Rosemary Briscall

Lens Replacement Surgery

53 year old keen golfer Rosemary Briscall has had a groundbreaking eye treatment which gave her the sight of a 21 year old and enabled her to enjoy her sport with an even greater passion.

Rosemary, who lives in Beverley in Yorkshire had always suffered from poor sight, but since she started to lose her close up vision as well as her distance vision she found herself struggling to cope with deteriorating sight and needing to change her glasses and contact lenses every time she wanted to read something up close or look at something afar.

So you can imagine her joy when at 53, she was told that the eye treatment she had undergone gave her the sight of a 21 year old and that she no longer needed specs whatsoever – not even for golfing, driving, watching TV or close reading.

Rosemary, a member of Hessle Golf Club in Humberside, was introduced to golf 20 years ago by her husband and now she plays a lot more often then him, sometimes up to 5 times a week weather permitting.

Rosemary, who has a golfing handicap of 14, said: “I was increasingly finding day to day activities becoming more difficult simply because of my reliance on specs and contact lenses. My golfing skills were also being compromised as I was struggling to see and when I was wearing my glasses, I couldn’t see a thing if it rained. It really was awful.”

Rosemary, who has worked processing speeding fines on the staff for the Police in Beverley for the last seven years, visited Milind Pande, consultant eye surgeon at the Vision Surgery and Research Centre in Hull on recommendation from her optician. Mr Pande recommended Lens Replacement Surgery to Rosemary 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 Rosemary was in the new crucial vision measurement prior to her treatment. Her 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. Items used to determine refractive error even include a Harry Potter book, a laptop, a desktop computer and a mobile phone, all in different light illuminations. 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 – basically the sight of a normal 21 year old.

Rosemary said: “I am absolutely delighted with the treatment. The results are incredible and at last I can see better than I have ever done in my life. I use computers extensively in my work and I also play golf and love to read. Mr Pande’s calm approach really helped and as soon as I met him I was confident that he was the surgeon I was looking for. I did a lot of investigation to choose the right surgeon and was very impressed that, unlike many clinics, I would see Mr Pande every time and he would actually undertake my surgery. This continuity was very important to me.”

“Talking to friends also only brought positive feedback not only from their experiences but also opticians in the area. “Mr Pande surpassed all expectations. He inspires confidence with his calm and serene manner and every question is responded to with clarity. Most of my questions related to my hobby – golf. Would I be able to play between the two procedures? How soon would I be able to play? Nothing went unanswered.”

Commenting on Rosemary’ s treatment, Milind Pande said: “The difference between having the vision treatment which Rosemary had and standard lens exchange 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.”

Rosemary concluded: “The first procedure was completed in the afternoon. I had a great deal of trepidation but all went well. My husband took me home and I waited nervously for the appointed time to remove my eye patch that evening. Within seconds I could see things around the room I was in and watch the television without specs or lens – something I had not been able to do since childhood.”

“The second procedure was completed just under three weeks later. This time I had no concerns, I was so excited as I knew the second eye was now going to give me great sight like the first. The impact on finding I had such perfect vision was quite emotional. I never dreamed I would be able to see this well. I doubt I ever have. So around three months later, I now take my sight for granted. I still have moments – when stood on the tee and I feel I can count the no of leaves on a tree at the back of the green, when I watch wildlife playing in a field with great clarity, when I can read the telephone directory – the word ‘awesome’ takes its true meaning and not just a teenage euphemism.”

Almost everyone gets a cataract in their lifetime but Rosemary 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 toLens Replacement Surgery and attracts patients from all over the world.