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Optical Express has grown to become one of Europe’s leading providers of laser eye surgery. It operates over 200 clinics, of which 100 are specifically designated laser consultation clinics and 54 are laser treatment clinics.
With locations throughout the UK, Holland, Germany, Ireland, France and Croatia, Optical Express has carried out over one million laser eye surgery procedures worldwide. What’s more, over 99% of patients would recommend Optical Express to their friends and family.
Pros: Value for money, caring surgeons, 128 UK clinics, latest technology, dedicated aftercare
Cons: No fixed prices (talk to them for a quote)
☝ Compare clinics: See if there are any other top-rated clinics near you, and use our simple tool to receive a personalised quote.
- Optical Express Laser Eye Surgery Review
- Prices
- Treatments
- The Verdict
- Surgeon Reviews
- 1,806 Patient Reviews
1. Optical Express Laser Eye Surgery Review
I’m very happy with my laser treatment. There’s nothing to worry about – there’s no pain, and I would recommend it to anybody. The aftercare at Optical Express is also very good. I just wish i had done it years ago. – Philip Lavelle
Optical Express uses world leading technology, and their laser platform – the VISX S4IR – delivers safe, accurate and precise results. Fun fact: Optical Express is the only vision correction provider to invest in the iFS150 intraLASE in each of its clinics – the same technology that led to NASA backing laser eye surgery for astronauts in 2007.
Over 99% of Optical Express patients achieved 20/20 vision or better following treatment, according to a study carried out in June 2017.
With over 25 years’ experience in eye care, Optical Express boasts excellent surgical outcomes, and has invested £400 million in technology to offer advanced methods for vision correction.
Optical Express has 128 clinics in the UK alone – far more than any other eye surgery provider. Its locations include London, Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, Glasgow, Edinburgh, and Dublin, with many more situated in all corners of the country.
Here is how nearly 2,000 real customers rate Optical Express for its clinic, cost, treatments and surgeons:
| Optical Express Rating Overall | Clinic Rating | Cost Rating | Surgeon Rating | Treatments Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (4.6 out of 5) | (4.5 out of 5) | (4.8 out of 5) | (4.5 out of 5) | (4.7 out of 5) |
CQC Rating: Good
- Treating people with respect and involving them in their care
- Providing care, treatment and support that meets people’s needs
- Caring for people’s safely and protecting them from harm
- Staffing
- Quality and suitability of management
2. Optical Express Laser Eye Surgery Cost
True, it was an expensive operation, but I spent £500 a year on contact lenses and optician appointments – I see it as an investment! – Dave Reyner
(4.8 out of 5)
Laser eye surgery at Optical Express costs from just £595, or from £1,995 for lens replacement surgery. Of course, these prices depend on the treatment you choose, as well as your prescription, so you’ll want to pop in for a free consultation to get a tailored quote.
Optical Express is one of the cheapest laser eye surgery clinics in the UK. Its prices are well below average, compared to over 70 leading eye clinics and hospitals nationwide.
There are also a range of pay monthly finance options, so you can benefit from eye surgery for less than £50 a month – and it’s 0% finance for 10 month contracts.
Are there any hidden costs? No, the consultation is free, and you even get free eye tests worth £800. The only downside is not having fixed prices like at Optegra and Optimax, but at least the costs are lower at the end of the day.
Here are the prices of some of Optical Express’ popular lens and laser surgery options:
| Eye Surgery Procedure | Price (per eye) | Finance Options (per month) |
|---|---|---|
| LASEK | From £595 | £49.50 (10 months on 0% APR, £100 deposit) |
| LASIK | From £1,195 | £42.02 (for 18 months on 11.5% APR, £500 deposit) |
| LASEK (with iDesign) | From £1,495 | £41.69 (for 24 months on 11.5% APR, £500 deposit) |
| LASIK (with iDesign) | From £1,495 | £46.35 (for 24 months on 11.5% APR, £500 deposit) |
| Monofocal lens surgery | From £1,995 | £48.89 (for 36 months on 11.5% APR, £500 deposit) |
| Multifocal lens surgery | From £3,195 | £47.39 (for 72 months on 11.5% APR, £500 deposit) |
| Phakic IOL | From £3,395 | £47.39 (for 72 months on 11.5% APR, £500 deposit) |
| YAG | From £595 | N/A |
☛ Want a tailored quote? The only way to compare exact quotes is to see an eye expert for a check-up. These can cost up to £250, but with our simple tool, you can find out how much laser or lens surgery will cost you at Optical Express for free.
3. Laser Eye Surgery Treatments
Fantastic! I am so pleased I has the treatment – playing sports is so much easier! All the staff were very helpful, reassuring, and happy answering my questions. I’ll definitely be recommending Optical Express to everyone, their service is excellent! – Stephanie Yeadon
(4.7 out of 5)
Laser Eye Surgery
Laser eye surgery is a simple procedure that can correct your vision in a matter of minutes. Optical Express offers the most popular types: LASIK and LASEK (if you are not suitable for the surgical LASIK).
In both treatments, a cool beam advanced laser reshapes the cornea (the surface of your eye). Optical Express uses a technology called iDesign, which is based on Wavefront technology and takes thousands of eye measurements to produce the best results.
Lens Replacement
Optical Express has 20 years’ experience in lens replacement surgery. This surgery is a popular treatment for people with long distance vision, short distance vision, and even cataracts.
An eye consultant can help you decide which surgery best suits your needs:
- Refractive lens exchange (RLE) – This surgery replaces the natural lens with a synthetic intraocular lens (IOL) implant.
- Phakic IOL – This type of IOL is an alternative to laser eye surgery for patients with strong prescriptions.
- YAG laser treatment – YAG laser capsulotomy is a non-invasive procedure used to treat refractive former lens exchange patients whose vision starts to fade over the years.
Cataract Surgery
Optical Express performs the highest number of cataract surgeries – after the NHS, according to its website.
Cataracts are small, blurry patches on your eyes, giving you cloudy vision. Cataract surgery involves removing your damaged lens, and replacing it with a premium synthetic one for sharper near and distance vision.
Aftercare
Optical Express custom-fits its aftercare plan to every patient. This plan includes any medication that will aid the healing process, optometrist-led follow-up appointments, and an out-of-hours medical helpline.
Patients receive 12 months’ continued care as standard, and Optical Express recommends annual examinations to maintain your eye health.
Safety Record
All surgical procedures carry a degree of risk. However, laser eye surgery has an impressive success rate, and is the most popular elective surgery in the world.
99.2% of patients achieved at least 20|20 vision following surgery at Optical Express, based on a study of 190,231 Optical Express patients with the most common prescriptions. That’s why this eye clinic promises 20|20 vision or your money back.
Just be aware that the risks increase the more complicated the surgery. Optical Express will provide a screening service to check whether you are suitable for surgical treatment.
4. The Verdict
I can highly recommend Optical Express. They are very professional, and the procedure was pain free. The best thing now is I can see very well without glasses – and it was only done 3 weeks ago. – Elaine Gibson
(4.6 out of 5)
Optical Express is the best voted place for laser and lens replacement surgery, based on nearly 9,000 independent reviews on Lasik Eyes since 2002. With hard-to-beat prices, leading technology, and fully qualified surgeons, this clinic tops the list of best laser eye surgery clinics in the UK, as well as taking the crown for:
- Best eye surgery in London
- Best eye surgery in Scotland
- Best eye surgery in Manchester
- Best eye surgery in Bristol
But is it right for you? The only way to find out is to see if you’re eligible for 20/20 vision or your money back, and to get a tailored quote. That’s why we make it easy to pop in for a free consultation, have free eye tests (worth £800), and talk through your options with an eye expert.
Next steps: Our simple tool helps thousands of readers a day get one step closer to 20/20 sight:
- Find the top clinic in seconds: Answer three questions to be matched with the leading eye clinic in your area
- Check you’re eligible in minutes: Receive a quick call to check you can get surgery (we don’t share your number with anyone else)
- Book a free consultation: Talk to an expert at a clinic you can trust for a free eye test (worth £800) and personalised quote (with no obligation)
☛ Click here to find the best clinic near you, and receive a tailored quote.
Our Testimonials
1,553 reviews written between 2002 and 2021. Sorted by newest first.
Treatments are as each reviewer wrote them. Reviews that don't mention laser or lens surgery only show under All treatments.
No reviews match these filters.
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Surgeon: Ms Susanna Boytha
Date of Surgery: 28th June 2007
Clinic: GlasgowI opted for wavefront intralase, before surgery I only had a small prescription of about -1 in each eye.
At the consultation I was so wound up and scared, once they put the drops into my eyes that make your pupils go big I fainted.
The days leading up to the surgery I almost cancelled about a dozen times, but in the end I was brave and went for it. I was shaking when I was lying on the table, but afterwards I felt I had been worrying and stressing for no reason as the surgery was not that bad. I felt a little discomfort when they put the clamps on but not much and the flaps were done in no time and the laser was not too bad either.
I went for my 24 hour checkup and already my eyes are better than 20-20
My eyes feel a little gritty at times still but Im so glad I went for the surgery, and for anyone out there worying about the acutal day of surgery dont, its not that bad.
Pam
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World Class!! Anyone contemplating Laser eye surgery should without doubt Visit Optical Express.
I have a busy life and i felt that i would have to take a week or so off to have this treatment done.. No way, i was back to work in 1 day, which suited me fine.
I visited the Clinic in Renfield Street Glasgow at 10.00am It was very popular and the atmosphere was great and relaxing as everyone was asking everyone questions, drinking coffee, and generally chilling out reading etc.
It was actually amazing to see patients come out of Laser Eye surgery when you are sitting there, it is like nothing really has happened other than they have been crying, but of course can now see where they are going!!
Dr Teenan, Stewart and his team were without doubt nothing other than perfect. They were calming, very professional and actually filled the very short operation believe it or not with an element of fun!
The operation was completed in a very short period of time with my the team there talking me through every step and letting me know what was happening i felt totally at ease and had no worries.
Once the operation was complete i could most certainly instantly see much better, however a little cloudy and the feeling was like a eyelash in your eye. I will say that at no point do you feel pain, so dont think it is painful, because it is not.
The only painful thing i experienced about it was actually thinking and saying to myself that it was going to be painful! Nonsense! You really cant feel a thing.. Technology and the skill of Dr Teenan is really Excellent. Lots of Eye drops and away we went!
I went home, a friend drove me home and i was advised to sleep, which i did for a period of 6 hours, i woke up put my drops in and went for my dinner! .. Amazing!! Then back to bed with my goggles on…
Next morning i went for check up etc Eyesight was indeed pretty normal, however just a little bit cloudy, but the eye drops fixed that.
This is now 3 weeks later and i have written this (June 28th 2007)and if i could have had it done years ago, i would have never given it a second thought. It has changed my life completely and i can see better than i have ever seen in my life, which helps when you wake up in the morning!
I would recommend Optical Express in a second, the entire journey was flawless and service as i said in my opening statement World Class!
So.. Dont put it off any longer, get it booked in with them now and you will see the difference it makes to your life.
Steven McLeod
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Had surgery yesterday afternoon,Staff were absolutely brillient and today i have 20/20 vision,Clamps were the only thing i worried about and i was told about everything before it happened.Why oh why didnt i have laser treatment sooner.
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I had Lasek Wavefront Surgery at Birmingham on 18th April 2007. The Cost of my surgery was the advertised minimum price of £795 per eye as i had a prescription of -1.5 in each eye. The initial consultation was good, the guy was very friendly and answered all my questions. I had done a lot of research so had already decided that if the price was within my limits i would sign up on the day. They do make you sign the forms when you cant see clearly from the pupil drops which i think is a little unethical! I was clear in my own mind as to what was going to happen and the surgery was totally painless and took less than one minute per eye. Although the surgeon Alex George was not very nice and kept barking at me to stop squirming (easier said than done when you can see a scalpel coming for your eye – which is clamped open!) after surgery and the installation of the bandage lens i was off home. The next five days were very uncomfortable and often painful. i had so much sensitivity to light, i didnt leave the bedroom for the first four days. On day five (the day before my lens came out) things started to settle down. After the lens were removed my sight was very blurry and i had double vision for at least two weeks (which i wasnt told would happen) this made life a bit difficult at work as i couldnt focus for long. After two months everything had settled down and apart from dry eyes (which i have two sets of drops for) everything is perfect, two lines above 20/20. The customer service at Optical Express is not the best, they take a long time to answer queries / telephone calls and sometimes dont bother at all but despite the a bit of lax customer service and a very grumpy surgeon i would recommend this to anyone. I can see properly now and in all the things that really matter optical express did a good job.
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In reply to the person who was considering having a retreatment, I have done this and it went very well. I initially had lasik wavefront to treat a -4 and -4.5 prescription. Surgeon Wayne Crewe-Brown. Unfortunately I had to have both eyes relifted (the flaps) and smoothed out after a week because they had wrinkles in – it does happen and is just bad luck. This had occurred after my 24 hour check up! It did freak me out completely but actually was not half as bad as the original surgery because they didn't have to clamp my eyes open quite as far, and because they didn't have to use any suction as they weren't making a new cut. (For anybody thinking about saving a bit of money, I would definitely have had the intralase and hang the expense if it had been on offer when I had the op last summer). Anyway, at my three month check I was finding vision had deteriorated, and they said I had got some astigmatism due to irregular healing (one eye worse than the other). Six months post surgery I had a retreatment booked in, but the acceptance form is horrendous as the risks are higher, so beware of the awful things you will have to read. However, the surgeon said only one of my eyes was worth treating, and showed my by covering up that the other was pretty good really. This made me a lot happier as I would only be taking the risk on one eye. He said we could always look at the other one later. What was really reassuring was he didn't seem to be considering any sales pitch or financial interest, but was purely interested in my welfare and my final vision. He has been doing the thing for fifteen years. Anyway the retreatment was really easy and much less frightening than before. It went really well and no problems lifting the flap. He talked my through it. Interestingly even though i had only one eye treated, both eyes were dry and needed wetting drops for the next three months – I asked and apparently you can't have only one dry eye – the other will always come out in sympathy…. ANyway, final result is that one year post my first surgery I have 20 20 vision, can read all but the very tiny line at the bottom that hardly anyone can read, and am very very happy. It is still healing and getting better (still a bit of dry eye) but I would never never go back in spite of having had a few hiccups. Just a couple of bits of advice: In view of my retreatment and re-visits, don't have it done abroad! Also, don't book any essential stuff in the first couple of weeks after (you might have a complication like i did) and do spend the money on the intralase. Good luck.