1. Review of Advanced Vision Care
Advanced Vision Care (AVC) is an independent surgeon-led clinic founded in 2003 by Mr Pillai on Harley Street, London. With no affiliation with any manufacturers, you should be able to count on treatment that’s best suited to your needs.
AVC’s Medical Director and lead surgeon, Mr Pillai, has nearly three decades of ophthalmic experience and is one of the few surgeons to have fellowships for both refractive laser surgery and cornea treatment. Patients even enjoy the benefit of speaking to Mr Pillai during the initial consultation, and can look forward to a stress-free aftercare plan, including any retreatment if necessary.
What makes AVC different? This clinic prides itself on being able to treat any eye prescription using a wide mix of treatments, meaning it may just be able to help you, even if other clinics have turned your down. Its patients also give this clinic the thumbs up, leaving hundreds of positive reviews on our site over the years.
- AVC tailors treatments to its customers’ specific visual needs.
- You can receive eye care from a small team of eye experts, each with 25 years of experience.
- Laser and non-laser treatments sit under one roof, for customer convenience.
Is there anything else I should know? As you’d expect, cutting-edge eye surgery on Harley Street comes at a price, and this time it’s higher on average than you’ll find at some of the other top-rated eye clinics dotted around the UK. And unless you happen to live in central London, there may not be a clinic near you.
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2. Treatments
Advanced Vision Care specialises in laser as well as non-laser vision correction treatments, including all the usual suspects: LASIK, LASEK, implantable contact lenses (ICL surgery), lens replacement surgery, cataract surgery and keratoconus treatment.
- Advanced Wavefront LASIK / LASEK – Highly accurate laser surgery for those with thin eye surfaces or active lifestyles.
- Phototherapeutic Keratectomy (PTK) – Therapy for treating long-term eye conditions.
- Implantable Contact Lens (EVO Visian ICL) – Suitable for patients with complex eye prescriptions, thin corneas or dry eyes.
- Lens Replacement (Refractive Lens Exchange) – Eye surgery for those over 40 with a reading prescription.
- Cataract Surgery – Removes cloudy lenses, and replaces them with artificial clear ones.
- Corneal Implants – Reshape irregular eye shapes to make contact lenses more comfortable.
As is standard with eye surgery clinics, all AVC treatments come with a 12 month aftercare package, which includes: regular check-ups, 24-hour eye expert support line, and post-op medication for the first month.
In the unlikely event that you require eye surgery enhancement, any laser fine tuning or YAG laser capsule thickening removal (following cataract treatment) is available at no extra cost.
3. Technology
Advanced Vision Care was the first clinic in the UK to house the complete Alcon Refractive Suite, which it claims is the safest non-laser technology in the country. It creates a personalised treatment plan that starts with a Verion Image Guided system in your first consultation, and continues throughout the surgery with devices that ensure superior visualisation.
The laser eye surgery treatment is also advanced. The femtosecond Intralase 5F Laser works blade-free by using pulses of harmless light to create a corneal flap, and the Bausch Teneo 317 Excimer Laser takes just 3 to 5 seconds to correct your vision.
What’s more, the highly accurate Advanced Wavefront technology is included in all laser treatments as standard, and an Eye Tracking System tracks eye movements, so you don’t need to worry about blinking during the procedure.
4. Advanced Vision Care Prices
AVC has some of the most reasonable payment options out there. It’s not the cheapest – high street clinics such as Optical Express and Ultralase take the crown for cost – but the free consultation, fixed prices, and flexible interest free finances all help their treatments work around you.
Is it worth paying more? Of course, that’s for you to decide. But to give you an idea of the prices, laser eye surgery at AVC costs £2,100 (per eye), compared to well-reviewed alternatives such as Optical Express and AccuVision which come in at around half that on average.
| Eye Surgery Procedure | Price (per eye) | Finance Options (per month) |
|---|---|---|
| Advanced Wavefront LASIK | £2,100 | £66.67 (24 months, 0% APR) |
| Phototherapeutic Keratectomy (PTK) | £2,100 | £66.67 (24 months, 0% APR) |
| ICL Surgery (Simple Lens) | £3,450 – £3,750 | £122.22 – £138.89 (18 months, 0% APR) |
| ICL Surgery (Specialist Lens) | £4,150 | £161.11 (18 months, 0% APR) |
| Monofocal lens surgery | £3,150 – £3,450 | £105.56 – 122.22 (18 months, 0% APR) |
| Multifocal lens surgery | £3,750 – £4,050 | £138.89 – £155.56 (18 months, 0% APR) |
| Keratoconus Treatment | £2,150 – £2,450 | £91.67 – £108.33 (18 months, 0% APR) |
Are there finance options?
Yes, AVC has partnered with Hitachi Finance to offer flexible payment plans, meaning you can pay the full cost of eye surgery in bite-size monthly installments.
For example, you could pay for laser eye surgery in chunks of £66.67 a month for two years interest free, or £33.59 for 60 months at 9.9% APR. That’s generous – most clinics require 11% APR, and only the first year at 0% interest.
Does medical insurance cover the surgery costs at AVC?
Yes, AVC is an accredited provider of ophthalmic surgery for many of the UK’s leading insurance companies, including:
- Allianz
- AVIVA
- AXA PPP
- BUPA and BUPA International
- Cigna
- Simply Health
As always, you’ll need to confirm how you would like to pay before booking your surgery, both with your chosen clinic and your medical insurer.
Read more: Laser eye surgery costs explained
5. AVC Review: The Verdict
Advanced Vision Care consistently receives a five-star rating from hundreds of patients, which is why this clinic makes it to our list of the best laser eye surgery clinics in the UK.
With in-depth consultations providing an honest assessment of whether eye surgery is right for you, Advanced Vision Care also takes the prize for being one of the top places for laser eye surgery in London.
☝ Is Advanced Vision Care for you? To see if there is a better reviewed laser eye surgery clinic near you, just hit here to use our simple quote tool, and get a tailored quote from a clinic you can trust.
Surgeons
Advanced Vision Care Reviews
al kirk
great clinic
Guy Harris
You cannot really improve your service it was excellent and I would recommend you to any of my friends. Thank you
Lee Hutchings
Right from the start at my initial consultation the levels of care & attention was outstanding. This continued throughout my treatment as a result of the laser eye surgery I already seen an incredible difference in my sight, that’s just over a week after surgery (after 1 day i was 2 lines above driving standards-amazing!). I’d have no hesitation in recommending Advance VisionCare-Dr Pillai and his entire team to any of my friends. This has been without a doubt one of the best and exciting things I’ve done in my life. Thank you all!
Anita Wales
Everyone was great and informed me well of my suitability and the treatment itself. I did go for a few other consultations with other competitors but felt Advance VisionCare offered a more individual service while remaining professional and relaxed. After the day of the surgery I panicked a bit as my eye sight worse, this was explained over the phone as normal when I phoned for reassurance. My eyesight soon got better and apart from being dry is nearly as it should be only a week after surgery. I certainly recommend it and coming to Advance VisionCare.
Bernadette Faulkner
Mr prescription prior to laser treatment was -1.25 -1.50 in the right eye and -1.50 -0.50 in the left eye. I found all the staff members extremely helpful and informative during my initial consultation. The pre-consultation checks were thorough and informative. On the day of the surgery every effort was made to ensure I felt at ease and given how nervous I was this was greatly appreciated. Despite my concerns the actual procedure was amazingly easy. The whole procedure lasted less than 15 minutes and I was not either uncomfortable or in pain at any point. The week following my eyes quickly recovered and by the fourth day I could see as well as I could with my prescription. Thank you to everyone at Advance VisionCare. I thoroughly recommend this clinic and Mr Pillai.
Mary Saban
I was totally impressed with the service and would not hesitate to recommend anyone to yourselves. From reception to treatment all of your staff are excellent. Many thanks Mary
ANNETTE LOVELL
Very informative and although nervous, the staff at Harley Street and at the Hospital, were excellent at putting you at ease and were very professional, at all times. I would not hesitate in recommending the procedure at Advance Visioncare and would gladly go through it all again. My prescription was +5.25 in my right eye with additional +2.00 for reading and +7.00 in my left eye with additional +2.00 for reading. Since the surgery, it is unbelievable to be able to see without the need to put contact lenses every day, with glasses over the top for reading and for my work which involved using computer Monday-Friday. But the best thing for me has been to throw away my ordinary “Jam-Jar” bottom daily glasses. Absolute Heaven!
Stuart Rudge
Although all of the options and treatments were explained to me during my initial consultation, I found it a lot of information to take in, although that is more to do with me than the clinic! I found the after-care excellent and also was made very comfortable during the operation. Overall I am very pleased with my experience. There was almost no pain during and after-care the operation, and all of the after-care advice has been very easy to follow. Thank you very much!
Elizabeth Butters
First contact with the clinic was Lela whose manner and efficiency was welcoming and reassuring. On attendance at the clinic all staff were friendly, answered any questions thoroughly and I felt very confident about the procedure and the outcome, despite my prescription being quite high, right eye -8.50 -1.25 and left eye -9.00 -0.50. On the day of surgery after my pre-op checks my surgery was done. It was not at all painful and was over quickly. I suffered no problems and did not feel any particular discomfort afterwards. I can highly recommend both the procedure and the clinic. I wore contact lenses all the time before and the freedom and change from that routine is fantastic!
Mark Craig
A totally professional experience throughout, from consultation to treatment in 24 hours, with all aspects of treatment explained as clearly as possible. Nearly 30 years of short sight fixed in one weekend by some very nice people! Thanks.
Louisa Clarke
The whole process was very re-assuring; I’d heard horror stories of conveyer belt laser surgery at other high street clinics. AVC is not that. Very individual car which lasts 18 months after treatment. I was also very reassured to learn Mr Pillai had performed one of the laser technicians daughters.
