Dr Ants Haavel: 18 Years Leading KSA Silmakeskus

KSA Silmakeskus is marking 18 years in business. To celebrate, we sat down with our founder and eye surgeon, Dr Ants Haavel — the person behind our clinic's success and an essential part of our daily work. What inspired him to become a doctor? Where did the vision for a world-class eye clinic come from 18 years ago? How does he lead his team? And what does he do in his spare time? Read on to discover his story.

How did you decide to study medicine, and what inspired you to found KSA Silmakeskus?

Ants says choosing medicine was a natural path — his family had several doctors, so it felt inevitable. Six years of medical studies led to his residency programme, but then life intervened. With two young children and a third on the way, he couldn't afford to pursue a resident's salary of 1,000 kroon a month.

"Life took me away from medicine for a while," he recalls. "I went into business instead. A friend and I started distributing hygiene products and hospital supplies across the Baltics, and later moved into property. But then my aunt called. She reminded me that five years had already passed since university — and if I didn't act soon, my exams would expire."

Choosing a medical speciality wasn't straightforward. Whether by chance or design, his sister asked him to accompany her son to an eye doctor's appointment. "The moment I walked into that clinic, I was captivated," Ants laughs. "My nephew's eye condition became secondary — I spent half the visit mesmerised by the equipment and diagnostic possibilities. That was the turning point. I knew I wanted to become an eye surgeon."

The idea for his own clinic came later, during an internship in India. That inspiring experience sparked a vision: to bring world-class eye care and technology to Estonia.

"Thanks to the capital I'd earned in business, I was able to rent a space at the corner of Raua and Vilmsi streets, furnish it, buy our first diagnostic equipment, and invest in a Zeiss laser," he says. "That's how KSA Silmakeskus began."

A glimpse of KSA's early days

What was your original vision for KSA, and has it changed over 18 years?

From the start, Ants wanted to offer Estonians world-class eye diagnostics and surgery to correct myopia — procedures that genuinely improve quality of life. All delivered in a modern clinic with exceptional patient care.

"In our first year, we explored different laser procedures," he explains. "But over time, we realised that specialising in one exceptional procedure — rather than offering many average ones — made sense. That focus is what has allowed us to perfect our craft."

Today, that specialisation is evident. KSA has performed over 55,000 procedures and is known across the region for Flow3 laser eye surgery — our flapless surface technique — and ICB lens replacement for patients not suited to laser. The vision hasn't changed; it's sharpened.

What speaks loudest is this: every single member of our clinical team chose Flow3 for their own eyes. That's not marketing. That's surgeons trusting their own procedure with their own sight.

"The vision remains the same," Ants says simply. "To give people their freedom back. To let them wake up and see clearly. That never gets old."