Love at second sight – Lancashire couple first in UK to receive revolutionary eye implants

A married couple from Lancashire have become the first two patients in the UK to receive revolutionary multifocal lens implants, giving them both a new spectacle-free life.

Andy and Gail Lythgoe, both 54, from Atherton near Leigh, are the first people in the country to undergo the procedure, which saw them fitted with new Intensity Premium intraocular multifocal lenses, which allow eyes to remain in focus for driving, computers, reading and hobbies – without the need for glasses.

The Lythgoes, who run a family plastering business, were treated by Consultant Ophthalmologist Mr Say Aun Quah at HCA UK at The Wilmslow Hospital in Cheshire.

Mr Lythgoe said: “We’re really pleased – it’s given me a new lease of life; as a plasterer, it can be so frustrating to wear glasses – they steam up or get spattered with plaster – so not having to wear them ever again is incredible.”

Mrs Lythgoe said: “When you wake up in the morning the first thing you do is reach for your glasses. Not anymore! We are thrilled – not having to wear glasses is great – whether it’s checking invoices on the computer or reading food labels in the supermarket.

“I look after our two young grandchildren, Alice and Thomas, two days a week, and your glasses often get knocked off playing with them.”

“I call Mr Quah my ‘miracle man’; it’s surgery so you are apprehensive, but he put us at ease straight away.”

The lenses are designed by renowned implant lens manufacturer Hanita Lenses, and recently launched in the UK by Birmingham Optical.

Most intraocular lenses implanted in the United Kingdom are of a fixed focal length (Monofocal), so that distant objects will be focused clearly by the eye.

Many patients are perfectly happy with this but will still have to use their spectacles to help them focus for different distances, such as reading, driving, using the computer etc.

Mr Quah commented: “I am pleased with the ease of implantation and stability inside the eye of the new Intensity intraocular lens. My patients and I have been delighted with their visual outcomes”.