August Patient Newsletter

Nothing is more important to us at Advanced Vision Care than knowing we have made a difference in our patients’ lives and that we were there for them at every step of the way throughout their journey. We always strive to go the extra mile to ensure each patient is completely satisfied and happy that they trusted AVC with their eyesight.

We are delighted to announce that our commitment to patient care has been recognised by Doctify and to further cement our position as the UK’s leading private eye clinic, we have won the Patient Excellence Award for 2019, despite only joining this popular independent patient platform less than 1 year ago!Doctify is a globally recognised market leader in private healthcare, with high level leading medical professionals represented across each medical specialty in the UK.

One of AVC’s key points that differentiates us from competitors is our dedication to patient care and our unparalleled levels of customer service. Thankfully, this commitment is reflected by the excellent reviews that our patients leave us.

The initial consultation is a chance to put you at ease and assess which treatment is most suitable for your prescription. This is achieved by using a range of sophisticated tests that will discover the best method to improve your vision. We take as much time as necessary to determine the most suitable treatment plan, which is why our consultations are longer than other clinics.

You will always meet a surgeon at your initial consultation and they will explain the best course of treatment, as well as answer any questions you may have. By having a variety of treatments available to suit varying prescription ranges, we are not only able to provide the right refractive solution catered to your own specific needs but often able to treat those found unsuitable elsewhere.

We only offer the highest quality standard of care to our patients which is why we believe communication is vital, we make sure that all our patients are fully informed and supported throughout the process.

These are just a few of the reasons why Doctify have chosen AVC to receive this award.

We couldn’t have achieved this without our outstanding team of friendly and conscientious clinical and customer service staff. We couldn’t be more proud of our awesome team!

The manufacturer of ICLs, STAAR Surgical, announced in April 2019 that more than one million Visian ICLs have been implanted globally. Currently approved versions of the ICL are available in more than 75 countries around the world to address the explosive growth of the need for distance vision correction.

“We celebrate the Visian ICL one million lens milestone with our ophthalmology partners, clinicians, and patients who are elevating the ICL to the premium and primary solution for refractive based vision correction,” said Caren Mason, President and CEO of STAAR Surgical Company. “More ICLs have been implanted since 2015 than the prior 15 years of the ICL combined. Today’s milestone represents only the beginning of our journey in raising ICL awareness and adoption to delight surgeons and their patients. The ICL, a remarkable biocompatible lens that works in harmony with a person’s natural eye, is designed to improve vision following a quick 20-30 minute procedure that many patients have described as ‘life changing.’ Through our ICL family of lenses STAAR aims to significantly increase our share of the existing four million annual refractive procedures globally, facilitate the market’s return to peak procedure volumes, and further grow the overall market with new and innovative lenses that address customer demands such as a refractive solution for presbyopia that may eliminate the need for reading glasses. Our work towards future milestones will be bolstered by strong clinical evidence, surgeon training, and ongoing operating and financial discipline.”

I am an Optometrist with over 30 years of experience. When my patients used to ask me about vision correction 13 years ago, I was not knowledgeable enough to advice and guide them properly.

Then I came across Advanced Vision Care as a specialist vision correction clinic in UK and attended their seminars, read the educative newsletters and attended the clinic to see what they are doing. I became convinced that AVC are the best people to care for my patients as they have the same principles and ethos like me, hence I partnered with them and started working closely with them as part of their Optometric clinical co-management network for the last 10 years. I was happy and greatly satisfied about my decision as not only are the clinical results excellent (as I could judge it myself as saw all my patients for post-operative care), but the patients were impressed by the clinical care they received at Advanced Vision Care.

When my son and daughter, who followed my career to become Optometrists (whom I am proud off) needed vision correction, I had no hesitation to recommend Advanced vision Care. As they were not suitable for laser treatment, they both underwent Evo Visian ICL (Implantable Contact Lenses) given their prescription was very high. My son had the surgery 8 years ago and my daughter 4 years ago and both are delighted at with their vision and the choice they made to undergo the treatment at AVC. I have checked their eyes as an optometrist and as a father, and I could not be happier about my decision.

When I developed cataract, it was no surprise that I choose AVC to have my cataracts replaced with Trifocals to get rid of my distance and reading glasses. For the first time I experienced the process as a patient (with a unique view as an optometrist) and have seen the extra mile AVC goes for their patients in terms of data collection, advice, surgical and post-operative care. I have been looked after my children, who are optometrists as I looked after them when they were optometrists students. What more gratification a father needs in life??

I am happy as an optometrist in regards to my care as a patient and more delighted as a family man given me and my children had excellent results and care from Advanced Vision Care and the team, especially the surgeons Mr Pillai, Dr Helgeson and Prof Filipec.

I am happy as an optometrist co-management partner with AVC as I can trust that my patients will benefit from the expert clinical and patient care.

Thanks Advanced Vision Care.

From a Keratoconus patient:

I am a keratoconus patient and had been under the care of Moorfield’s Eye Hospital for approximately eight years before I went to see Mr Pillai at Advanced Vision Care. I had been fitted with all the contact lenses under the sun, including gas permeable, Kerasoft and a piggyback lens system. I always found contact lenses for keratoconus very uncomfortable and problematic and was constantly struggling with my vision. There were comfort issues and visual issues. I just couldn’t get along with them. I decided to go privately to see if there was another solution for my visual problems.

The technician first carried out various scans on my eyes and the specialist keratoconus optometrist carried out an exceptionally detailed assessment of my eyes in order to obtain the prescription for my eyes and also to check the health of my eyes. After this very thorough check up I saw the medical director, Mr Pillai who reviewed all the information with me and explained everything to me in a way I could understand. He said I was a candidate for cross-linking treatment, which is a treatment which stabilises the condition of keratoconus. I was very pleased with this recommendation as it was what I was looking for. I had the procedure done over two consecutive days and during my recovery I was looked after very well by the team at Advanced Vision Care. At every check, they carried out a series of detailed thorough tests to make sure my eyes were healing properly. I was monitored regularly until stability of my eyes was established. This took approximately two years.

At this point, I was told I would be a good candidate to have ICL (Implantable Contact Lenses) in my eyes. These would essentially do the same thing as my contact lenses, except that they sit inside the eye (behind the pupil) instead of on the cornea. The idea sounded very appealing as my main issue was the discomfort that came with keratoconus contact lenses. They were able to order bespoke ICLs for me which were able to correct the astigmatism. The surgeon who implanted the lenses in my eyes Professor Martin Filipec was an excellent surgeon. He answered all my questions and talked me through what was going to happen at each step. The procedure was completely painless and straightforward, as was the aftercare. My vision after the surgery was as good as I had ever experienced, and I was so relieved to not have the hassle of those uncomfortable contact lenses.

A few years after, the vision in my right eye changed and Advanced Vision Care were so accommodating in fitting me in the clinic even though I hadn’t been there for a few years. At no point did they insinuate that they wouldn’t look after me and after another thorough assessment, it was found that the ICL in my eye had rotated slightly. I was put forward for repositioning surgery within a couple of weeks and the following day my vision was back to how it was after the first ICL surgery.

All in all, the aftercare at Advanced Vision Care has been second to none. I know that I can always count on them to look after my eyes. The administrative and clinical team are always available to answer any of my questions and to see me whenever anything is concerning me. Mr Pillai and Professor Filipec are formidable surgeons and together have given me the ability to see without glasses or contact lenses. Something I thought was not possible with keratoconus. I highly recommend Advanced Vision Care, especially for those who are looking for permanent visual rehabilitation with keratoconus.

Testimonial by Dean Cayol

From a Happy Patient:

It’s easy to see how professional and accurate Dr Pillai is from the many testimonials on here that come when everything works out perfectly. I am happy to add my endorsement as well but from a different perspective. I had my original procedure clear lens exchange in July 2017 during which I received exemplary care and service from Dr Pillai and his staff. However, in late 2018 I began to notice a slight deterioration. Mindful of Dr Pillai’s invitation to return to him if not fully satisfied, I got back in touch with his team. They could not have been more helpful. As we know, this isn’t always the case with after-sales care but Dr Pillai’s team were very welcoming and he explained how a tiny adjustment was needed via a further operation, which he promptly carried out at no cost. His approach, and the professionalism of all his team at Advanced Vision Care, is absolutely first class, and I would have no hesitation in recommending him.

He is certainly a man of his word.

Testimonial by Rowland