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With 20 years performing vision correction surgery under his belt, Mr Julian Stevens has been a Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon at Moorfields Eye Hospital since 1988.
The good news? Mr Stevens makes the list of the 10 best laser eye surgeons in the UK, based on thousands of patient reviews since 2002. Hundreds of former patients have left positive reviews, praising his surgical skill and caring manner.
Is there anything I should know? You’ve probably already guessed this, but Mr Stevens’s experience and prime London address also makes him one of the most expensive eye surgeons around. As with all Moorfields surgeons, his prices can be double that of competitors.
So is he the one? If you would like a second opinion, you can find the top-rated eye surgery clinic near you using our simple tool here, and book a free consultation with an eye expert to discuss your options.
1. About Mr Julian Stevens
Julian Stevens won a scholarship to study Medicine at Merton College, University of Oxford, where he was then awarded a Postmaster scholarship. He graduated top of his year in 1980 and was awarded the Oxford University Prize in Medicine for the top First Class Honours Degree.
He continued his clinical medical training at Clare College, University of Cambridge and at the Cambridge Medical School. Higher training was undertaken at the Oxford Eye Hospital and Moorfields Eye Hospital, London.
2. Training
After completing his general ophthalmic surgical training, Mr Stevens undertook two years of sub-specialist training, with Fellowships in Lens, Corneal and then Refractive Surgery at Moorfields Eye Hospital.
Mr Stevens was appointed as Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon at Moorfields Eye Hospital in January 1996. His main interest is laser refractive surgery.
He has been involved in the development and application of wavefront refractive surgery and has personally performed over 10,000 wavefront procedures. Mr Stevens was the first Director of Refractive Surgery at Moorfields Eye Hospital.
3. Qualifications
Mr Stevens joins Professor David Gartry in being one of the UK’s most qualified eye surgeons. He is an examiner for the Royal College of Ophthalmologists and holds the Certification of the Royal College in Laser Refractive Surgery. He is an advisor to the British Society for Refractive Surgery and is on the Board of the International Society of Refractive Surgery.
He has won prizes from both the American and the European Societies of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons. He is the recipient of the 2007 American Academy of Ophthalmology (ISRS/ AAO) Lans award for innovation in refractive surgery.
Internationally recognised as an expert opinion leader, Mr Stevens has published peer reviewed papers on refractive surgery and is regularly invited to deliver keynote lectures at national and international ophthalmic meetings.
Mr Stevens trains Ophthalmic Surgeons in advanced refractive and cataract surgery. He founded the Moorfields basic and advanced IntraLASIK courses and the Moorfields wavefront training course for Ophthalmic Surgeons.
4. Patient Reviews
“My husband and I had lens replacement by Mr Stevens last year, and are both thrilled with our results. After years of wearing glasses, we feel liberated from them from the moment we wake up. I would personally recommend Mr Stevens, and would not hesitate to refer any of my family to see him when the necessity arises for them to seek eye treatment.” – June Clayton
“I had LASIK in 2005, performed by Mr Julian Stevens at Moorfields Eye Hospital. I have absolutely fantastic vision and it stills shocks me just how well I can see. The procedure was quick and painless, and Mr Stevens and his team made me feel at ease throughout the whole process.” – Rosie
“Mr Stevens was fairly brief in his pre-op time given for discussion but you could say, efficient and utterly knowledgeable. His junior doctors were not so well informed and one lady even fobbed me off with false information. His receptionists (especially Janet – a star) were much better informed. Overall I received all the answers I needed (I was annoyingly inquisitive) but had the sense that as a customer of an expensive and commercial procedure, time for chat was necessarily not huge. Delighted with the results.” – Andrew James
5. Prices
As you would expect at Moorfields Private, Mr Stevens does not come cheap.
Laser refractive surgery costs twice the quotes at other leading UK clinics, although the prices for lens replacement surgery are only around a third more, given the higher base cost of the lens itself.
- Consultation: £150 – £600
- Wavefront laser refractive surgery: £4,370 – £4,970
- Refractive lens surgery: £3,825 – £4,430 (per eye)
- Cataract surgery cost: £3,825 – £4,430 (per eye)
Unlike at many other clinics, initial consultations with Mr Stevens are not free – you’ll be paying between £150 and £600, depending on the surgery you’re interested in. If you would prefer to have the option to pay monthly for your surgery, it’s worth looking around, as Moorfields will need the full payment up front. At Optical Express or Ultralase, for instance, you could pay around £50 a month for two years.
6. The Verdict
So, is Mr Stevens the right eye surgeon for you? Of course, that all depends on where you live, and what you’re looking for. His prices are some of the highest in the industry, but he can also justify them, as one of the UK’s most qualified surgeons.
You’d be in trusted hands with Mr Stevens. That said, with eye surgery considered a safe elective surgery by the General Medical Council (GMC), no one should feel obliged to spend any more than they are comfortable with. You can always attend free consultations with a range of surgeons to see where you feel most comfortable.
☝ To find a top-rated laser eye surgery clinic near you, just click here to use our simple quote tool, and receive a tailored match and quote from a clinic you can trust.
Mr Julian Stevens Reviews
Testimonials
I had lasik eye surgery back in Oct 2013, but decided to wait until now to provide my feedback. I am pleased to say that my only regret was not to have the surgery sooner. Mr Stevens and his team were very professional and were very good at making me feel at ease and answering all the questions I had.
My sight went from -2.75 & -2.50 to +0.25 in both eyes (20/10 vision), since the surgery there has been little change, and I have experienced no lasting side effects. Mr Stevens is a leading specialist in this field which led me to him in the first place, I would be happy to recommend Mr Stevens and his team to anyone considering lasik eye surgery and I have been very pleased with the results.
I had an extremely disappointing experience with Optical Express before using Julian Stevens that I would urge anyone, most particularly those with a high prescription, to read.
I was a minus 10. A friend of mine with a far lower prescription had used Optical Express with success several years ago. As they do a free consultation, I went there. I figured that with their commoditised process, with tests fitting pre-identified parameters, it would be easy for them to tell if my eyes were suitable or not. So I went. Optical Express said I was suitable for Lasik surgery. I had to wait several weeks for a surgery date as I was wearing hard lenses and my eyes needed to adapt. Several weeks on, and with building excitement, I was told that my eyes were ready and a date was set.
On the day of surgery itself, on the final test, I was told that the surgery couldn’t go ahead. There was a problem on the final machine test. I waited to see a surgeon, for the very first time, who, I was told, would explain this extremely disappointing outcome (an understatement as a minus 10!). The surgeon, Jonathan Carr, told me it wasn’t the end of the world and that no one had died. That despite the several weeks of prior tests, he considered that my prescription wasn’t suited to laser eye surgery at all, and that even if I did have it, I would probably need several attempts to get perfect sight, which may anyway not be possible, depending on the amount of certain eye tissue I had, and that even if I did, most likely I would be left with such bad halos around lights, particularly at night, I wouldn’t be able to drive, or would need special glasses. To be told I could have it and then, months later, that I couldn’t, on the day of surgery was devastating.
Optical Express’ business model cannot deal with high prescriptions and the surgeons are not qualified to operate on high prescriptions. The surgeon was wrong. I consequently went to Julian Stevens at Moorfields who was absolutely excellent and who I cannot recommend highly enough. I had been urged to go there first by several, far cleverer friends than me who had undertaken proper research as to who was best in the market. Julian operated on my eyes a month later and they are perfect. No halos, just perfect sight. No need for further treatment, no nothing. The aftercare is far better than Optical Express. The experience was exemplary. Excellent staff, every single one of them, warm, friendly, caring and Julian himself is exceptional.
What I have since realised, after careful thought as to why I had such a fundamentally different experience across the two, is that if you are a surgeon who only undertakes Lasik operations, your experience is actually extremely limited. But Julian is a proper eye surgeon. He mend eyes damaged in wars. He knows his stuff. Minus 10 on a healthy eye is, therefore, easy compared to a scarred cornea that has made someone blind (a person Julian recently operated on who ended up seeing again and rejoining his mates in the army). Julian really takes responsibility for your eyes too. He told me he would give me fantastic vision, and he has. The other place shied away as soon as it looked a little difficult.
On top of this skill and care, the post-op eye care drugs he provides are the best in the world. And, to boot, it was cheaper than Optical Express! (On a boring note, I then had to fight Optical Express for several weeks to get my money back.) I have of course left a review for Optical Express on my experience and it goes without saying that of it will not be published because they choose not to use an independent site, like this one. Unlike Julian, who gave me only this address to leave a review. Shame on them. Julian Stevens rocks. Use him.
Julian Stevens has literally changed my life! I was reliant on glasses and contact lenses for over 18 years. My vision before surgery was -2.75 & -3.00 but now (3 months later) it’s perfect 20/20. Julian and his team made me feel extremely confident, comfortable and at ease about the whole process and even though I felt anxious on the day of surgery it was over in a flash and Julian made me feel safe – I trusted that he was the best person to be performing the surgery. My partner said that by the time he had listened to 2 songs on his ipod I was in and out. I had extremely dry eyes for the first week after the procedure as I have large Cornea’s but I knew what to expect and I knew I could call Julian’s team at any point if I was worried about anything. I can now run, swim, practice yoga and ski with out being reliant on glasses. I have also noticed the most beautiful tree out of my bedroom window for the first time :) I would highly recommend Julian and his team, you’ll be in the best possible hands.
I could not have had a better surgeon taking care of my eyes than Julian Stevens – he made me feel comfortable, relaxed and above all excited about the prospect of gaining perfect eyesight under his care. He took the time to make sure I had an answer to every one of my queries and has been absolutely brilliant and hands on from day one. I would not have entrusted my eyesight with anyone else. I cannot thank him enough!
I received the best care possible from Mr Stevens from my first consultation through to the follow up meetings after my surgery. I was quite nervous about going ahead as I had an uncomfortable eye allergy for about a year that no other Doctor was able to help me with – Mr Stevens helped to alleviate my condition immensely.Each consultation and meeting was thorough and professional and you are made to feel at ease. Straight after my first consultation I decided with confidence to have the surgery and it truly was the best decision I made. Mr Stevens has a wealth of knowledge and expertise and he immediately reassured me, leaving me with no doubts. The surgery itself was amazing, it lasted about 20 minutes, whilst you see what’s going on, you feel no pain, just a little discomfort and as soon as it was over, I was able to see so much more clearly. My prescription was -3, I now have excellent 20/20 vision and would absolutely, highly recommend Mr Stevens and his team.