Lynn Robertson
Advanced Refractive Cataract Surgery
She thought the heel of her boot was falling off when she was out for the day with her husband.
It was only when Lincoln mum Lynn Robertson, 67, asked husband Bob to check that they realized she was walking around with an odd pair of boots on.
Now, after having her eyesight corrected at Vision Surgery and Research Centre in East Yorkshire, fashion disasters are a thing of the past for Lynn.
“It’s the best thing I’ve ever done for myself,” she said. “I would say to anyone considering it to just go for it.
“I have 20/20 vision now.”
Lynn, who runs her own catering business providing hot school meals in Lincolnshire, had worn glasses for reading since the age of 16 and had switched to varifocals as her sight deteriorated over the years.
However, a fall 18 months ago, thought to have been caused by dizziness linked to wearing varifocals, meant she switched to individual pairs.
“I had one pair on my head, one on my face or one in my bag – it was such a hassle to always be fiddling about looking for the right pair,” she said.
Cataracts were forming in both eyes and Lynn knew she would require surgery.
But when she realized she couldn’t see as she drove to work one morning and had to pull into the side of the road, she knew it was time to act.
“It was a really frightening experience,” she said. “I was told the cataracts were growing very quickly.
“I knew I could get them removed on the NHS but my daughter Jo knew someone who had gone to Vision Surgery and she suggested I should get my cataracts removed and my eyesight corrected, all at the same time.
“That night when I came home, I made the call to Vision Surgery. That was the Friday and I was given an appointment for the Monday.”
The highly-skilled team at Vision Surgery is led by Milind Pande, one of the leading ophthalmic surgeons in the UK and a past president of The United Kingdom and Ireland Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons.
After an expert examination, Mr Pande guided Lynn through the steps of her treatment before she underwent surgery in both eyes, three weeks apart.
Using lens exchange surgery, Mr Pande removed the cataracts, which develop in everyone’s eyes over time, and fitted bespoke lenses, tailored to Lynn’s exact requirements, to give her optimal vision without the need for glasses.
Mr Pande said: “Using an analogy of a camera for the eye, in patients like Lynn, the lens has become scratched and dirty. The operation not only changes the lens, it refocuses the camera.
“The new lenses last 50 years so cataracts will never be a problem again.”
Lynn said the surgery was completely pain-free and Mr Pande’s professionalism put her at ease.
“I can get nervy sometimes so it was a surprise to me how calm I felt,” she said. “But both operations were fine and I knew within the first week, when I could see things I’d never have seen before, that it was a success.
“The second operation was the same and now I can see menus, read boards in the distance when we’re on holiday and, of course, driving is no problem.”
Knowing she’ll never walk around with the wrong boots on again, Lynn is getting used to life without glasses as she starts to step back from the business and enjoy retirement.
“At the start, I kept thinking I had to take my glasses off because my sight was so good,” she said. “It has made such a difference to me.”
“The team at Vision Surgery were absolutely brilliant.”
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