So, because I'm old (thought I'd get the retaliation in first), I have a couple problems with my vision, a severe and relatively rapidly formed cataract in my right eye. Now that actual eye has been hugely short sighted for over 40 years, nothing beyond 8 inches away from it has ever looked sharp. The other eye, however has remained stoically 20/20, or whatever they call it now, and has done all the hard work like a champion for all the interim time, although of late, its close up ability has started to waiver (old). So yesterday I had a three hour appointment (1 hour consultation, 2 hours waiting) to discuss ultrasonically smashing the bathroom window that is the lens in my bad eye and replacing it with an permanent internal contact lens, removing the fog, the astigmatism and the short sightedness all in one fell swoop. Quite exciting really (although I did have a chat with Remal to calm my nerves after being told they were going to cut my face open while I was awake. Cheers Matt.). Those that know me know that I do have a bit of an understanding of optics, and letting the consultant know this caused him to, perhaps, open up a bit more about the technique, materials and kit they intend to use, and the bit that I really did like was the process of 'blended vision'. They know my good eye is great for distance work, they know my bad eye is... well, it's shagged actually, but after mapping the interior of the eyeball with ultrasound, they can select a lens tailor made for the shape of the eye and bias it for a particular purpose, specifically to take up the slack where the good eye struggles. My brain will then just flick between the two separate data inputs and blend the information seamlessly. Also, and I urge anyone, who needs any non urgent 'procedures' from a surgical team to consider this, I opted to have the work done at a rural hospital on the periphery of my local NHS trust. Not only does it turn out that there equipment is newer and of slightly higher quality, but it brings the waiting list down from three or four months down to two or three weeks... Simply because people don't want to travel and they struggle to fill the clinics.
I have the same problem and was not aware of this procedure. How much did it cost ? And how did you start the ball rolling. Thanks
No cost Sean, but the cataract needs to far enough along to be considered necessary to be removed. This was done by my optician, who then wrote a referral letter to the NHS. The ball rolled on from that point within a month. The appointment with the consultant is for him to confirm the need and just what the method will be. They measured my eye too to get the new lens just right. My optician told them I was a photographer too, and my livelihood depended on it. Whether that helped or not, I can't say, but it all starts with your optician.
Cool thanks I'll look into this....mine isn't a cataract...I had tsosis in right eye when I was a kid which leaves the muscles weakened as you get older. My right eye is as you out it...shagged...whilst my left eye overcompensates giving me migraines.
Hmm, not certain what the treatment is likely to be there, mate. They'd normally shorten the muscle on the weak side to pull it back straight. Not sure, I'm afraid.
I opted tho have inter ocular lens replacements in both eyes two years ago as I got fed up with having to take glasses everywhere I went. I can only say it's absolutely brilliant. My prescription in glasses was only 1.5 but found I could hardly read without them. I had used one contact lense in my left eye previously ( left eye for reading, right eye for distance) this worked well, although I had to persevere with it before my brain worked it all out. After giving up work I couldn't be arsed with the aggro of the lenses so went for the replacements. It cost me the price of a good mid- priced bike but was money well spent. Evidently the op to do this is the same as a cateract operation which is the most widely performed op in the world.
So three days into my first prosthetic... Feels a bit like I've got an eye lash caught under a lid and occasionally, I can feel the edges pushing against the inside of my eyeball, which is freaky, and the urge to rub at it is high... Distance vision is instantly better, but the new lens is definitely blue shifted, a potential problem considering what I do for a living that I'll need to have a serious think about in the not too distant. Close up is not so good. It appears that the original 'blended vision' plan didn't go as hoped. It's early days yet and I won't see the optician for another five weeks, but I do know a bit about optics, so... Strange experience though. Being the youngest on the day (Don't...Just don't) I was last on the surgeon's list, so sat in an otherwise empty ward from 12:00 to 16:50 with nothing to do, then walked in, a few injections, a quick chat with the anaesthetist (He is from the Isle of Man). Had a scrub stuck to my face and out it came. 17:25 I was walking across the car park. By the time I got back to Exeter the eye had woken up. What I was seeing through it was pretty trippy, but after another hour or two, the pair of them were synched back up. Back to work yesterday but a week off nest week for some R&R.
