Laser Eye Surgery cost survey

You can’t put a price on your eyesight.

Nevertheless, the cost is a huge and unavoidable factor in our choice of Laser Eye Surgery treatment and clinic.

So we get stuck in a battle between finding the best deal and getting a high level of treatment and care. We consider everything from the high street Laser Eye Surgery providers that charge as little as £395 per eye, right up to the independent and private clinics that charge as much as £3250 per eye.

With such a big gap between the higher and lower end of the market, how much is great treatment actually worth? Would I be compromising my vision by going with a high street provider? Or would I be paying through the nose by choosing an independent clinic?

To answer these questions, we need to have a look at the factors that influence the cost of Laser Eye Surgery. Using this list you’ll be equipped to assess any price, offer, or deal you come across and make a well-informed decision on the fairness and value of the clinic.

The four big factors that affect the price of Laser Eye Surgery

Just like in the pricing of any other service, there a numerous factors that come in to play. In the case of Laser Eye Surgery, they range from the prescription and location to the clinic’s individual results and the time of the year. Here we’re going to focus on a few of the main factors that affect fees, resulting in the diverse mix of high and low prices.

Prescription

Some clinics have different prices for different prescriptions such as long-sightedness (hyperopia), short-sightedness (myopia), astigmatism and ageing eyes (Presbyopia). As clinics often use the price of their cheapest treatment in advertising, you may pay more for your prescription type.

Other clinics, however, have one fixed price for all standard prescriptions. This is because each requires similar treatment processes. It’s important to note though if you have a higher prescription, paying a higher fee is justified due to the extra screening and planning involved.

Treatment

This is no doubt one of the biggest factors that affect the price of Laser Eye Surgery. Whether you opt for PRK(LASEK), LASIK, or ReLEx SMILE, you’ll most likely be paying a different price.

But things get a little more complicated as some clinics offer other treatments with flashy names to generate marketing hype. For example UltraLASIK, Zyoptix and Custom LASIK to name a few. These are variations of standard treatments which include additional features like Intralase or wavefront technology. Intralase is simply a name for one of the machines that performs LASIK surgery, while wavefront is a method for mapping marginal irregularities in the vision. Such terms are used to help push new marketing campaigns when in reality a clinic’s LASIK treatment should include everything you need.

Technology

Keeping up with the rapidly advancing technology of Laser Eye Surgery isn’t cheap. And thus you’re likely to pay a little bit more for treatments at clinics that use the very latest safety and surgical equipment. Normally clinics are happy to give you information on the technology they use, which you can then use to do your own research if necessary.

Business Model

The Laser Eye Surgery market consists of three main types of businesses: large high street providers, private hospitals, and independent clinics. The former work on a high-volume-low-cost model which means their priority is to make as many sales as possible to ensure they earn a profit. This can often result in—as shown in the recent Which? investigation—an unsatisfactory standard of care and poor results.

The latter two work towards the higher end of the market, charging more for each treatment and investing more in their clinic and care for patients at an individual level. This means they can employ expert surgeons, a larger staff, spend more time with patients, offer aftercare regimes, and overall achieve higher patient satisfaction and results.

Take these crucial factors into consideration when searching for a Laser Eye Surgery Clinic, and you‘re sure to pay no more than you need to for great care, treatment, and of course results.

If you’d like to book a consultation at London Vision Clinic, or find out more about the costs of Laser Eye Surgery, leave us a comment or give us a call us on 020 7224 1005.