Our Services

Frequently Asked Questions

Presbyopia

Trifocal Lenses

  • Provide the good vision for near, middle/intermediate and long distance
  • Higher rates of glare or halos in dim light (e.g. when driving at night).

Extended Depth of Focus (EDoF) Lenses

  • Provide excellent vision for middle/intermediate and long distances. 
  • Offer some vision for near distance, but reading glasses may be needed for small print. 
  • Lower risk of glare or halos at night.

Monofocal Plus Lenses

  • Minimal risk of glare or halos.
  • Primarily designed for long-distance
  • Offering some middle/intermediate vision. 
  • Reading glasses will be needed. 

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

  • Treats the root cause of presbyopia by replacing the ageing lens
  • Provides a stable eye prescription for the future
  • Cataracts cannot develop in the future once the natural lens is removed
  • Can treat higher prescriptions than laser surgery

Cons

  • Depending on the lens type, there is a risk of glare and halos

Laser surgery

Pros

  • Less invasive than intraocular lens surgery
  • The quality of vision may be higher than with intraocular lens surgery
  • Visual side effects, such as glare or halos, are typically easier to reverse
  • Suitable for patients without cataract

Cons

  • Does not prevent cataracts from developing in later life
  • Intraocular surgery may still be required in the future if cataracts form

Cataracts/Cataract Surgery

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.

Laser Refractive Surgery

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.

Corneal Transplantation

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.

Implantable Collamer/Contact Lens (ICL)

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:

  • Provide superior vision correction for those with high prescriptions compared to laser surgery
  • Ideal for patients with thin corneas. Laser surgery isn’t suitable for patients with thin corneas
  • Fast recovery
  • Typically causes less dry eye symptoms compared to laser eye surgery. 

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.

Keratoconus

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.

Corneal Collagen Cross Linking

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).

Corneal Allogenic Intrastromal Ring Segments (CAIRS)

In partnership with Leeds Teaching Hospitals, we implant KeraNatural CAIRS segments, the latest in keratoconus treatment.

CAIRS surgery costs from £4500 per eye.

Pterygium

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.

Dry Eye

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.

Recurrent Corneal Erosion Syndrome (RCES)

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.

Corneal Scarring

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.

Corneal Swelling

Hypertonic saline eye drops may reduce swelling in some patients; they are available in an ointment to reduce corneal swelling overnight.

Fuchs Endothelial Dystrophy

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.