What Are The Costs?

The assessment costs €220 (covers both eyes) and the surgery costs €2,200 per eye. This cost is the same whether you undergo lasik or lasek treatment. Furthermore there are no additional costs for any laser enhancements (re-treatments) or follow up visits for up to one year.

Unlike many of our competitors, we don't have any hidden fees or extras. Standard industry practice is to quote a low price per eye then add on many hidden, albeit essential "extras" such as charging more for higher prescriptions and astigmatism treatment. We use a simple transparent fee structure: €2,200 per eye irrespective of your prescription or type of procedure required.

Lastly, this price includes the after care visits talked in a separate question below.

How Can I Make An Assessment Appointment?

This appointment can be made in three ways:

• Telephone on 091 720070
• Email frank.kinsella@galwayclinic.com
• Making an online request here.

Where Is The Clinic Located?

The Western Laser Clinic is located within The Galway Clinic on the Martin Roundabout on the Galway to Dublin (N6) road. We are one of the exits (clearly marked) off the Martin Roundabout and we are adjacent to the entrance / exit of the new M6 Motorway.

When coming off the M6 from Dublin turn left and we are located off the next roundabout.

Do I Need To Stop Wearing My Contact Lenses Before My Assessment?

You need to refrain from wearing soft contact lenses for 1 week and gas permeable contact lenses for 2 weeks prior to your assessment.

What Happens During My Assessment?

You will have a consultation with Mr. Kinsella, Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon, Ms. Eirini Stranga, Clinical Optometrist and Ms. Clare Gillespie, Senior Orthoptist who make sure your eyes are healthy and discuss your suitability for surgery and potential risks with you. You will have a number of tests such as prescription testing, corneal topography, pachymetry, pupilometry, testing for dry eye and aberrometry by our staff.

Does My Insurance Cover the Operation?

Unfortunately not.

Is There A Waiting List For Surgery?

We carry out surgery every week and consequently the waiting list is only a couple of weeks.

How Much Time Do I Need To Take Off Work?

Patients are lasered on Tuesday afternoon / evening and some Friday afternoons. You will be reviewed the next day, and also one week later. Most patients go back to work one to two days after surgery, but reading vision can remain difficult for 1-2 weeks. That being said most patients can function on a computer within a few days.

How Soon Can I Drive After My Operation?

Most people find that their vision is good enough to drive on the day after surgery.

When Can I Resume Exercise?

It is okay to jog a couple of days of surgery, and resume swimming with goggles after 3 weeks and without goggles after 6 weeks. Contact sports should be deferred for three months (in case the flap dislodges).

How Soon Can I Fly?

You can fly one week after surgery. The eye can feel a little dry for a few weeks after surgery and it is advisable to bring lubricant drops with you for a long haul flight (as eyes tend to dry out).

I Have A Really Strong Prescription – Can Eye Laser Surgery Help Me?

You will only know this after being assessed but with modern laser machines, many high prescriptions can be treated nowadays. If you are not suitable for laser you may be a candidate for phakic implants (where an implant is placed in front of the pupil) or clear lens extraction with insertion of an artificial lens behind the pupil.

Does It last?

The good vision achieved after laser surgery generally lasts for life. Three months after surgery the vision will have stabilised and consequently whatever vision has been achieved at three months lasts for life. If the vision has not fully corrected at three months the flap is lifted and additional laser is applied (enhancement). There is no extra charge for these enhancements (re-treatments) up to 1 year following your initial surgery.

Recent evidence has shown that some higher prescriptions may slip many years after initial successful laser surgery and again become dependent on glasses and may need further laser many years later (provided they have adequate corneal tissue to allow this to be done). This later re-treatment is not covered by the initial laser fee.

What Does It Feel Like During The Laser Eye Surgery?

During surgery you will be lying on your back, and the eyelids are kept open with a small device called a speculum. During treatment you will see a flash of light, hear a ticking sound and you may notice an ozone smell as the laser removes a minute amount of tissue and reshapes your cornea.

Does The Treatment Hurt?

Most patients feel no pain during the procedure but merely a pressure sensation around the eye.

What Kind Of After Care Do Patients Receive?

Patients are reviewed on the day following surgery and again one week later. There is no charge for either of these visits as both are included in the initial price of surgery.

After Laser Can My Vision Still Get Worse Over The Years?

Due to the natural process of ageing, many people eventually become presbyopic (need reading glasses) and this process still occurs even if they have had laser eye surgery. In some patients we under treat one eye (monovision) and in this case the under treated eye continues to read for life.

Can Laser Treatment Help Reading Vision / Presbyopia?

Most people over the age of 45 years will naturally need reading glasses.

• Some patients can tolerate monovision (where the dominant eye is lasered for distance and the non dominant eye is lasered for reading): your suitability for this is assessed by placing you in extended wear contact lenses for a few weeks.
• Some patients however don’t like the imbalance of monovision (having one eye for distance and the other for close), and in this situation we offer clear lens extraction with insertion of multifocal implants for both eyes so the patient can achieve both distance and reading vision with each eye, and consequently the issue of imbalance does not arise.

How Safe Is The Treatment?

The vast majority of patients achieve an excellent result. Permanent reduction in vision is extremely rare. During your assessment our doctors will discuss all risks in detail with you. Since 2002 we have carried out more than 10,000 procedures and 99% of eyes have achieved 20/20 vision.

Permanent reduction in vision in one eye occurs in 1/1000 procedures due to corneal scarring. Before you undertake any procedure we will discuss the risks with you in detail.

Can I wear COVID masks after surgery?

COVID masks cause your breath to be directed up to your eyes and this increases the risk of infection following eye surgery. Therefore we recommend minimizing the wearing of the masks after surgey, which can entail the need to avoid situations where mask-wearing is compulsory.

In total, you will need to leave your face mask off for two days following surgery.

If this is not possible, you will need to tape the mask to your nose and cheek to stop your breath reaching the freshly lasered eye.

Will My Vision After Laser Eye Surgery Be As Good As “With Glasses or Contact Lenses”?

The final visual outcome is very dependent on the individual healing process, and may result in under or over correction of refractive errors, and consequently you may still require glasses, contact lenses or need further laser surgery (called enhancement / re-treatment) in order to obtain the best vision possible. Recent evidence has shown that some higher prescriptions may slip many years after initial successful laser surgery.

Am I Old Enough / Too Old For Treatment?

Candidates need only be 21 years or older to undergo treatment. There is no upper age limit and in the past we have treated patients aged 21-70 years.

Why Do We Charge For Assessment?

You undergo a comprehensive assessment by a clinical optometrist Ms. Eirini Stranga, a consultant ophthalmic surgeon Mr. Frank Kinsella, and a senior orthoptist Ms. Clare Gillespie instead of being examined only by an optician as occurs in most practices. If we detect muscle balance problems (such as occurs with previous squint or patching in childhood) you are assessed by our orthoptist. Furthermore, if you are older than 40 years of age, we usually supply you with extended wear contact lenses at no extra charge to assess your suitability for monovision.

What Complications Can Occur?

The most common side effects are glare in sunlight and haloes around lights at night which can cause difficulty driving, and generally last a number of months, but are occasionally permanent.

On rare occasions serious corneal problems resulting in permanent reduction in vision due to corneal scarring occur.

Rarely reported problems include differences in spectacle requirement between both eyes making comfortable spectacle correction for both eyes difficult (anisometropia), difference in image size between the two eyes (anisokania), drooping eye lids (ptosis), double vision (diplopia), fluctuating vision, decreased visual acuity, inability to wear contact lenses and retinal detachment.