Paul Fenwick

Advanced Refractive Cataract Surgery

57 year old Paul Fenwick from Grimsby has undergone groundbreaking eye treatment which hasn’t only cured his early cataracts but also gave him the sight of a 21 year old.

Paul, who is a Cereal Pathologist, has been affected by a range of eye problems throughout his life and was recently diagnosed with cataracts which usually only start to affect people in their seventies. He also had a larger than average eye ball of 28mm instead of a standard 24mm which resulted in a stretched retina and led to small tears across its surface. Paul explained that the cataracts were the catalyst for him seeking help from a specialist.

He said: “In the last couple of years, my vision was deteriorating and my optician recently told me I was suffering from cataracts, though of course I was very young to have these. That was the final straw and my optician said I would need to see the eye specialist, Milind Pande which I did without hesitation. I had thought about vision correction surgery before and wondered if this could help my condition but after the cataract diagnosis, I didn’t think twice. I always assumed I would have to travel but I was delighted to be referred to Milind Pande here in East Yorkshire. I didn’t know there was someone so good, so close and this was a huge bonus for me.”

Paul visited Milind Pande, consultant eye surgeon at the Vision Surgery and Research Centre in Hull and he confirmed Paul’s deteriorating vision and his cataracts. He recommended Advanced Refractive Cataract Surgery whereby Paul’s own lenses would be removed and replaced with a bespoke combination of super powerful lenses to correct his vision and replace his cataract lenses. Because his natural, cloudy lenses were to be removed, his cataracts would not return.

But the key to success for Paul’s eyes was to be in the crucial precise vision measurement prior to his surgery. Paul’s sight was measured using Milind Pande’s very own vision measurement technique called ‘PANFOCAL Vision’. This is a technique he has pioneered which includes measuring a patient’s vision at distances needed for a range of everyday tasks from reading a book, newspaper, mobile phone or using an iPad to watching TV and driving. This way he is able to measure the patient’s lifestyle requirements exactly and recommend a customised combination of lenses, to achieve seamless vision from close to far.

Mr Pande devised the new measurement technique for use prior to undertaking vision correction surgery like Paul’s – he has recently lectured on the new technique at the American Society of Cataract & Refractive Surgery in Chicago, European Society of Cataract & Refractive Surgeons in Milan and at the UK & Ireland Society of Cataract & Refractive Surgeons Congress, addressing some of the most senior ophthalmic consultants in the world.

Paul’s treatment was a fantastic success and now, not only have his cataracts gone but he can also see better than he has ever done in his life. Father to 22 year old Sophie and 18 year old Sam, he is a Cereal Pathologist with a plant breeding and seed development company where he has worked for 35 years. Part of his work includes inspecting wheat and barley for signs of disease and his new vision means his work is so much easier.

He said: “I was sick of sliding my glasses up and down to be able to see through the microscope. This is no longer necessary and I can see all that I need to without wearing my specs! “My work also involves a lot of driving to the company’s head office in the Lincolnshire Wolds and I have colleagues in Suffolk and Norfolk which I need to work with regularly. It was important that my night driving vision was fit for this purpose and I can happily say it is – it’s great and as with everything else, no glasses required.”

Paul’s other passion, photography, has also been reignited since his vision surgery. A keen photographer since his teenage years, Paul runs his own photography website www.imagesoflincolnshire.co.uk where he showcases his images of Lincolnshire’s very own flora and fauna, landscape images of Grimsby and Lincoln as well as historic pictures of the region dating as far back as World War 2.

Paul said: “I don’t know why I waited so long, the results are incredible and at last I can see better than I have ever done in my life. I felt the cost of the treatment was absolutely worth every penny. I was spending an awful lot of money every year on spectacles and each time it cost hundreds of pounds to have the lenses thinned so they didn’t look quite as thick as they should have been – my friends are amazed at the difference in my appearance without specs.”

Commenting on his treatment, Milind Pande said: “The difference between having the vision treatment which Paul had and standard lens exchange is that the overall result is ‘seamless vision’ without the gaps that can be common with using multi-focal lenses. Because we measure functional vision rather than a simple chart, we are able to predict the outcome accurately and get our patients the best possible vision without glasses.”

Paul’s eyes were each done on separate occasions and each time, the entire process was completed within half a day. Paul confirmed: “Mr Pande refines the prescription to the ‘nth degree’ and as well as his precise measurement system he was also interested to know what my priorities were such as needing to have good night vision because of my regular driving. Now I have the vision of a much younger person and I can only describe the results is as seeing in HD – my vision had deteriorated over time so I didn’t realise that the colours I could see were dull and lifeless. Since my eye surgery, colours are so vibrant and crystal clear. I can definitely say that for me, the results have been truly life-changing.”

The good thing for Paul is that because the natural lenses in his eye have been removed, be cannot develop any further cataracts so when he’s older, he won’t need a cataract operation like most people.