Husband and wife, Stephen and Pauline, both had lens replacement surgery with Mr Mark Wevill. Pauline tells their story...
The Decision
We had been considering lens replacement surgery for around 18 months, after seeing an advert on TV. We were advised by our optician at the time to be very careful in choosing a reputable surgeon to do the procedure, and she recommended the Birmingham Eye Clinic as a good place to start.
Stephen and I had both been getting really fed up not being able to see clearly as well needing to have a huge selection of Verifocal glasses, prescription sunglasses, skiing goggles and contact lenses! We were also getting fed up with general day to day issues such as exercising, shopping, reading instructions, labels, directions and recipes which had all become a nightmare without our eyewear!
In additional Stephen had become very accident prone, especially while at work, due to his limited peripheral vision and found himself missing steps, walking into objects and not being able to see well enough to carry out close, intricate work. Also, when we were on holiday and he was swimming in the sea, he always found it difficult to find me or our group on the beach amongst the huge numbers of sunbathers, coloured umbrellas and all the usual beach paraphernalia!!
For me, the decision was finally made after I had been for a New Year's Eve spa day with my then future daughter-in-law and her mum. I had found myself unable to open the combination lock in the changing rooms because my glasses were inside, and as we were in and out of the lockers all day long, I had to depend on them each time to open my locker for me, and I felt very frustrated.
We both then decided it was time to take the plunge and our New Year’s resolution would be to have new eyes!
The Consultation
I rang the Birmingham Eye Clinic and they recommended that we contact Mr Mark Wevill at The Westbourne Centre as he is one of the best surgeons in his field for lens replacement surgery. The first thing I did was Google both The Westbourne Centre and Mark Wevill and found that research was not too difficult as there were not many other surgeons as highly skilled as he was.
When we arrived at The Westbourne Centre for our consultation with Mr Wevill, we were immediately made to feel comfortable, relaxed and in the hands of a group of qualified people who know what they're doing. Mr Wevill answered all our questions, queries and ‘what if's’, and we left feeling confident, happy and looking forward to the thought of being at our son's wedding without having to wear our 'goggles’!
We both decided to have the procedure done at the same time, so that all the treatment would be completed, and we would be fully recovered before the wedding day.
The Surgery
On the day of the procedure we were naturally a little bit nervous, but felt confident that we were in safe hands. Our eyes were numbed with anaesthetic drops and then we were taken to theatre. The painless procedure was all over within 15 minutes and we were driven home by our daughter an hour or so later.
The Recovery
Back at home the recovery went well, and the only bug bear was remembering to put the drops into our eyes every two hours, but we set alarms on our phones to remind us.
The morning after surgery when we woke up and removed the sterile eye patch, the feeling was that of total elation to be able to see clearly for the first time in years! Everything seemed clearer, cleaner and brighter, and the whole experience was extremely emotional. The aftercare was excellent, with both Mr Wevill and Karen (the procedure nurse) ringing us every few days to make sure we were okay.
It took around 6 months for the healing process to be complete for both of us. I have since had 'Yag laser' treatment to polish the lenses, which was a very simple, painless procedure to remove a little scar tissue, and this has improved the clarity even more.
The Results
We felt overjoyed right from day one at not having to wear glasses, and it was great to be able to treat ourselves to new sunglasses without having to make sure the frames were suitable for our prescriptions. Also, when we think about how much money we have spent over the years on frames, prescriptions, coatings, transition lenses and the same for sunglasses, it would have made economic sense to have had our eyes done years ago!
In summary, we wished we'd had it done years ago, and have nothing but absolute gratitude and admiration for Mr Wevill for giving us both better than 20:20 vision which will remain with us for the rest of our lives. We would also like to thank all the staff at The Westbourne Centre for the kind, caring professionalism they have shown us every time we have visited, before, during and since the procedure.
Finally, on 2 July 2016, Stephen and I were able to watch our son and his lovely wife get married, and it made us even happier that we didn't have to wear our glasses!
