Clear, comprehensive answers to help you understand your eye care journey, treatments, and what to expect during your consultation.
Mr Arthur Okonkwo is a highly respected, dual fellowship-trained Consultant Ophthalmologist based in Leeds. He specialises in complex corneal surgery, advanced cataract removal, and comprehensive refractive (vision correction) surgery. With extensive training from world-renowned institutions, including Moorfields Eye Hospital in London and the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital in Melbourne, he provides expert, patient-centred care for a wide range of ocular conditions.
While a referral letter from your General Practitioner (GP) or your local Optometrist is always helpful—as it provides valuable medical background and details of your previous eye examinations—it is not strictly mandatory for self-paying patients. You are welcome to contact the clinic directly to arrange an initial private consultation. However, if you are using private medical insurance, your insurer will almost certainly require a formal GP referral before they authorise your appointment.
To ensure your consultation is as thorough and efficient as possible, please bring:
In the vast majority of cases, yes. To thoroughly examine the health of the back of your eye (the retina and optic nerve) and to accurately assess conditions like cataracts, Mr Okonkwo will need to instil dilating eye drops. These drops take about 20 to 30 minutes to work and will make your vision blurry and sensitive to light for several hours. Therefore, it is strongly advised that you do not drive yourself to or from your appointment.
There is no “top-rated” intraocular lens. It is important your lens choice matches your specific digital and physical lifestyle. After the initial consultation, we will decide together the best option for you and your lifestyle.. We use industry-leading lenses matched to your personal requirements.
With private surgery, you can opt for presbyopia correcting lenses (trifocals and EDoFs) and astigmatism correcting lenses (toric), which are not available on the NHS.
Surgery is available quicker privately, and you also get to pick your surgeon.
Approved reviews can be found on sites such as doctify.
We recommend to stay off work for 1 week.
If you are suitable for cataract or lens surgery, then the surgery is done one eye at a time.
Suitability depends on several factors, including your age (you must be over 18 with a stable prescription for at least a year), the thickness and shape of your cornea, your overall eye health, and the severity of your refractive error. During your consultation, Mr Okonkwo will perform highly detailed topographic scans of your eyes to determine if laser vision correction (such as LASIK, PRK, or SMILE) is a safe and effective option for you.
The actual laser treatment time is remarkably fast—often taking less than 60 seconds per eye. However, you should expect to be at the clinic for a few hours on the day of your procedure to allow for pre-operative preparation, the administration of numbing drops, and a short period of rest immediately after the surgery.
Recovery times vary depending on the specific type of laser procedure performed. With LASIK and SMILE, most patients experience a dramatic improvement in their vision within 24 hours and can often return to work and driving the very next day. PRK (surface laser treatment) has a longer recovery period, with functional vision returning over several days to a week, and full visual stabilisation taking up to a month.
Keratoconus is a progressive condition where the normally round, dome-shaped cornea thins and bulges outward into a cone shape, causing significant visual distortion. Treatment depends on the severity. In the early stages, it can be managed with specialised contact lenses. To halt the progression of the disease, Mr Okonkwo performs Corneal Collagen Cross-Linking (CXL), this may be combined with laser surgery. For more advanced cases, treatments like CAIRS (Corneal Allogenic Intrastromal Ring Segments) or, ultimately, a corneal transplant may be necessary.
Dry Eye Syndrome is a chronic condition that often cannot be permanently “cured,” but it can be highly effectively managed. Standard artificial tears are rarely enough for severe cases. Mr Okonkwo offers advanced diagnostic testing to identify the root cause of your dry eye (such as Meibomian Gland Dysfunction) and provides targeted clinical procedures—including punctal plugs, amniotic membrane, IPL therapy, and mechanical gland expression—to provide long-lasting relief and improve your tear film stability.
Preservative free Sodium Hyaluronate containing drops with >0.1% concentration offer long-lasting hydration without affecting clarity of vision.
Nighttime ointments are great for dry eye sufferers who find that their symptoms are worse upon waking, either in the middle of the night or in the morning. Paraffin is the key ingredient.
Warm compression with a microwaveable eye bag improves the quality of tears.
In those who do not have enough dietary intake omega 3 supplements may help.
Avoiding environmental exposures such as smoke, pollutants, eye make-up and preservatives in eye drops can help alleviate symptoms. Additionally, every 20 minutes, taking a 20-second screen break to view something 20 feet away encourages blinking to rehydrate eyes.
Drops offer the shortest relief but do not affect the vision; ointment offers longer relief but blurs the vision. Gels offer a balance between the two.
Trifocal Lenses
Extended Depth of Focus (EDoF) Lenses
Monofocal Plus Lenses
See the attached price list. St James’s Laser vision was the first clinic outside of London to offer this treatment.
Both intraocular lens surgery and laser vision correction can treat presbyopia, but they work in different ways to suit different patients.
Intraocular Lens Surgery (Lens Replacement)
Pros
Cons
Laser surgery
Pros
Cons
We offer free laser consultations at St James’s laser vision. Attached is the price list.
We offer SMILE, LASIK and LASEK/PRK.
We offer LASIK and LASEK/PRK.
Approved reviews can be found on sites such as doctify.
We recommend to stay off work for 1 week.
If both eyes are suitable for laser, then both are done together.
After most laser eye surgery, you do not have to wear glasses anymore. There are some instances when glasses may still be needed for close work, but this is uncommon, and we would discuss this in full at your consultation.
It is not permanent as eyes naturally age and alter, we offer over 10 years of stability, age-dependent.
We have the most up-to-date ZEISS lasers (Zeiss Mel 90 and Zeiss Visumax 800). These systems use advanced wavefront technology to deliver the best treatments tailored to your eyes, without any hidden fees.
We work closely with ZEISS technicians, who are often on-site.
All surgeries come with risks, and these will be discussed and given in written format at your consultations. Studies have deemed laser surgery to be the safest elective procedure available, with the advanced technology used. Laser eye surgery is also safer than long-term full-time contact lens wear.
Arthur Okonkwo offers the full range of partial and full thickness corneal transplants with visual recovery as quickly as 1-4 weeks.
Arthur Okonkwo has co-developed a calculator for corneal transplant success rates with Moorfields Eye Hospital. This calculator helps specialists better understand the best option for their patients.
Choosing the right corneal surgeon is about more than reputation alone. It is important to feel confident in your surgeon’s experience, qualifications and communication, but most importantly, you must feel comfortable with the surgeon.
Arthur Okonkwo is a Fellow of the Royal College of Ophthalmologists (FRCOphth) and holds the Certificate in Laser Refractive Surgery (CertLRS), demonstrating rigorous additional testing in cornea and refractive surgery. He has completed sub-speciality cornea and refractive surgery fellowships at major teaching hospitals (Moorfields Eye Hospital, London and The Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital, Melbourne Australia).
He performs over 50 corneal transplants per year with excellent outcomes. In addition to private practice, Mr Okonkwo works in the largest teaching hospital in Europe, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, with access to the latest technology for corneal surgery.
The price varies depending on the specific needs of each patient, but generally falls in the range of £8000-£15000. We take both insurance and self-pay patients.
We implant Evo Visian ICL, which has an excellent long-term accuracy and safety profile for correcting myopia (nearsightedness), hyperopia (farsightedness), and astigmatism.
Key benefits of ICL:
Contact us to discuss your options
We offer free consultations at St James’s laser vision. Attached is the price list.
Recovery is similar to LASIK and SMILE at 24-48 hours.
ICLs correct up to -20 dioptres of short sightedness and 6 dioptres of astigmatism.
Individuals with implantable collamer lenses require yearly appointments to check the lens is sitting safely within the eye and not affecting the cornea, lens or eye pressure.
In partnership with Leeds Teaching Hospitals, we implant KeraNatural CAIRS segments, the latest in keratoconus treatment for suitable patients. We also offer advanced crosslinking treatments combining crosslinking with laser to help improve vision for suitable patients.
There is no best-fit crosslinking treatment; a tailored approach specific to your eye is the most important strategy. In partnership with Leeds Teaching Hospitals Arthur Okonkwo has published some of the best crosslinking success rates in the literature (96.2% success).
We offer advanced crosslinking treatments combining crosslinking with laser to help improve vision for suitable patients.
After crosslinking your eye is painful for 2-3 days. Visual recovery is 1-2 weeks, but you may experience some small fluctuations in your vision for up to 3 months.
We take WPA, Allianz and Healix. If you are covered by another insurer, you may contact them to ask if they can contribute to the cost of your treatment. We also accept self-pay patients.
Please contact us to book a second opinion. In partnership with Leeds Teaching Hospitals, Arthur Okonkwo has published some of the best reported crosslinking success rates for patients who have had previously unsuccessful treatment (95% success).
In partnership with Leeds Teaching Hospitals, we implant KeraNatural CAIRS segments, the latest in keratoconus treatment
CAIRS surgery costs from £4500 per eye.
We use fibrin glue rather than stitches, hastening recovery and increasing success rates to up to 98%.
Pterygium surgery costs from £2500.
We take WPA, Allianz and Healix. If you are covered by another insurer, you may contact them to ask if they can contribute to the cost of your treatment. We also accept self-pay patients.
Nighttime ointments containing paraffin are the recommended medical treatment for recurrent erosion syndrome.
Bandage contact lenses offer temporary relief whilst waiting for laser eye surgery (PTK).
Recurrent eye pain upon waking in the morning or the middle of the night is a classic symptom of RCES.
Contact us to book an appointment.
The gold standard treatment for RCES that does not improve with nighttime ointment is laser eye surgery (PTK).
Contact us to book an appointment.
Treatment for corneal scarring should be tailored to the type of scarring an individual has. Drops such as steroids and losartan may reduce reversible scarring, laser eye surgery (PTK) can remove superficial scars and corneal transplantation is reserved for deeper scarring. Specialist contact lenses may improve vision without the need for any surgical treatment for some patients.
Hypertonic saline eye drops may reduce swelling in some patients; they are available in an ointment to reduce corneal swelling overnight.
Hypertonic saline eye drops may reduce swelling in some patients. It is available in an ointment to reduce corneal swelling overnight.
We take WPA, Allianz and Healix. If you are covered by another insurer, you may contact them to ask if they can contribute to the cost of your treatment. We also accept self-pay patients.
We offer DMEK, the latest corneal transplantation for Fuchs Endothelial dystrophy. It offers better visual results and significantly less transplant rejection than other types of transplant.
Glaucoma is a group of eye conditions causing progressive, irreversible damage to the optic nerve, often associated with high pressure inside the eye.
The most common form, open-angle glaucoma, has no early symptoms or pain. Gradual peripheral vision loss is rarely noticed until it’s indeed too late.
Risk factors for developing glaucoma include being over forty, a family history of the disease, high eye pressure, diabetes, or a myopic prescription.
No, any vision loss caused by glaucoma is permanent. However, timely expert intervention and treatments can successfully slow or halt its progression.
No any vision lost cannot be recovered but the goal of treatment is to preserve your remaining vision.
Most individuals can treated initially with a painless laser procedure called Selective Laser Trabeculoplasty minimising reliance on eye drops. Eye drops may still be required long term to maintain vision.
Some forms are, if you have anybody in your family that has glaucoma you should have a early glaucoma
Most people with glaucoma who are treated early and follow a Consultant lead treatment plan preserve their vision.
If you couldn’t find the answer you were looking for, or if you are ready to discuss your specific visual needs with an expert, we are here to help. Book a comprehensive consultation with Mr Arthur Okonkwo to receive a personalised assessment and clear, professional guidance.
