DODDINGHURST: Operation restores pensioner's sight

A PENSIONER'S life has been transformed thanks to a breakthrough eye operation.

Pauline Wood, 76, from Apple Tree Crescent, Doddinghurst, says her vision has improved dramatically since having a lens replacement operation – not yet available on the NHS – called IOL-VIP.

Mrs Wood was diagnosed with dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD) 16 years ago and as her vision deteriorated she relied on her husband to effectively act as her eyes.

Simple tasks such as doing crosswords, reading prices at supermarkets and making cups of tea became a problem.

She used to need large print books, could not recognise people's faces across a room and it began to have an effect on one of her hobbies, tenpin bowling.

But Mrs Wood's outlook is now much brighter thanks to the short operation on her right eye carried out by Rajesh Aggarwal at The Phoenix Hospital in Southend in August.

After she had the operation, which cost about £6,000, she noticed the difference almost immediately and now has prescription glasses nearly half the strength and can read twice as many lines on a sight test.

She said: "It is not a miracle cure but it has made my life a lot easier since I have had the operation. I'm thrilled to bits.

"It is money well spent because I think, what price is my sight?

"You don't realise how valuable things are until you lose them."

Dry AMD develops when the cells responsible for acute vision in the macula of the retina literally wear out, leading to poor colour definition, faded distorted images and finally loss of central vision in some people.

While wet AMD can be treated, there is no cure for the dry form but the new replacement lens treatment allows the visual process to bypass the problem area and use a healthy part of the retina to see.

AMD is the most common cause of blindness in the UK and Mrs Wood said she would encourage other sufferers to consider the operation.

She said: "I would urge them to look into it because they can only then be assessed and make their own judgement."

Before Mrs Wood decided this was the right move, she had a simulator placed over her eyes.

While the improvement was insignificant in the left eye, the improvement in the right meant that, during testing, her husband's face became clearer so she knew it was worth doing.

As the treatment is so new Mrs Wood is not completely sure what the future holds but hopes her eyesight will remain as it is now.