A team from Moorfields Eye Hospital Dubai, UAE, has successfully treated a patient who required a complex surgical implant of extremely powerful intraocular lenses (IOL) to treat her cataract (clouding of the eye's natural lens) and correct her high myopia (extreme short sightedness).

As a result of implanting two lenses with the highest minus power ever implanted in the UAE, the patient's vision and quality of life have improved dramatically, said the hospital.

Standard IOLs were not an option and the lenses were delivered from Germany, custom-made specifically for the patient.

The patient had a complicated history of eye problems including cataract and was unable to see without very thick lenses, due to her extreme short sightedness. The complexity of the treatment included the challenge of very accurately calculating the power of the lenses required to correct the patient's vision, manufacturing the custom lenses, and finally the surgical procedure to implant correctly such powerful lenses.

Professor Robert Scott, medical director at Moorfields Eye Hospital Dubai, said: "Though complex, the bilateral surgery to implant these special intraocular lenses was performed without complications and the results have been excellent. Our patient presented us with the challenge of treating her cataract and correcting her extreme short sightedness, which meant that we had to arrange the custom-made lenses with the most minus refractive reading ever implanted in the UAE. We are all delighted that she is now able to see very well and only needs her light glasses for reading; we believe the surgery to improve her vision will significantly enhance her life."

According to the patient, opening her eyes for the first time after the surgery was "an amazing experience and the world seemed brighter and clearer without contact lenses and like seeing the world in a new light."

Cataract refers to the clouding of the natural lens in the eye; it is the most cause of vision loss in people over the age of 40 and is the leading cause of blindness in the world. Myopia is a very common condition that affects around 25 per cent of the general population. High myopia (extreme short sightedness) is very difficult to treat/correct using standard contact lenses or spectacles, because of the thickness of the lenses needed to correct the vision. This is where an intraocular lens (IOL) - a synthetic artificial lens implanted into the eye to replace the natural lens - is a very effective treatment, the hospital said. -TradeArabia News Service