- Medically Reviewed by: Mr Mfazo Hove, Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon
- Author: Mr Mfazo Hove
- Published: June 2, 2025
- Last Updated: October 20, 2026
TL;DR: Blue Fin Vision® offers pinguecula removal in London at the Harley Street Eye Centre, 22A Harley Street, W1G 9BP, in central London. Surgical excision, meaning surgical removal, is our usual treatment, while argon laser is reserved for selected small, flat growths and is available only at Harley Street. Your consultation assesses whether removal is suitable and which approach may help.
Pinguecula removal: before treatment (bottom) and six weeks after surgery (top).
Why the Number of Growths Matters
We have removed more than 100 pingueculae between October 2025 and September 2026, including patients with two growths in one eye and patients with four across both eyes. Pingueculae is the plural of pinguecula.
Our experience is counted in individual growths, not patients, because the number changes the operation. Removing two from one eye is not simply twice the work of removing one.
Treating four across both eyes raises practical questions that are rarely discussed:
- How bleeding is controlled at several sites.
- In which order the eyes are treated.
- How you leave the clinic comfortably with both eyes operated on.
Those questions are where experience shows.
Assessing Your Suitability for Pinguecula Removal in London
At our Harley Street eye clinic, the consultation decides whether removal will help, not only whether it is possible. We look at:
- How raised the pinguecula is, and how far it extends along the eye.
- Inflammation, whether it flares repeatedly and how it responds to drops.
- The nearby corneal surface, the clear front surface of the eye, and the tear film, the thin layer of tears covering it. Inflamed pingueculae often disturb both.¹
- Contact lens wear, and whether the edge of the lens catches on the growth.
- What actually bothers you: appearance, grittiness, redness or dryness.
That last point matters. Excision of a raised pinguecula can improve dry eye symptoms,² but if your dryness has another cause, removal alone will not solve it, and we will tell you so.
How We Perform Pinguecula Surgery in London
Lidocaine With Adrenaline
Lidocaine is a local anaesthetic that numbs the eye. Adrenaline narrows small blood vessels, reducing bleeding.
No Diathermy
Diathermy uses heat to seal blood vessels. Heat cautery is a common way to stop bleeding in eye surgery. We avoid diathermy because heat damage to the sclera, the tough white outer layer of the eye, could compromise the cosmetic result.
Pressure Instead of Heat
Bleeding is controlled with the adrenaline and a period of gentle pressure padding, using an eye pad to apply light pressure.
Both Eyes in One Visit
When both eyes are treated, the first eye is operated on and padded while the second is treated.
The pads are then removed in turn once bleeding has settled, so each eye has had time under pressure.
Leaving the Clinic
Once bleeding is controlled, you go home wearing sunglasses, with no eye covering.
Leaving the Surface to Heal
After a pinguecula is removed, we leave the conjunctiva, the thin clear tissue covering the white of the eye, to heal on its own, without stitches or a graft. A graft is a piece of tissue used to cover or repair an area.
In pterygium surgery, a graft of the patient’s own conjunctiva is used because it reduces the chance of recurrence, meaning the growth returning. A pinguecula does not carry the same risk of regrowth, so a graft is not needed.
What the Result Looks Like
The aim is to flatten the raised area and restore a smooth, white surface. We publish our own before-and-after photographs, so you can see the kind of result we aim for.
Published results are encouraging: in a study of 31 eyes treated by excision with a conjunctival graft, 93.5% of patients rated their cosmetic result excellent or good at 12 months, with the surrounding blood vessels becoming less prominent.³ That study used a graft secured with fibrin glue, a surgical adhesive that holds tissue in place, and its technique is not identical to ours.
You should also know the limits. Redness takes weeks to fade, healing varies between people, and some fine vessels or faint redness can remain. We aim for a clear improvement in contour and appearance; no surgeon can promise a completely white eye.
Surgery or Argon Laser Pinguecula Removal in London?
Laser sounds gentler, and many patients arrive hoping for it. If you are considering laser removal of pinguecula in London, it is important to understand why we may recommend surgery instead.
Understanding Argon Laser Treatment
Argon laser photocoagulation of pinguecula uses laser energy to treat the raised tissue. A small published study reported good cosmetic results with argon laser in selected growths,⁴ and laser has relieved pinguecula-related dry eye in a case report.⁵
Laser suits small, flat pingueculae best.
Why Excision Is Our Usual Treatment
In our experience, larger or more raised growths often needed repeat sessions to clear. That is why excision is now our usual treatment, with laser reserved for growths where it is likely to succeed.
Excision does not guarantee complete clearance or that a pinguecula will never return, but in our hands it has been the more dependable single procedure.
Follow-Up
After surgery you use chloramphenicol antibiotic ointment twice a day for five days, and steroid drops for two months to settle inflammation while the surface heals.
There is no routine follow-up appointment. Instead, most patients send us photographs at around two months so we can see how the eye has healed.
If you notice anything that concerns you, or your photographs show persistent inflammation or a raised area, we arrange to see you and discuss the options. These may include a longer course of drops, more time to settle, or further treatment where it would genuinely help.
Risks
Pinguecula removal is a low-risk procedure, but no surgery is risk-free.
Redness, swelling, watering, grittiness and mild discomfort are expected in the first days and weeks. Dry eye symptoms can temporarily worsen while the surface heals. A small area of bleeding under the surface of the eye can occur and fades on its own.
Recurrence is uncommon, although new pingueculae can form with continued sun exposure. Rarely, the healed surface is irregular or slightly scarred, and infection is uncommon.
Your consultant will go through the risks that apply to your eye before you decide, and our risks page sets them out in full.
Recovery
- First few days: grittiness and mild discomfort, eased by drops and simple pain relief.
- One to three weeks: redness gradually fades.
- Work: most people return within two to five days.
- One to three months: the surface fully settles.
Cost
The cost of removal of pinguecula in London depends on how many are treated together. Surgical removal is priced per pinguecula, with reduced prices when more than one is treated together. See our costs page.
Read these supporting resources before your consultation:
- Our pterygium and pinguecula removal page.
- Our suitability page.
- Our risks page.
- Our frequently asked questions (FAQs).
- Our patient information.
- The Harley Street Eye Centre page.
Book a consultation with Blue Fin Vision® to discuss whether surgical or laser pinguecula removal at Harley Street is appropriate for you.
References
- Küçük E, Yilmaz U, Zor KR. Corneal epithelial damage and impaired tear functions in patients with inflamed pinguecula. J Ophthalmol. 2018;2018:2474173. doi:10.1155/2018/2474173.
- Jeong J, Rand GM, Kwon T, Kwon JW. The improvement of dry eye symptoms after pinguecula excision and conjunctival autograft with fibrin glue. J Ophthalmol. 2019;2019:6438157. doi:10.1155/2019/6438157.
- Jung S, Kwon JW, Hwang HS, Chuck RS. Vascular regression after pinguecula excision and conjunctival autograft using fibrin glue. Eye Contact Lens. 2017;43(3):199-202. doi:10.1097/ICL.0000000000000250. PMID:27058827.
- Ahn SJ, Shin KH, Kim MK, Wee WR, Kwon JW. One-year outcome of argon laser photocoagulation of pinguecula. Cornea. 2013;32(7):971-5.
- Napoli PE, Sanna R, Iovino C, Fossarello M. Resolution of pinguecula-related dry eye disease after argon laser photocoagulation. Int Med Case Rep J. 2017;10:247-50.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mr Mfazo Hove
MBChB MD FRCOphth CertLRS
Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon | Founder and Medical Director, Blue Fin Vision®
Mr Mfazo Hove is a Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon with more than two decades of experience across NHS and private practice and more than 57,000 ophthalmic procedures performed. He trained for six and a half years at Moorfields Eye Hospital and served for five years as an NHS consultant at the Western Eye Hospital, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust.
He specialises in cataract surgery, refractive lens replacement, laser vision correction and implantable Collamer lenses (ICL). He is the founder and Medical Director of Blue Fin Vision®, a private ophthalmology group providing consultant-delivered care across London, Hertfordshire and Essex. His cataract surgery outcomes are publicly reported through the National Ophthalmology Database.
A ZEISS Key Opinion Leader and international speaker, Mr Hove is a contributing author to The Ophthalmologist. His writing examines how clinical governance and the organisation of ophthalmic services shape patients’ experiences and outcomes, with a focus on transparent outcome reporting, surgical training and long-term accountability for patient care.
