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Mr David Allamby
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Presbyopia is the need for reading glasses – it can now be treated with both laser and lens surgical options
Laser treatment is now available for those who need glasses for reading
Do you find it hard to read menus in restaurants without putting on your reading glasses? Or how about the hassle of not being able to read your text messages quickly when you’re out and about?
If you have always had good vision and now find yourself over 40 and needing reading glasses, or if you have been wearing glasses for distance vision and now find you are losing your close up vision, you may be developing presbyopia.
Presbyopia is simply an unavoidable condition where the eye’s ability to focus on near objects diminishes as we get older and effects everyone by the age of 51.
presbyopia is the need for reading glasses – it can now be treated with both laser and lens surgical options
Recent developments have revolutionised what we can now offer patients who suffer from presbyopia and now need reading glasses.
Surgical treatments are now available to you, which can correct far vision (e.g. driving and television) as well as clear reading and even intermediate vision ranges such as a computer screen. The two main choices are:
The choice of procedure will depend on your age, prescription and personal preferences.
Focus Clinic is a specialist clinic for the treatment of age-related reading problems. Mr David Allamby, our chief surgeon, was the first to perform the pioneering Blended Vision procedure in the UK in January 2003. He has performed Blended Vision for longer than any other UK surgeon.
Contact us today on 0207 307 8250 to find out if you are suitable for presbyopia surgery for reading glasses or click the button below if you are interested in a consultation.
Laser eye surgery can help restore lost reading vision through an approach called Blended Vision, a procedure pioneered by our chief surgeon David Allamby in 2003. Blended Vision can be a very good option for those aged 45-65 and does not require a visit to the operating theatre. The whole procedure can be completed in the laser suite in around 10 minutes for both eyes.
Blended Vision can be a very good option for those aged 45-65 and does not require a visit to the operating theatre
Not everyone is suitable for Blended Vision, which can be determined at your consultation.
Laser eye surgery for reading glasses is done using a technique known as Blended Vision, where one eye (usually the dominant eye) is treated to fully sharpen your distance vision while the other eye is treated to correct your near vision. The brain then blends these two images together to give you clear vision for both near and far.
up to 90% of patients wearing reading glasses can be suitable for our Blended Vision option
If you are suitable for LASIK, it is likely you can also be a candidate for Blended Vision. Around 90% of presbyopic patients are potentially able to enjoy the benefits of Blended Vision, which will be determined at your consultation.
We can demonstrate the effect you will achieve with Blended Vision at your consultation, so you can decide if it is right for you.
determining your suitability for blending, and simulating the effect, is easily carried out at your consultation using a simple glass lens test
Around 10% of patients are not eligible due to limitations in how some of our brains are wired. These patients find it difficult to blend the images from each eye together. This ability to join images for far and near vision is something you appear to be born with, and does not change with age.
For those who have received Blended Vision, if necessary, the reading eye can be retreated in later years to keep up with any age-related changes.
Presbyopia is treated by either LASIK or LASEK surgery, depending on which is more suitable for the patient.
Our advanced laser, the Wavelight Allegretto™, can create a specific profile which allows the shape of the cornea to be changed to help improve the depth of focus of the eye. The result allows the eyes to ‘blend’ together and gives less ‘difference between the 2 eyes’ and less of a compromise in terms of visual quality. This treatment is adjusted to the individual needs of the patient and customised on an individual basis.
Presbyopia is a normal part of the ageing process and will affect everyone. People who are experiencing the start of presbyopia often notice that their ‘arms are too short’ to read and they have to hold things further away to see them clearly.
Presbyopia typically becomes noticeable between age forty and fifty and progressively worsens through age sixty-five, at which point it stabilises. When presbyopia begins, people who already wear glasses may need bifocals or varifocals, and those who have never worn glasses will require reading glasses.
The loss of flexibility of the crystalline lens inside our eyes makes it more and more difficult to change focus and see close objects or reading material. Effectively, we have lost the ability to ‘zoom in’ on near objects.
this stiffening of the lens actually begins at birth, and the process steadily continues through each decade.
By the time we are 30 we have lost 50% of our focusing power. At the age of 45 we have lost approximately 85% and at this point, we begin to have symptoms of blurred near vision. We can initially compensate by holding objects further away or increasing illumination. When these manoeuvres are no longer sufficient we will need to wear reading glasses.
LASIK Blended Vision is a slightly more complex procedure than standard LASIK, and the treatment price reflects a certain increase in the amount of time we need to spend examining your scans, results and data, as well as the expertise needed to deliver great Blended Vision results.
Please visit our laser eye surgery prices page for more information on treatment price and payment plans.
If suitable, you may wish to finance the surgery and we have a variety of options. Please contact us on 0207 307 8250 for more details.
The operation for refractive lens exchange surgery is essentially identical to cataract removal. In cataract surgery, the natural lens inside the eye has become somewhat opaque and the lens is being removed to restore vision lost to this impediment to clear sight. In RLE, the lens is clear without the changes found in cataract and is being replaced to reduce or eliminate the need for glasses, either for distance, reading, or both.
Your requirement for glasses or contacts after refractive lens exchange will depend on the choice of intraocular lens (IOL) inserted at the time of surgery – monofocal IOLs, with or without monovision, or premium multifocal lenses.
the operation for lens exchange surgery is essentially identical to cataract removal
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100% 20/20 vision
Focus Clinic has a remarkable 100% success rate for 20/20 vision. We know of no other clinic that has matched these results. There is a big difference between, for example, 98% and 100% success, especially if you are in the 2%.
10 year guarantee
Your 10 Year Guarantee means you can return at any time if you have additional questions on the quality of your vision. If you have distance vision correction for short-sight then any repeat laser eye treatments to correct a return of myopia in the first 10 years are included free of charge.*
Most trusted eye treatment clinic
We have the highest trust rating of any ‘eye treatment’ rated clinic, according to independent review site TrustPilot. With an outstanding 9.9 out of 10, when it comes to your eyes, choose the clinic that actual patients trust the most.