Do Laser Eye Surgery Results Differ Between Clinics?

If you’ve been considering Laser Eye Surgery for a while, you may have started to do your own research to identify the best clinic for you. When conducting this research, it is likely that you will have noticed a few variations between the clinics you’ve consulted. While the most noticeable of these differences may be in the advertised price, it is also important to consider the results of each clinic to be sure you’re making the best choice.

In the UK, Laser Eye Surgery has become more accessible than ever before. It’s hard to find a high street in the country where a Laser Eye Surgery clinic hasn’t made itself at home. But are all these clinics really created equal? Or do results differ between clinics in the UK?

Well, the simple truth is that results and standards can vary significantly between clinics. Understanding a clinic’s results is therefore crucial to understanding your chance of achieving the very best outcome.

The Importance of Laser Eye Surgery Results

The results of a Laser Eye Surgery clinic can offer valuable insight into how that clinic performs. These results indicate the success rate of their surgeries. This is most commonly measured by the percentage of patients who achieved 20/20 or 6/6 vision following their treatment.

In the video below, London Vision Clinic surgeon, Mr Glenn Carp explains how Laser Eye Surgery results can be affected by factors such as laser technology, patients’ prescriptions and surgeon experience in different clinics:

As Mr. Carp notes, “results after Laser Eye Surgery will differ, never mind from one clinic to another, but also from surgeon to surgeon.” This is why we recommend not only taking the time to select the right clinic but also the most experienced surgeon.

Given the number of variables that can affect a patient’s results following Laser Eye Surgery, we recommend that patients enquiring about treatment always ask their surgeon to be very specific about their results for similar prescriptions.

Many clinics are still using outdated technology that is simply unable to treat patients with higher prescriptions. At London Vision Clinic, we pride ourselves on being able to offer the most up-to-date expertise and technology. This ensures we achieve the very best outcomes with each patient – even those with higher prescriptions.

Comparing our results with a high-street chain

We took our results and compared them with published results of one of the most well-known high street chains in the UK. This is what we found:

Results for Short-Sightedness

According to the high-street clinic’s results, among short-sighted patients up to -3.0D, 88.5% achieved 20/20 or better. In comparison, 97% of our short-sighted patients with a prescription up to -3.0D achieved the same results.

Among patients with higher prescriptions (between -3.0D to -6.0D), 84.1% of the high-street clinic’s short-sighted patients achieved 20/20 vision or better, whilst 99% of our patients achieved 20/20 or better. Furthermore, at prescriptions over -6.0D, only 76.6% of high-street patients achieved 20/20 vision, compared with 96% of patients at London Vision Clinic.

Results for Long-Sightedness

For long-sighted patients, the differences were even greater. For long-sighted with a prescription up to +3D, 75% of the high street clinic patients achieved 20/20 or better, whilst 93% of our patients up to +4 achieved 20/20 or better. At prescriptions over +3D, 58.8% of the high street patients achieved 20/20, while 88% of our patients, from +4D to +6D, achieved 20/20 or better!

Overall, 83.8% of the high street patients across all prescriptions achieved 20/20 or better, whilst at London Vision Clinic, 90% of long-sighted patients and 97% of short-sighted patients achieved 20/20 or better.

As you can see from these results, not all clinics are created equal. The factors highlighted in this article can have a significant effect on the results a clinic is able to offer. So, why not opt for a clinic with access to the highest standard of technology and expertise available?

If you’d like to learn more about Laser Eye Surgery results at London Vision Clinic, get in touch with one of our friendly clinic coordinators or Book a Consultation today.