Josette Riley

Lens Replacement Surgery

“It’s like Christmas Day every day.” That’s how a 51 year old East Yorkshire lady described the groundbreaking eye treatment which gave her the sight of someone less than half her age.

Josette Riley who lives in Skipsea, had worn glasses since being a small child. From childhood, she had suffered from eye problems such as amblyopia, better known as ‘lazy eye’ and had very poor eyesight needing very thick spectacles. As such, she was no stranger to all manner of specs and tests throughout her life to strengthen her eyes and vision. So you can imagine her joy when at 51, she was told that the eye treatment she had undergone here in Humberside gave her the sight of a 21 year old. She was also told that she no longer needed specs whatsoever – not even for driving or close reading.

Mum of two, Josette, who works as a secretary at a local GP surgery, visited Milind Pande, consultant eye surgeon at the Vision Surgery and Research Centre in Hull last year after her optician suggested that a treatment undertaken by him could help her worsening sight.

Mr Pande recommended Lens Replacement Surgery to Josette whereby her own lenses would be removed and replaced with a bespoke combination of powerful lenses to correct her vision and restore a full range of focus.

But the key to a successful result for Josette was in the crucial vision measurement prior to her treatment. Josette’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.

Josette 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. Mr Pande and his team were amazing. I never felt any pressure to proceed with the treatment and Mr Pande’s calm approach really helped. I couldn’t have been in safer hands and every member of his team was professional, extremely knowledgeable and friendly – a very important combination when you are having eye surgery.”

Commenting on her treatment, Milind Pande said: “The difference between having the vision treatment which Josette had and standard lens replacement treatments 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.”

Josette concluded: “Mr Pande’s reputation is excellent so I didn’t feel I needed to worry in the slightest. My eyes were each done on separate occasions and each time, the entire process was completed within half a day. He refines the prescription to the nth degree and now I have the vision of a much younger person. It truly is staggering. The results really are life-changing. In fact, every day I still have to pinch myself.”

Almost everyone gets a cataract in their lifetime but Josette has the added bonus that after this treatment she will never develop a cataract removing the need for a cataract operation in her future. Vision Surgery offers a comprehensive range of treatments in addition to Lens Replacement Surgery and attracts patients from all over the world.