PRESBYOND® Laser Blended Vision from the Eyes of the Patient
For many years following the invention of Laser Eye Surgery, individuals hindered by a developing need for reading glasses were excluded from experiencing its life-changing results. But this is no longer the case. In fact, at London Vision Clinic, we have been offering PRESBYOND® Laser Blended Vision – a revolutionary laser treatment for presbyopia (ageing eyes) – for well over a decade!
In this article, we hear the story of London Vision Clinic patient, Ken. After dealing with glasses and contact lenses for years, Ken eventually found himself needing reading glasses, too – which turned out to be the final straw.
Meet Ken Hames
London Vision Clinic patient, Ken Hames has had an action-filled life, spending over 20 years in the special forces in the army and rock climbing in his spare time. Following his retirement from the Armed Forces, Ken became a motivational speaker and worked in television production, which, while not as physically demanding, continued to require a lot from his sight.
“All the time you’re worried about your eyes: By keeping [contact lenses] in at night, am I causing them damage by doing that? So, it’s had a huge impact on my life – having defective vision…
“I was in the army for twenty-odd years where I struggled with glasses and contact lenses. I left the army, and then I got into television production, business speaking – but I still spend a lot of time in the great outdoors.”
For Ken, Laser Eye Surgery was something he had considered for a long time; however, for various reasons, he had put off going under the laser. That is, until he came to London Vision Clinic.
“I first started thinking about Laser Eye Surgery about 15 years ago – and it’s been around some time. It’s taken me – you know – a few years to come round to having it done.
“I feel the time’s right now because incredible advances have been made in Laser Eye Surgery: It’s very safe, it’s very quick; yes, it costs money, but I think now I’m convinced that, by going through this process, it’s definitely going to improve the quality of my life.”
Introducing PRESBYOND® Laser Blended Vision
Ken came to London Vision Clinic way back in 2009, making him one of the first patients in the UK to have PRESBYOND® Laser Blended Vision. This innovative Laser Eye Surgery technique was developed by our very own founder and expert surgeon, Professor Dan Reinstein, as a way to remove the need for reading glasses in patients with presbyopia.
Building on the monovision technique, which involves correcting one eye for distance vision and the second eye for near vision, PRESBYOND® takes a more tolerable approach. Rather than correcting each eye for a different field of vision, this method creates a blend zone.
This is achieved by correcting one eye mainly for distance with a little near, and the other eye mainly for near with a little distance. This makes it easier for the brain to combine the two images from each eye. As a result, PRESBYOND® is tolerated by around 97% of patients, compared to around 60% for monovision.
Ken’s Experience of PRESBYOND® Laser Blended Vision
Ken came to London Vision Clinic after we were recommended to him by a friend.
After living with glasses since the age of 11 and later joint correcting his vision with contact lenses, reading glasses were the final straw for Ken. In the video below, Ken and our expert surgeon, Mr Glenn Carp, explains more about the treatment.
“Part of the penalty for getting old is that you have difficulty reading. So, do you want to read, or do you want to be able to see a hawk at a kilometre away?
“But, what the London Vision Clinic was able to do quite cleverly, was to blend my eyes. It is difficult for me to explain the science of it, but what they enable your eyes to do, is be able to read quite close to and be able also to see far away.
“Now, that’s a fantastic asset to have because inevitably as you get older you know, you have the glasses hanging around your neck. But, to have this opportunity to have no glasses and no contact lenses and to be able to see far away and to be able to see close too, to read, well you know, that’s just an added bonus.”
Mr Glenn Carp explains more about presbyopia
“Once we get to the age of 45, what happens to everybody in the world unfortunately is, that our reading starts to drift out. It’s a condition called presbyopia and it’s not unique to an individual, it happens to everybody,” Glenn explains.
Presbyopia is a refractive error that occurs as the eyes age. Over time, the lens becomes less flexible and the muscles around the lenses weaken, making it increasingly difficult to refocus across different distances. As a result, our near vision begins to deteriorate, making it more and more difficult to perform close-up tasks such as reading.
Ken speaks about before and after his PRESBYOND® Laser Blended Vision treatment
In the video above, we meet Ken after his PRESBYOND® Laser Blended Vision treatment at London Vision Clinic. He tells us of the struggles he used to have before his treatment – particularly when it came to reading – and how things have changed since.
“When I tried to read when I wore contact lenses or glasses, I found it really difficult, because at night when your eyes are tired, you want to take your lenses out and then you have to hold the book kind of up to your face. So, you put your glasses on and you know that doesn’t quite work either because your eyes then have to adjust to your glasses.
“You’re in this kind of you know, this triangle of difficulty, but since I’ve had my eyes corrected and blended as well, I found reading a lot, lot easier. So, at night in bed with the bedside lamp on, I can read a book and it’s a pleasure now to read a book instead of, you know, a bit of a struggle to focus on it.”
Have you found yourself begrudgingly relying on reading glasses? Ever wondered if there is another solution? Get in touch with one of our friendly clinic coordinators or Book a Consultation today to find out if PRESBYOND® Laser Blended Vision treatment could be an option for you.
