Every Year We Spend More Than £2.1 Billion On Glasses
The London Vision Clinic has been featured on Channel 4 “Live from the clinic” with Dr . Christian Jessen and Dr. Dawn Harper. Live from the clinic has accompanied Donna Sepala, a patient, before, during and after her LASIK Laser Eye Surgery.
Professor Dan Reinstein performs Donna’s Laser Eye Surgery and discusses the steps during the LASIK procedure.
50% Of The UK Population Suffers With Poor Eye Sight
Dr. Dawn Harper: A staggering 2.1 billion pounds is spent on one particular accessory every year and I’m not talking handbags. 50% of the UK population suffers with poor eye sight. Every year we spend more than £2.1 billion on glasses and contact lenses. Unsurprisingly, corrective surgery has become so popular that 100,000 people had the procedure in the UK last year. Lasik, a type of laser eye surgery, costs on average £3,000 for both eyes. Recovery time for this procedure is between three and four hours.
Donna, Before Her Laser Eye Surgery
Donna: I’ve been wearing glasses for so long now and I really don’t get on with contact lenses. Going out on a night out, I have to wear my glasses and I just feel uncomfortable with them on really. I am quite nervous about today. I’ve been really excited until I just walked in the surgery and I think it’s pretty natural to feel nervous.
Prof Dan Reinstein: What I’m going to do is I’m going to use a laser to change the shape of her cornea by 1,000ths of a millimetre and I will focus her vision so that we she see very clearly. We’re going to set this up without glasses. OK? What do you see there?
Donna: I can see…
Prof Dan Reinstein: OK, you cannot see the legal blindness level.
Contact a Patient Care Coordinator at 0207 224 1005 to discuss what results you can expect to achieve.
Laser Eye Surgery step one: A laser perforates the eyes protective layer
Prof Dan Reinstein: Look into the centre of that green flashing light and you will feel just a little pushing on the eye for 20 seconds. Fantastic. Keep looking straight – that’s beautiful, you’re doing great. Keep looking straight ahead, keep your head just as you are there and just keep looking straight.
Laser Eye Surgery step two: The cornea is reshaped by a laser
Prof Dan Reinstein: Nice and steady, beautiful, perfect, perfect.
Laser Eye Surgery step three: The protective layer is then placed back and just over eight minutes later…
Prof Dan Reinstein: So open your eyes and take a look.
Donna: Oh my God! I literally can’t believe it. It was not painful one bit, not painful one little bit.
Prof Dan Reinstein: OK, so you remember what you were seeing on that chart before. What are you seeing now?
Donna: Yeah, I can see right down the line
Donna: I can see shapes and colours without my glasses on and already after five minutes of the surgery, I can pick up details everywhere. Good bye glasses.
Donna Can Read The 20/16 Line – The Line You Have To Read If You Want To Be A Fighter Jet Pilot
Prof Dan Reinstein: You’ve banged out the 20/20 line and then you read the line below which is the 20/16 line which is the line that you have to read if you want to be a fighter jet pilot.
Dr. Dawn Harper’s And Dr. Christian Jessen’s Advice Before Having Laser Eye Surgery
Dr . Christian Jessen: With 120,000 laser eye operations taking place in the UK every year, it is clearly becoming much more popular, but remember it may not be suitable for everyone.
Dr. Dawn Harper: So, it’s really important to get the right advice and find a good specialist. Just remember when it comes to healthcare, the cheapest isn’t always the wisest.
Dr . Christian Jessen: Definitely not. Get hold of potential complications and really don’t be frightened to ask what could go wrong, it’s important.
Dr. Dawn Harper: And don’t forget if you’ve got any other questions about your health go to our website, or tweet us.