full stabilisation: 3–6 months.
When it helps
When excimer laser surgery is the right step.
The prescriptions and situations we see most, plus the one absolute contraindication we will not treat around.
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Myopia (short-sightedness)
Prescriptions from about −1D to −10D, provided the cornea is thick enough and the topography is normal.
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Hyperopia (long-sightedness)
Up to about +5D — treatable, though slightly more prone to regression than myopia.
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Astigmatism
Up to around 5D of cylinder, alone or combined with myopia or hyperopia.
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Presbyopia (reading vision)
PRESBYOND laser blended vision (LBV) treats one eye for distance, the other for near — most people adapt within weeks.
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Contact-lens intolerance
Dry, irritated eyes after years of contact-lens wear — surgery is often the cleaner long-term answer.
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Occupational needs
Military, police, aviation, sport — where glasses are impractical and contacts are not permitted. PRK is often the required technique.
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Thin corneas or borderline topography
Surface ablation (PRK or LASEK) leaves more residual stroma than LASIK and is often the safer choice.
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Absolute contraindication: keratoconus
Keratoconus or forme fruste keratoconus on topography is an absolute no. Laser would weaken the cornea further — corneal cross-linking is the correct pathway.
Platform options
LASIK is not the only option.
What each option actually involves — including where SMILE (femtosecond-only, technically not an excimer treatment) fits into the picture.
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LASIK (femtosecond + excimer)
A femtosecond laser lifts a thin corneal flap; the 193nm excimer laser reshapes the stroma; the flap is laid back. Fast recovery, usable vision within 24–48 hours.
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SMILE (ZEISS VisuMax)
A femtosecond-only technique — no excimer, no flap. A lenticule is cut inside the cornea and removed through a small 2–4mm incision. Suits dry eye and higher myopia.
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PRK / LASEK (surface ablation)
The epithelium is removed and the excimer treats the surface directly. Slower recovery (5–7 days) and more discomfort, but no flap — the right choice for thin corneas, contact sport and the military.
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Wavefront-optimised
The standard modern excimer profile. Compensates for the natural aberrations induced by treatment, giving better night vision than older platforms.
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Topography-guided (Contoura)
Uses your corneal topography to design a bespoke ablation. Reduces higher-order aberrations further — often the pick for irregular corneas or fussy night vision.
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Custom-Q / aspheric
A profile that keeps the cornea’s prolate shape — useful for higher myopia where a standard treatment would flatten too aggressively.
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PRESBYOND laser blended vision
A Zeiss LBV protocol for presbyopia. Slight monovision plus increased depth of focus — a comfortable middle path between reading glasses and lens surgery.
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Consultation and workup only
A full Pentacam topography, endothelial count, tear-film assessment and cycloplegic refraction — an honest read on whether laser is the right step.
Excimer laser surgery is corneal — it reshapes the front of the eye. Lens-based refractive surgery (implantable contact lenses, refractive lens exchange, cataract-plus-IOL) is a different pathway. If your prescription is too high for laser, or a cataract is already forming, we say so.
Our vetted UK network
A small panel of refractive surgeons, we picked them.
Consultant ophthalmologists across London, Manchester, Birmingham and Edinburgh. Not listed publicly — introductions are made privately, once we understand your prescription and lifestyle.
Selection criteria
How we choose every surgeon in our network.
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Consultant ophthalmologists on the GMC Specialist Register with a refractive subspecialty
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CQC-registered laser suites with modern excimer and femtosecond platforms
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Full pre-op workup including Pentacam or Orbscan topography and endothelial cell count
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Surface ablation, LASIK, SMILE and PRESBYOND all offered — not just the one the clinic prefers
Safety and outcomes
What to expect afterwards — honestly.
Modern excimer laser surgery is one of the most-studied elective operations in medicine — around 95% of eyes reach 20/20 or better. It is not risk-free, and honesty about the tail is part of a good consent.
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Age 21 or older, stable prescription
We want your prescription to have been stable for at least 12 months. Under-21s and shifting prescriptions are usually turned away, or treated with caution.
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Dry eye is very common at first
Almost everyone has dry eye for weeks after LASIK, and it usually settles by six months. SMILE and PRK tend to be kinder to the tear film than LASIK.
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Night halos and starbursts
Halos around lights are common in the first few weeks. Modern wavefront-optimised and topography-guided profiles have made this much better than the older lasers of the 2000s.
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Undercorrection, overcorrection, regression
A small residual prescription is possible, and 3–8% of eyes need an enhancement. It is a normal part of the pathway, not a complication.
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Flap complications (LASIK only)
Buttonholes, incomplete flaps, dislocation, epithelial ingrowth. Uncommon with an experienced femtosecond surgeon, and the reason surface ablation is used for contact sports.
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Corneal haze (PRK / LASEK)
A cloudy layer that can form during surface-ablation healing. Mitomycin-C use and modern regimens have made it rare.
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Post-refractive ectasia (rare, worst-case)
A progressive corneal bulge months or years later — the reason topography screening is so thorough. With modern screening the risk is very low, but never zero.
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Infection under 0.1%, permanent visual loss extremely rare
Sight-threatening infection is well under 1 in 1,000. Permanent loss of best-corrected vision is under 1 in 10,000 — but honesty demands we name it.
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Red flags
Sudden worsening of vision, severe pain, discharge, or a flap that feels displaced are not normal — call the clinic or ophthalmology A&E the same day.
Reading your operation note
Your operation note in four parts. Read the last one first.
Whichever platform was used, the note the surgeon sends you keeps to the same shape.
A quiet reminder
Refractive-surgery language is precise and can read coldly — we translate it for you.
If you would like us to talk you through the note before your review, just ask.
- 01 Header
Indication and platform chosen
Which prescription was treated (sphere, cylinder, axis) and which platform — LASIK, SMILE, PRK or PRESBYOND — was used and why.
- 02 Technique
Femtosecond and excimer parameters
Flap thickness or lenticule depth, ablation depth, optical zone, residual stromal bed. The numbers that matter if you ever need enhancement.
- 03 Findings
Topography, pachymetry, endothelium
Pentacam readings before and after, corneal thickness, endothelial cell count. The screening numbers that ruled you in.
- 04 Impression
Drops schedule, activity, review dates
Read this first: the drop regimen, when you can shower, drive, swim and exercise, and the day-1 / week-1 / month-1 / month-3 review dates.
Recognised by major UK insurers
Elective laser vision correction is almost always self-pay — most UK insurers exclude refractive surgery unless it corrects an underlying medical condition. We confirm cover before booking.
Frequently asked
Everything we get asked about laser eye surgery.
Quick answers on candidacy, LASIK vs SMILE vs PRK, cost, recovery and the real risks.
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Am I a candidate for laser eye surgery?
Usually yes if you are 21 or over, your prescription has been stable for at least 12 months, your cornea is thick enough with normal topography, and your prescription sits within about −10D to +5D sphere and up to 5D cylinder. Keratoconus or forme fruste keratoconus on topography is an absolute no. Pregnancy or breastfeeding means we wait.
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LASIK vs SMILE vs PRK — which is best?
None is universally best. LASIK gives the fastest recovery and treats the widest range. SMILE is flap-free, gentler on the tear film and suits higher myopia. PRK / LASEK is best for thin corneas, contact sport and the military. A proper workup — not marketing — decides which one is right for you.
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Is SMILE the same as excimer laser surgery?
Not quite. SMILE uses only a femtosecond laser — no excimer. LASIK and PRK / LASEK use the excimer laser to reshape the cornea. We include SMILE on this page because patients choose between them together, but it is technically a lenticule extraction rather than an ablation.
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How much does private laser eye surgery cost in the UK?
Roughly £3,200–£4,800 for PRK / LASEK, £3,800–£6,500 for LASIK, £4,500–£6,500 for SMILE, and £4,800–£6,800 for PRESBYOND. That is both eyes, all follow-ups and any enhancement within the first 12 months. Cheaper £595-per-eye headlines almost always exclude the workup, follow-ups and enhancements.
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Does laser eye surgery hurt?
The procedure itself is painless — you feel pressure and see lights, nothing more. Afterwards LASIK and SMILE feel gritty for a few hours; PRK is genuinely sore for 3–5 days while the epithelium regrows, controlled with drops and simple painkillers.
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How soon can I drive and go back to work?
After LASIK or SMILE most people drive the next day and are back at a desk within 24–48 hours. After PRK / LASEK, plan on 5–7 days off — vision is blurry until the epithelium heals. No swimming for two weeks, no eye makeup for one week.
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What are the real risks?
Dry eye (very common, usually settles by six months), night halos, small under- or over-correction (3–8% need enhancement), epithelial ingrowth after LASIK, corneal haze after PRK, and — rarely — post-refractive ectasia. Sight-threatening infection is under 1 in 1,000; permanent loss of best-corrected vision is under 1 in 10,000.
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Will laser surgery fix my reading vision after 45?
Standard laser corrects distance vision only. For presbyopia the Zeiss PRESBYOND laser blended vision protocol treats one eye slightly for near — most people adapt within a few weeks. Lens-based refractive surgery (RLE) is the alternative if your prescription is too high or the cataract clock is already ticking.
Related tests
Looking for something else?
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Corneal cross-linking
The correct pathway when topography shows keratoconus.
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Cornea transplant
For advanced corneal disease where laser is not an option.
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Deep sclerectomy
A glaucoma surgery — distinct from refractive laser work.
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All tests & procedures
Every test and procedure we arrange.
Learn more