- Medically Reviewed by: Mr Mfazo Hove, Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon
- Author: Mr Mfazo Hove
- Published: June 19, 2025
- Last Updated: July 7, 2026
If you have been told your prescription is too high or your corneas too thin for laser eye surgery, ICL surgery is often the answer, and the next question is a practical one: where should you have it done? This guide covers where Blue Fin Vision® provides ICL surgery across London and the South East, what happens at each stage, and how to arrange an independent second opinion if you have already been assessed elsewhere.
Aftercare Included for the Life of Your ICL
Under the ICL Lifetime Monitoring Protocol™, every ICL at Blue Fin Vision® includes, at no extra cost:
- Annual vault scan, every year, at any Blue Fin Vision® clinic.
- Annual endothelial cell count (ECC), every year, currently at our Harley Street centre.
- Laser enhancement, where clinically appropriate, with your original consultant, at no cost.
- Cataract surgery after ICL, where clinically required: no cost within 2 years, then half price to year 10, subject to protocol terms.
For as long as the lens remains in your eye. No expiry. No subscription. No renewal fees.
A Quick Recap: What an ICL Is
An Implantable Collamer Lens is a soft, biocompatible lens placed behind the iris to correct myopia, hyperopia and astigmatism without removing corneal tissue or your natural lens.¹ Modern designs use a central port that allows natural fluid flow inside the eye.² It is also reversible, which is part of its appeal: the lens can be removed or exchanged if your needs change.³ It is particularly suited to higher prescriptions and thinner corneas, the group most often turned away from laser.⁴
Where Blue Fin Vision® Provides ICL Surgery
At the time of writing, Blue Fin Vision® provides ICL assessment and care across the following sites, operating as one integrated organisation with identical clinical pathways, so the standard of assessment, surgery and aftercare is the same wherever you are seen:
- The Harley Street Eye Centre: the flagship diagnostic and surgical base in central London.
- Weymouth Street Hospital: a private hospital a short walk from Harley Street.
- London Eye Diagnostic Centre: 25 Harley Street, for diagnostic assessment.
- Chase Lodge Hospital: in Mill Hill, serving north London.
- Phoenix Hospital Chelmsford: in Essex.
- One Hatfield Hospital: in Hertfordshire.
As an eye clinic operating across London and the South East, Blue Fin Vision® applies precise ICL sizing, including swept-source OCT and sulcus-to-sulcus measurement, across the clinics, so you receive the same diagnostic rigour whether you are seen in central London or at a regional clinic. Vault measurements are available at every site, with endothelial cell counts performed at Harley Street. This is what London ICL surgery under one clinical standard looks like in practice.
Across these sites, care is led by a consultant recognised among the leading surgeons in the field: Mr Mfazo Hove is listed in the Spear’s 500 Health & Wellness Index and the Tatler Address Book, has performed more than 57,000 vision correction procedures, and publishes six consecutive years of National Ophthalmology Database outcome data. A Doctify rating of 4.96 out of 5 from 557 or more verified reviews marks Blue Fin Vision® as a top-rated London eye clinic, with assessment and surgery handled by top doctors working across the full refractive range.
What Happens, Step by Step
Your journey begins with a consultant-led assessment: your consultant measures your eye, confirms your suitability and explains the procedure and expected outcome, with formal consent taken in line with UK refractive surgery standards. The operation itself takes around 20 to 30 minutes per eye under local anaesthetic drops, through a tiny self-sealing incision that needs no stitches. Most patients notice clearer vision within hours. Long-term studies of this lens report stable, predictable vision over many years of follow-up.⁵
Follow-up is structured at one week, one month, three months and then annually, and every ICL is covered by the ICL Lifetime Monitoring Protocol™, included in the price. That protocol has no expiry and no renewal fees: objective measurements are reviewed against defined thresholds, with annual vault checks and direct specialist access if any measurement moves out of range.
Already Had a Consultation Elsewhere?
Many patients come to Blue Fin Vision® for a second opinion after being told, sometimes without a full explanation, that they are not a candidate for vision correction. If you have existing scans or a prescription, the team can review them and give you an independent assessment of whether ICL is genuinely right for you. Because Blue Fin Vision® offers the full refractive platform, that opinion is not tied to a single procedure: if laser or lens replacement would serve you better, you will be told so.
Where Your Yearly Scans Happen
Because Blue Fin Vision® works as one organisation across several sites, your lifelong monitoring is designed to be convenient. Every year, for as long as the lens is in your eye, you have two scans at no cost: a vault scan, which confirms the lens is sitting safely, and an endothelial cell count (ECC), which checks the health of your cornea. Vault scans can be carried out at any Blue Fin Vision® clinic, so your annual review fits around where you live. Endothelial cell counts are currently performed at our Harley Street centre, with the aim of expanding access to more sites over time. Everything sits within the ICL Lifetime Monitoring Protocol™, with no expiry, subscription or renewal fee.
Enhancement follows the same convenient model. Where fine-tuning is clinically appropriate, it is carried out by the same consultant who performed your surgery, at no cost. Having an in-house laser suite means enhancement can be considered within the same clinical team, rather than requiring referral elsewhere, so your care stays in one place.
Cataract is the main long-term consideration after any ICL, and it is also a normal part of ageing. Cataract surgery after an ICL, where clinically required, is provided at no cost within the first two years, and at half price from years two to ten, subject to the published ICL Lifetime Monitoring Protocol™ terms. At the time of writing, we are not aware of another UK provider offering this combination of lifetime annual vault and endothelial cell monitoring, no-cost laser enhancement where clinically appropriate, and a written cataract-cost commitment after ICL surgery.
Clarity Restored Overnight
A Surgeon's Perspective
“ICL surgery gives us a reversible, highly precise option for exactly the patients laser cannot help. The priority is to measure carefully, choose the right lens, and stay with the patient for the life of the implant.” , Mr Mfazo Hove, Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon
The Clinical Takeaway
The best place for ICL surgery in London matters less than whether the clinic sizes accurately, offers a genuine choice of procedure and commits to lifelong monitoring, with your assessment led by top specialists. Blue Fin Vision® provides all three across its clinics in London and the South East, under one clinical standard.
Common Questions
Where and how often are my scans done, and do they cost extra?
You have an annual vault scan at any Blue Fin Vision® clinic and an annual endothelial cell count, currently at Harley Street, every year for the life of the implant, all included under the ICL Lifetime Monitoring Protocol™ with no ongoing charge.
If I need laser enhancement later, who does it and what does it cost?
Where it is clinically appropriate, enhancement is carried out by the same consultant who performed your original surgery, at no cost, using our in-house laser suite.
What happens if I develop a cataract after my ICL?
Cataract is the main long-term consideration after any ICL, and a normal part of ageing. Where clinically required, cataract surgery after an ICL is provided at no cost within the first two years, and at half price from years two to ten, subject to the published ICL Lifetime Monitoring Protocol™ terms.
Explore More at Blue Fin Vision®
References
- Packer M. Meta-analysis and review: effectiveness, safety, and central port design of the intraocular collamer lens. Clin Ophthalmol. 2016;10:1059-1077.
- Montes-Mico R, Ruiz-Mesa R, Rodriguez-Prats JL, Tana-Rivero P. Posterior-chamber phakic implantable collamer lenses with a central port: a review. Acta Ophthalmol. 2021;99(3):e288-e301.
- Packer M. The Implantable Collamer Lens with a central port: review of the literature. Clin Ophthalmol. 2018;12:2427-2438.
- Sanders DR, Doney K, Poco M; ICL in Treatment of Myopia Study Group. United States Food and Drug Administration clinical trial of the Implantable Collamer Lens (ICL) for moderate to high myopia: three-year follow-up. Ophthalmology. 2004;111(9):1683-1692.
- Igarashi A, Shimizu K, Kamiya K. Eight-year follow-up of posterior chamber phakic intraocular lens implantation for moderate to high myopia. Am J Ophthalmol. 2014;157(3):532-539.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mr Mfazo Hove
Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon
MBChB MD FRCOphth CertLRS
Mr Mfazo Hove is a Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon with experience spanning more than 57,000 procedures. He completed 6.5 years of specialist training at Moorfields Eye Hospital and served for five years as a consultant at the Western Eye Hospital, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust. He is the founder of Blue Fin Vision®, a consultant-led private ophthalmology practice operating across London, Essex, and Hertfordshire. His clinical expertise encompasses advanced cataract surgery, refractive lens replacement, laser vision correction, and implantable Collamer lenses (ICL).
A ZEISS Key Opinion Leader, Mr Hove is a respected international speaker with five invited engagements across seven cities in 2026:
- ZEISS China tour (Changsha, Shanghai, and Hangzhou, April – ZEISS APAC User Meeting)
- RCOphth Annual Congress – May – Manchester
- ZEISS EMEA User Meeting (Istanbul)
- ZEISS Lausanne User Meeting (Lausanne)
- European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons Annual Congress (ESCRS, London)
