H L-B

I was very nervous about having a cataract operation on my only 'good' eye. My other eye had problems with the retina since birth and could not be used to read, write or drive, so it was imperative that surgery on my right eye went as smoothly as possible. Hand on heart, I can tell you that the whole process was pain-free, I felt nothing (and I am quite sensitive to pain). You cannot see anything that is being done, so no worries about the operation. You don't have to worry about keeping your eye open or still, everything is taken care of. If your lens is to be lasered before extraction, you just focus on one point and they do the rest – pain-free. If I had known this all beforehand, I probably wouldn't have worried so much. Professor Gartry talks you through everything and is very calming and professional. He was happy to answer any of my questions before and after the operation. Due to my worsening cataract, my prescription had gone from -11.5 to -19.5 and so life was becoming quite difficult. 6 weeks after the operation my prescription is now -0.5! That's -0.5 off 20/20 vision! I wear glasses for close up work, but that is all. Your eye looks a little read after the operation but this clears up so quickly with the antibiotics and anti-inflammatories, especially from day 3-4. I could see perfectly the morning after the operation. It was absolutely incredible! It has to be said that the whole team are fantastic, from the secretaries to the nurses to the anaesthetist and of course to Professor Gartry who has, I believe performed over 16,000 cataract operations. Words alone cannot convey how glad and thankful I am to get my vision back.