In London, Blue Fin Vision offers consultant-led macular hole repair but doesn’t publish a price; Sapphire Eye Care, whose nearest clinics are in Berkshire and Surrey, lists macular hole surgery from £7,000 per eye. Both are clinic groups we work with. Moorfields Eye Hospital says around 90 to 95% of most macular holes close after one operation.
Where to have macular hole surgery in and around London
Blue Fin Vision says it provides consultant-led vitreoretinal assessment and surgery across London, Hertfordshire and Essex, and lists macular hole repair among the conditions it treats, alongside epiretinal membrane, vitreomacular traction, retinal detachment and vitreous haemorrhage. It says its assessment includes an examination with OCT imaging, a scan that shows the layers of the retina. Its London locations include Harley Street and Weymouth Street in central London, Chase Lodge in Mill Hill and Abbey Wood. It doesn’t publish a price for vitreoretinal surgery, so ask for a written quote after your assessment.
Sapphire Eye Care has clinics in Berkshire, Surrey, Hampshire, Dorset and Sussex, and publishes prices for its vitreoretinal operations. Its closest clinics to the capital are to the west and south-west, including Windsor and Guildford.
When you send an enquiry, we pass it to the clinic group that covers your area, and they contact you to arrange a consultation. For more on the condition and the operation wherever you live, see our macular hole surgery guide.
Macular hole surgery is also carried out on the NHS. Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, in London, publishes its own patient guide to the operation, and waiting times vary by hospital — see our guide to NHS vitrectomy waiting times.
Prices
Sapphire Eye Care’s published starting prices for a macular hole are:
| Operation at Sapphire Eye Care | Price from (per eye) |
|---|---|
| Macular hole surgery (vitrectomy) | £7,000 |
| Vitrectomy with cataract surgery | £8,000 |
| Vitrectomy with enhanced cataract surgery (refractive lens exchange) | £8,700 |
We checked Sapphire Eye Care’s price list on 17 September 2026. Its prices are “from” prices, and they are per eye unless it says otherwise. Sapphire Eye Care says its surgical prices cover pre-surgical assessments, the operation, hospital and facility fees, surgeon’s fees, anaesthetic costs and the follow-up care you need. An initial consultation is listed from £240, or from £340 with an OCT scan, and Sapphire lists epiretinal membrane and vitreomacular traction surgery from £7,000 per eye too. The macular hole surgery cost page has the full list, including follow-up and scan prices.
Whichever clinic you choose, ask in writing:
- what the price covers: the surgeon, anaesthetist, hospital and gas bubble
- which follow-up visits and scans are included, and where they take place
- what you would pay if the hole doesn’t close and a second operation is needed
- whether your cataract will be removed at the same time, and what that adds
- which insurers recognise the clinic, if you plan to claim
Sapphire Eye Care says it is recognised by insurers including Aviva, AXA Health, Bupa, Cigna, Vitality and WPA. Whether your policy pays for macular hole surgery depends on its terms, so check with your insurer before you book, and ask Blue Fin Vision directly if you would like to be treated there. Payment terms are set by each clinic, and Eye Surgery Clinic does not lend money or arrange finance.
Sources: Sapphire Eye Care price list and Blue Fin Vision vitreoretinal surgery, read 17 September 2026.
The operation
The operation is a vitrectomy. Through three tiny openings, 1 to 2 mm across, in the white of the eye, the surgeon removes the vitreous gel, often peels the very thin internal limiting membrane from the retina around the hole to release the pull that keeps it open, and then fills the eye with a gas bubble. Moorfields describes the bubble as an internal splint that holds the edges of the hole together while it heals. In complex cases, BEAVRS says the membrane can be used to fill the hole.
Moorfields says the operation usually takes 30 to 60 minutes and is most often done under local anaesthetic, so your eye is numb but you stay awake; general anaesthetic is rarely used. BEAVRS gives 45 to 90 minutes and says it is often done as a day case.
Because a cataract is very likely afterwards — Moorfields says vitrectomy almost always speeds it up, especially over 50 — your surgeon may suggest removing it during the same operation. Sapphire Eye Care lists vitrectomy with cataract surgery from £8,000 per eye, or from £8,700 with refractive lens exchange.
How long the gas bubble lasts depends on the gas used. Moorfields gives these typical times:
- SF6 (sulphur hexafluoride): usually 2 to 4 weeks
- C2F6 (perfluoroethane): usually 4 to 8 weeks
- C3F8 (perfluoropropane): usually 6 to 12 weeks
Recovery and travel
Plan the journey home before the day. Moorfields says you won’t be able to drive yourself home, and if you have a general anaesthetic or sedation, someone must take you home and stay with you overnight. You’ll also need to get back to the clinic for reviews: BEAVRS says the first is usually within one to two weeks and the next one to three months after surgery.
- No flying or high altitude. Moorfields says you must not fly or travel to high altitudes while there is any gas bubble in your eye, because changes in air pressure make it expand, causing severe pain and possibly permanent damage. BEAVRS says this can mean up to 12 weeks.
- No driving. You must not drive while there is a gas bubble in your eye. Moorfields says your surgeon will tell you when it is safe to drive again, which can be several weeks or months.
- Tell any anaesthetist. If you need a general anaesthetic while gas is in your eye, BEAVRS says you must tell the anaesthetist, because some anaesthetic agents make the bubble expand too.
If you live far from London or overseas, work out how you’ll get home without flying, and check the route with your surgeon, because travelling to high altitude by land is ruled out too while any gas remains.
Posturing and time off
Whether you need to keep your head face down afterwards depends on the size of the hole and your surgeon’s approach. BEAVRS says posturing improves the success rate for larger holes but may not be needed for smaller ones. When it is advised, Moorfields says it usually lasts 3 to 7 days, for 45 to 50 minutes of every hour during the day, with a 10 to 15-minute break each hour for meals, the toilet and gentle stretching (BEAVRS gives a usual range of 2 to 10 days). If you can’t posture, BEAVRS says there is still a good chance the hole will close. Most people need two weeks off work, BEAVRS adds, because vision and depth perception are reduced while the gas bubble is in the eye, and three kinds of drops are usually prescribed: an antibiotic, a steroid and one that widens the pupil. Most people need new glasses about three months after the operation, once the gas has gone.
Results and risks
Moorfields puts the chance of closing most macular holes with one operation at around 90 to 95%, with better results for smaller holes and those that haven’t been there long. BEAVRS says about 90% close when the hole has been present for less than a year. Both say over 70% of patients see better central vision afterwards, often by two or three lines on a sight chart. Completely normal vision isn’t usually restored, and BEAVRS says treatment within months of the hole appearing tends to give a better improvement.
- The hole doesn’t close: about 5 to 10% after the first operation, more often with larger holes (Moorfields); BEAVRS gives 1 to 2 in 10. A further operation can often close it.
- Cataract: Moorfields says vitrectomy almost always speeds up cataract, especially over the age of 50, usually within 6 to 12 months. BEAVRS puts the chance at 4 in 5 if you haven’t already had cataract surgery.
- Retinal detachment: about 1 to 2 in 100 people, according to both Moorfields and BEAVRS, and it needs another operation.
- Infection inside the eye (endophthalmitis): very rare — about 1 in 2,000 cases according to Moorfields, or 1 in 1,000 according to BEAVRS — but it can cause severe loss of sight.
- Raised eye pressure: BEAVRS says this is quite common in the first days, usually because of the gas, and is normally controlled with extra drops or tablets.
- Worse vision than before: fewer than 1 in 50 people, according to Moorfields.
BEAVRS says harmful effects are unlikely, but your surgeon should go through these risks with you before you agree to surgery.
Frequently asked questions
Sources
- Blue Fin Vision: Vitreoretinal surgery (no published price for vitreoretinal surgery; read 17 September 2026)
- Sapphire Eye Care: Our prices (prices from, per eye unless stated; read 17 September 2026)
- Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust: Macular hole: diagnosis and treatment (review date September 2028)
- Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust: Macular hole (NHS patient information)
- British and Eire Association of Vitreoretinal Surgeons (BEAVRS): Macular hole: patient information leaflet (2022 edition)
We only publish the prices of the clinic groups we work with. General information, not personal medical advice: your eye specialist will tell you which treatment, if any, suits your eyes.