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.
☝ Compare clinics: See if there are any other top-rated clinics near you, and use our simple tool to receive a personalised quote.
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
Fran Ball
Superb service, attention. I knew what to expect down to the last detail. Wish they had an aftercare consultant in Isle Of Man as I have to keep flying over, and it' is expensive. Highly recommend anyone to come to this clinic - don't risk any other ( supposedly cheaper one ) - your eyes are worth the best!
Private
At two months post op, I am extremely happy with the results. I see very clearly without any haze or glare although I had LASEK surgery.
Jamie McRobb
Made a life changing procedure into a routine experience. Excellent service throughout.
Sally Cleaves
I am absolutely delighted with the service supplied by Advance VisionCare. After a dreadful experience at Optical express (they said I was LASEK) I was apprehensive about laser surgery. The whole experience has been fantastic. I have had no pain or discomfort and have better eye sight then I hoped for. The team are excellent- Thank you! Since my surgery I have convinced my husband, work colleagues who have also undergone surgrey.
Colin Greenslade
My eyesight started to deteriorate around the age of 7. It rapidly got worse and I found myself with a prescription of -7.5 in my right eye and -8.75 in my left eye. The last time I had my eyes tested was in 2000 because I was fed up with having ever thicker high index lenses. My prescription was worse than this by the time I had treatment. I had investigated the possibility of having laser treatment in 2000 but was informed that my prescription was too high. I was recommended to Advance VisionCare by 2 acquaintances of mine. During my consultation Mr Pillai told me that he didn’t want to give me laser treatment because he couldn’t guarantee that I wouldn’t have to still wear glasses. This was because of the combination of my high prescription and shape of my eyes. I was disappointed but asked if I could have it done anyway as at least I would be able to have ordinary lenses in my glasses. After my first treatment the vision in my right eye improved dramatically and the vision in my left eye also improved substantially. I was already regularly not wearing glasses! After 3 month check up Mr Pillai said he would re-treat not just one but both eyes. My vision is now perfect. I don’t wear or need glasses at all. I am absolutely amazed. After 36 years of never having glasses off it’s like a miracle! All my aftercare has been fantastic, the re-treatment was at no extra cost and, importantly, it’s all carried out by the same person, Mr Pillai, who has an air of total confidence and competence. You may be tempted to shop around-I’ve only got one word of advice-don’t bother! I can’t recommend Advance VisionCare highly enough.
Marc Clark
The service all the way through was excellent and the results were amazing! I would recommend Advance VisionCare to anyone for their professionalism and personal approach to my treatment.
Peter Stocker
Because of my high prescription of -9.5 & -10.0m I did quite some research and consulted several clinics. The diversity of treatments suggested t me raised my doubts whether U should do the treatment. I did more research and started discussing the differences with the surgeons. During this process Mr Pillai convinced me that his treatment will bring the best results. Six weeks after the treatment I am very content with the results, my vision is perfect and I strongly recommend everybody considering a laser treatment to consult Advance VisionCare before making a decision on the clinic.
Catherine Bratt
I would just like to thank everyone at Advance VisionCare for all they have done for me. You helped make me feel relaxed and welcome. I have recommend you to my friends & family.
Ian Kirkwood
All in all it was a first class experience it was disappointing to have to wait for over an hour over my appointment time but I understand you can not rush to make up time. The actual operation went very well. I was kept informed at all times exactly what was happening. The 2 nurses were very good and helped me relax. I also received a telephone call from one of the nurses on the Saturday evening to see if everything was okay. This really impressed me. Great customer service!!
Sue Ferris
The service that I received from Advance VisionCare was outstanding. I felt totally relaxed on my treatment day. The procedure itself was painless and the nurse talked me through it, constantly telling me how much time was remaining, though the laser time for each eye was only 30 seconds. The results are amazing, I can see as well as I ever could with my contact lens. I have had no problems whatsoever, but I had every confidence in Mr Pillai, that even if I had it would not have bee anything that I could not have been corrected. I would not hesitate in recommending Advance VisionCare to anyone, quite frankly I wouldn’t go anywhere else.
