Keratoconus Surgery Prices from just £91.67 per eye/month
Based on 24 months Interest Free Finance
About
The cornea is essentially the eye’s “window”. This clear, outer layer on the eyeball’s surface assists in focusing light rays on to the eye’s light-sensitive film called the retina. As a result, a “picture” is produced for the brain. However, should the cornea incur damage or change shape, this picture can become unclear or distorted, as light is prevented from reaching the retina correctly, which is why sufferers of Keratoconus often have high and complex prescriptions.
Keratoconus comes from the combination of two Greek words, ‘kerato’ meaning cornea and ‘konos’ meaning cone. It is a progressive degenerative disease that causes the cornea to lose stability leading to thinning and bulging into a cone shape consequently weakening the integrity of the cornea. Keratoconus affects one in every 2000 people and the severity varies between individuals.
This debilitating disease normally presents itself between the ages of 10 to 25 and it is progressive, usually starting in one eye and, over time, it can progress to the other.
The exact cause is unknown but studies suggest it can be hereditary and often runs in families. Chromosomal and connective tissue disorders have been strongly linked to the presence of Keratoconus.
Atopic conditions like eczema, asthma and hay fever have been associated with the disease and symptoms caused by those conditions lead to rubbing of the eyes which in turn accelerates the disease. Excessive contact with the eye has been linked to the progression of the disease, including trauma and poor fitting contact lenses.
This condition causes an increase in corneal steeping that thins the cornea and leads to complex high prescriptions with irregular corneal astigmatism. This leads to a deterioration in vision causing an impairment that drastically affects lives. Sufferers experience:
- Blurred sight that often progresses to ghosting or monocular diplopia (double vision)
- Difficulty seeing at night
- Sensitivity to light
- Fluctuations in prescription
- Glasses eventually become unusable
The early stage of the condition can result in relatively mild symptoms. These might include mildly blurred vision or slightly distorted vision, in which straight lines might be discernibly bent or wavy. You could also feel unusually sensitive to light and glare and experience eye redness or swelling.
Whilst Keratoconus is showing mild symptoms, the vision can be corrected with glasses. If you typically wear contact lenses, you might have to use special hard lenses as a means of assisting in restoring your vision to proper focus.
As the condition continues to worsen, you could also get increased nearsightedness or conditions that cause blurred vision and would affect your eye’s usual ability to focus. As this ability falters, you might have to source new glasses prescriptions more often.
This condition causes an increase in corneal steeping that thins the cornea and leads to complex high prescriptions with irregular corneal astigmatism. This leads to a deterioration in vision causing an impairment that drastically affects lives. Sufferers experience:
- Blurred sight that often progresses to ghosting or monocular diplopia (double vision)
- Difficulty seeing at night
- Sensitivity to light
- Fluctuations in prescription
- Glasses eventually become unusable
The early stage of the condition can result in relatively mild symptoms. These might include mildly blurred vision or slightly distorted vision, in which straight lines might be discernibly bent or wavy. You could also feel unusually sensitive to light and glare and experience eye redness or swelling.
Whilst Keratoconus is showing mild symptoms, the vision can be corrected with glasses. If you typically wear contact lenses, you might have to use special hard lenses as a means of assisting in restoring your vision to proper focus.
As the condition continues to worsen, you could also get increased nearsightedness or conditions that cause blurred vision and would affect your eye’s usual ability to focus. As this ability falters, you might have to source new glasses prescriptions more often.
With moderate Keratoconus, sufferers will no longer be able to find glasses to correct their prescriptions and are forced to wear hard, rigid or gas permeable contact lenses (these lenses are costly, painful and cannot be worn for extended periods of time).
Typically, years can pass before it progresses from the early to late stages. However, in some instances, the condition can worsen quickly. Symptoms of worsening Keratoconus often include an increase in both blurriness and distortion in vision.
If left untreated, Keratoconus can either stabilise naturally after impairing vision significantly or can continue to progress until a corneal transplant is required.
Given the nature of the disease and the importance of vision in everyone’s daily lives, it is crucial that you tackle the fundamental issue giving rise to these symptoms in the first place. For this reason, you should seriously consider taking advantage of our range of treatments at our UK clinic, which is easy to find on Harley Street.
Visual Rehabilitation
Keratoconus is a progressive degenerative disease that can affect both eyes causing the cornea to thin and become misshapen taking a conical shape. This causes complex prescriptions and if left untreated can lead to a corneal graft. AVC offer total visual rehabilitation with treatments that halt the disease, makes contact lens wear more comfortable and corrects prescriptions, removing the dependency on visual aids.
AVC is one of the only clinics in the country to offer total visual rehabilitation for sufferers of Keratoconus by providing treatments to:
- Halt the progression of the disease (Collagen Cross-Linking)
- Make contact lens wear more comfortable (INTACS, Kerarings and Kerasoft lenses)
- Correct the visual impairment caused by the disease (Implantable Contact Lenses, Clear Lens Exchange and Piggyback lenses).
Suitability for this type of treatment will be determined at the consultation after comprehensive testing. AVC’s leading surgeon, Dr Pillai is a highly respected corneal specialist who is present throughout every patient’s journey and designs a personalised treatment plan to achieve the visual goals of every individual.
Cross Linking
Collagen Cross-Linking halts the progression of the disease and it is only required once to cause a permanent change.
Cross LinkingCorneal Implants
Corneal Implants are used to reshape irregular corneas making contact lenses more comfortable and can partially improve vision.
Corneal ImplantsKerasoft Lenses
Kerasoft lenses are tailor-made soft lenses designed for high/complex prescriptions and irregularly shaped corneas.
Kerasoft LensesCorrecting Residual Prescriptions
Once the progression of Keratoconus stopped there are treatments available to correct prescription caused by the disease.
Correcting Residual PrescriptionsWhy Chose AVC for treatment?
First Class Treatments
AVC are leading providers in treatments for Keratoconus. We offering complete visual rehabilitation for sufferers of this condition, providing treatments to halt the disease, make contact lens wear more comfortable and treatments for total vision correction.
First Class Services
We are one of the only clinics in the country to offer such a comprehensive range of services for the sufferers, all under one roof. As specialists, we also provide tailor-made fitting for Kerasoft lenses to reduce the inconvenience caused by removing contact lenses. All of our patients are provided with the best care and results, constantly surpassing expectations.
First Class Surgeons
Dr Pillai is a corneal specialist and with over 25 years of ophthalmic experience, his knowledge in this field is unsurpassed. Bespoke treatments are tailor-made to correct the visual impairment and discomfort caused by the disease.
Price Guide
Consultation Fee – £200
This deposit is taken at the time of booking and is non-refundable
Collagen Cross Linking – £2450 per eye
A deposit of £250 per eye is required when reserving treatment and is deducted from the final cost.
Corneal Implants (INTACS and Kerarings) – £2750 per eye
A deposit of £500 per eye is required when reserving treatment and is deducted from the final cost.
Specialist Keratoconus ICL – £4450 per eye
Distance correction for complex prescriptions with astigmatism. A deposit of £1250 per eye is required when reserving treatment and is deducted from the final cost.
24 months Interest Free Finance
All Keratoconus Rehabilitation Packages include:
- A fully comprehensive consultation with AVC’s expert team – including essential eye tests, health checks, dilation, biometry and topographic mapping.
- The opportunity to discuss your treatment options with Mr Pillai, AVC’s corneal and refractive specialist.
- A personalised treatment plan tailored to your visual and lifestyle needs.
- All treatments are conducted using the safest and most advanced technology in the country.
- All inclusive 12 month aftercare program.
- 24-hour post treatment telephone access to AVC’s expert team.
- All post-operative medication is provided for 1 month after surgery.
Once the aftercare program has been completed it is recommended that annual check-ups are attended. These follow ups are charged, £75 with an optometrist and £150 with a surgeon.
Finance Options
With affordable payment options designed for everyone, it couldn’t be easier to make sure that you get the best possible treatment for your eyes.
At AVC, we value flexibility and give our patients the option to pay a larger deposit to reduce the cost of monthly repayments. We have partnered with Hitachi Finance to provide a range of finance plans, interest free and interest bearing that can be paid off early without being penalised. Please contact us to find out more.
24 months Interest Free Finance
is available starting from just £91.67 per month for complete treatment per eye, with a deposit of £250 (APR 0%) per eye, subject to application. If you wish to pay a larger deposit, even lower monthly finance rates are available.
| Collagen Cross Linking | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | £2,150.00 per eye | ||
| Deposit | £500.00 | ||
| Monthly Payment | Months | Total Including Deposit | APR |
| Interest Free Finance | |||
| £91.67 | 18 | £2,150.00 | 0% APR |
| Interest Bearing Finance | |||
| 52.84 | 36 | £2,404.24 | 9.9% APR |
| £41.44 | 48 | £2,489.12 | 9.9% APR |
| £34.64 | 60 | £2,578.40 | 9.9% APR |
| Corneal Implants | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | £2,450.00 per eye | ||
| Deposit | £500.00 | ||
| Monthly Payment | Months | Total Including Deposit | APR |
| Interest Free Finance | |||
| £108.33 | 18 | £2,450.00 | 0% APR |
| Interest Bearing Finance | |||
| 62.45 | 36 | £2,748.20 | 9.9% APR |
| £48.98 | 48 | £2,851.04 | 9.9% APR |
| £40.94 | 60 | £2,956.40 | 9.9% APR |
| Premium Keratoconus Lens | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | £4,150.00 per eye | ||
| Deposit | £1,250.00 | ||
| Monthly Payment | Months | Total Including Deposit | APR |
| Interest Free Finance | |||
| £241.67 | 12 | £4,150.00 | 0% APR |
| £161.11 | 18 | £4,150.00 | 0% APR |
| Interest Bearing Finance | |||
| £113.13 | 24 | £3,965.12 | 9.9% APR |
| £92.87 | 36 | £4,593.32 | 9.9% APR |
| £72.84 | 48 | £4,746.32 | 9.9% APR |
| £60.88 | 60 | £4,902.80 | 9.9% APR |
FAQ's
Please scroll within the section faqs
Keratoconus is a common bilateral corneal disease that occurs in more than 1 in 2,000 people.
Keratoconus is a non-inflammatory eye condition in which the normally round dome-shaped cornea progressively thins causing a cone-like bulge to develop. As a result, the eye develops a high complex prescription with astigmatism. Keratoconus is not visible to the naked eye but is apparent in an examination by an optometrist and scans.
The thinning and bulging of the cornea typically causes myopia (short sight) and astigmatisms. It can produce symptoms like blurring, ghosting, multiple images, sensitivity to light, difficulty seeing at night (halos and glare) and a fluctuating prescription. In advanced Keratoconus, scarring and loss of transparency of the clear cornea can cause permanent poor vision.
Even though it is a degenerative disease there are patients where the disease naturally stabilises. This means that when a patient is over the age of 45 and have not required a corneal graft, their prescription is likely to have stabilised naturally. For those that the disease does not stabilise, it can mean the patient may need a corneal graft.
There is no cure for keratoconus and it cannot be treated with medication. In the early stages, glasses or soft contact lenses can be used to correct the vision. As the cornea continues to thin and bulge, more complex and custom-made contact lenses such as hard, rigid or gas permeable contact lenses can be used to correct the vision. However, these can be difficult to fit or tolerate. Contact lenses do not make the Keratoconus better or worse but improve your vision whilst wearing them.
Where the keratoconus is progressing, or for those who are at high risk of it worsening, Collagen Cross-Linking can be used to stop or slow down the deterioration. Once the disease is stable there are several options that will be offered to patients to either make contact lenses wear more comfortable (Corneal implants) or completely correct the prescription (Implantable Contact Lenses and Clear Lens Exchange).
Ultraviolet light and Riboflavin (Vitamin B2) drops are used to strengthen the cornea. The principal of Cross-linking is photopolymerisation. Riboflavin drops are administered to a de-epithelialised cornea and are activated by the UV light. The light-induced production of oxygen radicals leads to the development of strong chemical bonds between collagen fibres, thereby stiffening and strengthening the cornea.
It is a non-surgical procedure: there are no incisions or stitches. The procedure is extremely safe and straightforward and only needs to be carried out once to cause a permanent change.
The Riboflavin drops used are simply vitamin B12, commonly used in foods and is harmless. The UV light exposure throughout the procedure is less than or comparable to the exposure the eye experiences throughout a full day outdoors in the summer Additionally, the wavelength is such that it is absorbed effectively enough to protect the deeper layers of the eye, consequently posing no risk.
These are Intrastromal Corneal Ring Segments (ICRS) like INTACS, Kerarings and Ferrara rings. They are clear, micro-thin, crescent-shaped devices that are inserted into the cornea to help flatten the corneal shape and thus correct some of the prescription.
Corneal implants are a treatment option for sufferers of mild to moderate Keratoconus that is quick and effective. They are safe, reversible and do not affect the central visual axis of the cornea.
The Intrastromal Corneal Ring Segments are made of poly-methyl-methacrylate which is a biocompatible material and will not be rejected by the body. They are also removable and exchangeable so different rings can be used as the correction required changes.
There is no change in the appearance of the eye after Collagen Cross-Linking treatment and Corneal Implants are extremely difficult to see without a microscope or getting very close.
After surgery, your cornea will require time to settle and during this, your prescription will fluctuate. It is possible to be refitted for glasses or contact lenses after the vision has stabilised. If a patient wears Kerasoft lenses they will be able to wear contact lenses sooner (usually a few weeks after the procedure).
If your condition is stable, whether naturally or with Collagen Cross-Linking, there are Kerasoft lenses and treatments available to correct the prescription caused by the disease. Dependent on your age, Clear Lens Exchange or Implantable Contact Lens treatment can be performed to free you from glasses and contact lenses.
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Advanced Vision Care partnered with Vision Aid Overseas 13 years ago.
Over 6000 AVC patients have donated their glasses to help those less fortunate to see the world the way it is meant to be seen.
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