Breakthrough lens for the VIPs

A new type of lens can now be inserted into the eye to help severe macular degeneration patients see better - giving much hope to sufferers.

This ground-breaking surgery in Britain is called the IOL VIP (intra-ocular lens for visually impaired people) procedure. It is very similar to a cataract removal, in which the ocular lens is replaced with an artificial one behind the iris.

For IOL VIP (see picture above), a second lens is also placed in front of the iris - creating a slightly magnified image much like a telescope. As a result, light entering the eye is directed to a healthy part of the retina and away from the macular scar, giving patients back some of their useful vision.

The procedure is painless and takes about 20-30 minutes under simple eyedrop anaesthesia. It is easy to carry out and the effects are almost immediate. It was first successfully carried out in March 2007.

Seventy-three-year-old grandmother Mary Johnson is one of the first patients to benefit. She said: "I noticed the difference more or less straightaway. When you have macular degeneration you no longer take your sight for granted, and being able to get out in the garden to pick up the weeds has meant so much to me.

"One day I was walking through town with my husband and I said: 'Look! I can see House of Fraser!' I was so excited that I was able to read the sign. Hopefully, with time, my sight will improve even more. But if I stay as I am now I will be satisfied."

But ophthalmic surgeon Sakkaf Ahmed Aftab, who runs a clinic from Grimsby's St Hugh's Hospital and was one of the first surgeons to be trained in the IOL VIP pointed out the surgery is not suitable for everyone.

It is also not a miracle cure and is only appropriate for patients who have lost a significant level of vision. However, it can restore enough of a patient's sight to drastically improve their quality of life.

"This is a procedure for people who cannot see," he said. "There's no way that after having this you would be able to read small print or start driving again. But that's why this work is so rewarding - because you are giving people back their vision when before they had none at all."

Click here to read the complete article and here to find out more about IOL VIP. See below for a video of how the procedure is carried out.