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
J Angles
Mr Pillai was very professional and did not try to make false promises or hoodwink you. The clinic was the best I have ever experienced not only light and airy but extremely sterile which made you feel that all would be okay. Next day meeting with him was even more informative and I came home feeling I could not have been treated better.
Varsha Chand
To date, my experience has been very positive. All staff have been friendly, caring and informative. The after care has been excellent and all appointments have been scheduled for my convenience.
Veronica Sannangelo
I am absolutely thrilled at having chosen this excellent surgery to have my eyes done. I was exceedingly apprehensive initially as the idea of someone touching my eyes frightened me but I must say Mr Pillai and all his staff was wonderful at making me feel calm and reassured and looked after me in the best possible way. I would recommend anyone who wishes to undergo this type of operation to go ahead with enthusiasm. Mr previous prescription before LASIK was –4.50 and now I have acquired 100% vision after the six-week lapsed. I thank Mr Pillai once more and salute all his staff warmly.
Jonathan Furbank
Friendly informative, understanding “have it done”. I had a prescription of a –3.50 in both eyes and had been wearing glasses since I was nine. Now 33 with a active life, I love climbing, cycling and swimming. I hoped laser eye surgery might make my life free of the dependency of spectacles –it was. Thank you Mr Pillai and Advance VisionCare.
Stephen O’Neill
Extremely impressed with the staff and the treatment. The results have surprised my expectations.
Joseph Horton
Advance VisionCare are a very professional and experienced clinic in laser eye surgery procedure. They offer a high level of service and patient care from the very moment you first walk through the door of their Harley Street clinic. With a prescription of almost –5.00 in both eyes and very bad hayfever, the summer months here are a miserey for me with glasses and contact lenses. I now have 20/20 vision thanks to Mr Pillai and his team and enjoy a much better quality of life as a result. Many thanks Advance VisionCare.
Roz Valente
I had been wearing glasses since I was 7 and contacts since the age of 15 so having laser eye correction was a big step for me, I must admit I was very nervous and frightened, but I need not to have worried Mr Pillai and his team talked to me through every step of the way of the laser surgery. They were helpful and efficient, the whole thing was over in no time at all and the results were amazing. Along with the clinic aftercare I can only recommend Advance VisionCare and know it was the best decision I could have made.
Mr R York
Very good service from very good people, went with a –7.5 + a bad astigmatism 2 weeks post op 20/20 vision. Wavefront LASEK not particularly nice but it was the only way I could correct because of large pupil size/ high prescription. I am amazed by the results I thought I might still need glasses for driving and was willing to accept that, but the actual results are outstanding my thanks to Mr Pillai and all the team.
Carol Wooldridge
I am very pleased with the treatment.I had minimum pain after the first 4 or 5 hours and was very religious about adhering to the instruction re post-op care. I was able to complete my first great north run in 2 hours 7 minutes 3 weeks post surgery !!!
Caroline Barron
My overall treatment and expectations were fully met in all areas. I did however find that the goggles for night time wear were extremely uncomfortable and recommended that their design needs to be addressed to aid sleeping more comfortably. I couldn’t be happier with my 20/20 vision result and highly recommend Wavefront to anyone considering the procedure.
