Short answer: You don’t need to live in Brisbane to have laser eye surgery with us. Focus Vision is in Woolloongabba on Brisbane’s southside, about an hour up the M1 from the central Gold Coast, with free patient parking. For LASIK, CLEAR or PRK you can expect about three or four trips to Brisbane. The three-month check can be with your local optometrist. You’ll need someone to drive you home on surgery day, and as a guide you can get back in the surf about two weeks after LASIK or CLEAR and about four weeks after PRK or TransPRK, once your surgeon has cleared you.
The Gold Coast lifestyle is one of the best reasons to be free of glasses and contact lenses: surfing, swimming and long days outdoors. This guide, from the corneal surgeons at Focus Vision, explains how laser eye surgery works when you live on the Gold Coast, from planning your trips to getting back in the water.
How far is Focus Vision from the Gold Coast?
Focus Vision is at 87 Ipswich Road, Woolloongabba, inside the Queensland Eye Institute building near the Princess Alexandra Hospital. Our laser is in the accredited South Brisbane Day Hospital in the same building.
- By car: about an hour from the central Gold Coast via the M1, depending on traffic. Free parking is available for patients.
- By train: the Gold Coast line runs to Brisbane, and the clinic is a short taxi or rideshare from the line. Check the Translink journey planner for current services. On surgery day you’ll need someone to take you home, so plan to travel by car.
We also see patients from northern New South Wales, including the Tweed.
How many trips to Brisbane will I need?
| Visit | LASIK or CLEAR | PRK or TransPRK |
|---|---|---|
| Free optometrist assessment | Brisbane | Brisbane |
| Specialist surgeon consultation | Brisbane, sometimes on the same day as the assessment | Brisbane, sometimes on the same day as the assessment |
| Surgery | Brisbane | Brisbane |
| Day-one review | Brisbane | Not usually needed |
| One-week review | Brisbane | Brisbane, when the bandage contact lens is removed |
| Three-month check | Your local optometrist, or Brisbane | Your local optometrist, or Brisbane |
That usually means three or four trips for LASIK, CLEAR or PRK. If you stay overnight in Brisbane after LASIK or CLEAR, your day-one review is part of the same trip as your surgery. Tell us you’re travelling from the Gold Coast when you book, and we’ll try to book your assessment and surgeon consultation on the same day. Your follow-up appointments for the first 12 months are included in the price.
Implantable contact lens and refractive lens exchange surgery have their own review schedules, which your surgeon will explain.
Planning your surgery day
- Bring a driver. You can’t drive yourself home after laser eye surgery. Your eyes will be light-sensitive, and you may have had medication to help you relax.
- Consider staying in Brisbane overnight after LASIK or CLEAR. Your first review is the next morning, so an overnight stay can be easier than two return trips.
- After PRK or TransPRK, the eye is usually sore for a few days while the surface heals. Plan to rest at home for the first several days, and to have someone drive you to your one-week review.
- Don’t drive until you’re cleared. Your surgeon will tell you at a review when your vision meets the driving standard. Our recovery timeline sets out what to expect week by week.
Surfing, swimming and the Gold Coast sun
Seawater and sand carry germs and grit that a healing eye needs protecting from. As a guide at Focus Vision, you can get back to surfing and ocean swimming:
- about 2 weeks after LASIK or CLEAR
- about 4 weeks after PRK or TransPRK
These are typical timeframes, not fixed dates. Your surgeon clears you at a review, based on how your eyes are healing.
Queensland’s UV levels are high all year, so wear good UV-protective sunglasses outdoors while you heal, particularly after PRK or TransPRK. Long-term sun exposure is also linked to pterygium, a growth on the eye common in people who spend years in the surf; we treat this too with no-stitch pterygium surgery.
What does it cost?
Gold Coast patients pay the same all-inclusive prices as everyone else:
| Procedure | Price per eye | Interest-free plan |
|---|---|---|
| TransPRK | $3,500 | from $34 a week |
| LASIK and Ray Tracing LASIK | $4,250 | from $41 a week |
| CLEAR lenticule extraction | $4,250 | from $41 a week |
| ICL, including the anaesthetist | $7,000 | from $68 a week |
Prices include your pre-operative assessments, the procedure and 12 months of follow-up, with no surcharge for higher prescriptions. Prescribed medications and eye drops are extra. If your vision needs fine-tuning, enhancements are free for two years under our enhancement policy. See our costs page for details, and which health funds cover laser eye surgery if you have private health insurance.
Why Gold Coast patients travel to Focus Vision
- Corneal specialists. Every treatment is planned and performed by Dr Brendan Cronin or Dr David Gunn, both fellowship-trained corneal surgeons.
- Ray Tracing LASIK. Focus Vision is the only clinic in Queensland offering Ray Tracing LASIK, which plans your treatment on a 3D model of your eye.
- A hospital-based laser. Our laser is inside an accredited day hospital, so you can be asleep for CLEAR with an anaesthetist if you prefer.
- Published results. Our TransPRK outcomes are published in a peer-reviewed journal.
- One price, no surprises. Assessments, surgery, 12 months of follow-up and, for ICL, the anaesthetist are all included.
How to get started
Start with a free optometrist assessment in Woolloongabba. It measures your eyes in detail and tells you whether laser eye surgery suits you, and which type. Book a free assessment or call (07) 3239 5005, and let us know you’re coming from the Gold Coast so we can plan your visits around the drive.