Bespoke Eye Surgery
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Cataract Surgery

Cataracts are the clouding of the lens inside the eye. This is usually a natural part of aging, but can come on earlier in life in certain circumstances, such as previous surgery to the eye, diabetes, or inflammation inside the eye.

We can perform an operation using the latest microsurgical equipment to remove the natural lens inside the eye and replace it with a new plastic lens. This lens will improve your vision, getting rid of the cloudiness and glare you might be experiencing.

The natural lenses in our eyes cloud with age.

Over half of those over 65 years old have some cataract in their eyes.

The symptoms include:  

Gradual decreased vision – you may find it harder to read the small text that you used to be able to.

Glare – headlights or spotlights can cause glare, making driving at night more tricky.

Decreased colour sensitivity – colours appear less vibrant, especially blues.

As cataracts come on slowly, it is quite possible you won’t notice the decreasing vision day to day, and often your optometrist will notice the changes before you know why you can’t quite see as well as you used to.

Treatment
The only treatment for cataract is an operation – the operation is one of the most commonly performed procedures in the UK with excellent outcomes in the vast majority of people.

The Eye Surgeons Groups’ expert surgeons are a great choice for the diagnosis and treatment of cataracts, and have access to some of the latest technology in advanced cataract surgery.

Your consultant will assess your eye, your cataract and the impact it is having on your life. They will discuss your lifestyle and advise you on the options available for your cataract surgery. State of the art biometric testing makes accurate measurements of your eyes, enabling the optimum replacement lens to be chosen specifically for you.

When is the best time for surgery
Cataract surgery can be performed at any time. The most appropriate time for surgery is when you are having symptoms from your cataracts – when you notice that they are causing your vision to not be as good as it could be.

The surgery
The surgery typically happens under local anaesthetic, so you cannot feel anything, but you are awake for the 20-minute procedure. Small incisions will be made in the front window of the eye in order to remove the cataract with an ultrasound generating machine. The new lens will then be placed in the membrane that held the old cataract in place.

A plastic shield will be placed over the eye to offer some protection after the surgery which can be removed the following day (and then used at night time only for 2 weeks). After the surgery the eye may feel a little gritty, and the vision will clear over the next few days.

Complications of cataract surgery
Fortunately, cataract surgery is very safe and is usually very successful. However, no operation is without risk and your surgeon will discuss the risks and benefits with you at your consultation before the surgery takes place.

Please call to book an appointment with an experienced cataract surgeon at Bespoke and find out about the options for your cataract removal.

YAG laser capsulotomy
Approximately 20% of people will develop a posterior capsule opacification after cateract surgery. This can be quickly and easily treated by a simple laser procedure. If the rest of the eye is healthy, this should return your vision to just as good as it was after the cataract surgery.

Please get in touch to book an appointment for your laser treatment.

 

  • Thank you so much for the professional and friendly manner with which you dealt with my eye problem.
    The procedure on Thursday went extremely well and I just wanted you to know everything has been fine since – in fact when I removed the dressing my wife said my eye looked ‘amazing’ (NB – that’s the eye she was referring to rather than me!)

  • Dear Mr Walker, with much gratitude for the emergency surgery in September. Hope you get the opportunity to enjoy a G&T..

  • Dear Dr Walker, I want to wish you a Merry Christmas and a very happy New Year. I am grateful for the kind reassurance you gave me before my cataract operation in November. Thanks to your specialist skills I’m confident I will be fully recovered soon. I’m feeling better already! All the best, yours sincerely..

  • Dear Sir, many many thanks to you and your team for the best Christmas gift I have ever received. The restoration of wonderful distance vision in my left eye after cataract surgery, yours in eternal gratitude.

  • Dear Dr Walker, Thank you so much for restoring colour in my life. Your skills are amazing and the care I have received from your nursing staff is very much appreciated

  • Dear Mr Walker, words cannot convey my gratitude to you for putting my world right this morning. You were right, if we put our wants before our needs, we will not have the right treatment that is required for our health. I hope you don’t mind me quoting this when a family or friend get stressed about a medical (or not) procedure that clashes with their life. Nevertheless I am glad the surgery went well as you said, and the bonus I do not have to change my travel plans. For that I am sincerely grateful.

  • Dear Mr Walker, I just wanted to say a personal thank you to you for your kindness, care and reassurance when I was treated by you for the detached retina operation earlier this month. It was an extremely scary time for me which you quickly recognised, so your understanding, as of that of your whole team, is something I feel particularly grateful for. Please accept my sincerest wishes and thanks again.

  • Dear Mr Walker, I would like to thank you and all your colleagues who set time aside to treat me beyond their other commitments to treat me so promptly and so efficiently when I came to the Vitreo retinol clinic on Monday for what might have been merely a routine appointment. I feel extraordinarily fortunate that I was able to be seen immediately in the emergency clinic and to be found a slot for the same day in time for me to get home to Oxfordshire that evening. I should be greatful if you could extend my thanks to your colleagues who helped facilitate this. All the nurses and other staff I encountered were extremely helpful. I feel very privileged to have received such kind and expert treatment in a world reknowned eye hospital.