Sight gives us the freedom to live the life we choose and make independent decisions, so the thought of losing it due to cataracts can be quite scary for anyone.

Cataracts are most common with older adults, but they can also appear in babies and young children too.

They form as small cloudy patches on the lens of your eyes and over time, become much larger, causing blurred and misty vision, and if untreated, can possibly lead to blindness.

Cataracts can be a major irritant for anyone, easily affecting everyday life tasks such as simply reading and watching TV.

So, these are the questions to ask when considering cataract surgery: Do bright lights make it more difficult to see? Is your sight affecting everyday tasks such as pouring boiling hot water to make a cup of tea? Can you see safely when driving? Is your vision affecting your quality of life? If you answer YES to any of the above, then you should make an appointment to be seen.

Seeing your local Optician who would refer you to a Consultant Ophthalmologist for treatment on the NHS for cataracts, would lead to a minimum wait of at least 36 weeks from initial consultation to treatment. That’s three months short of waiting a year to potentially get your sight back.

But, the long wait can be avoided by going straight to St Joseph’s Hospital, Newport, who are a Centre of Excellence for Ophthalmology.

Now, the thought of eye surgery would strike fear in the hearts of the bravest people, but it is a relatively simple procedure and involves the removal of the lens of your eye and, in most cases, replace it with an artificial lens.

During surgery the cloudy lens is removed and replaced with an artificial, foldable lens implant to improve vision.

There are a number of artificial lenses available which can correct both near, and far, sightedness.

Your consultant will advise you on which lens is the most suitable. There are some eye conditions, including astigmatism, which may limit the choices.

Cataract surgery is also offered when a cataract interferes with the treatment of another eye problem. For example, if a cataract makes it difficult for your consultant to examine the back of your eye to monitor or treat other eye problems such as age-related macular degeneration.

Consultant ophthalmologist, Mr Andrew Feyi-Waboso, is passionate about International eye health care and set up the Gwent Zomba Malawi Health Link in 2015. He also founded the charity Sight 2020 Direct and is a Trustee
(sight2020direct.org). This is a charity aiming to deliver sight saving eye surgery and develop blind football. He also ran the London Marathon with one of his blind patients in 2016 to raise money for Blind Veterans UK and Sight 2020 Direct.

“Sight is the most feared sensory modality known to man,” Andrew told Voice.

“Blindness from cataracts is preventable, with cataract surgery being one of the most cost-effective interventions in modern medicine.

“The operation transforms patient’s lives giving them the ability to choose and make independent decisions. Patients want to maintain their freedom and improve their quality of life.”

St Joseph’s Hospital is offering Voice Readers a free cataract consultation and all you need to do to get this free service is to download the promotional code from www.stjosephshospital.co.uk/treatments/specialities/ophthalmology/cataract-surgery/

*The Free Consultation is subject to availability and only accessible until 31st September 2019 with specified Consultant Ophthalmologists at St Joseph’s Hospital.

St Joseph’s Hospita - Harding Ave, Newport NP20 6ZE

www.stjosephshospital.co.uk

01633 820344

hello@stjosephshospital.co.uk