Dr Peter Byloos is chief executive officer at Optegra and recently noticed the impact of presbyopia on his own vision.
Having worn multifocal glasses for the past 7-8 years, Peter describes the frustration of his recently deteriorating eyesight:
“I have been managing okay at work, though I’m aware how increasingly dependent I am on glasses for reading, computer work and video calls – and at home I was up to around five pairs of glasses dotted around, so I could always find a pair!
“But hobbies were more challenging. I love to cycle and I could not leave the house without reading glasses in addition to sports sunglasses. I could not read my Garmin sat nav and it is very hard to cycle at distance without this direction! It’s incredible how quickly it moved from being a small inconvenience to become a real challenge in my day-to-day living.”
Working at Optegra meant Peter was surrounded by patients experiencing similar challenges. “Of course there was some pressure, being chief exec of a leading eye hospital group, to have this surgery; but also I heard so many fantastic reports from our patients and their visual outcomes, and knew the options well, so felt very confident in the procedure. And I was so fed up with all the glasses! My wife has also had Presbyond with Optegra and was over the moon with the results.”
Presbyopia (directly translating “old eye”) is the age-related hardening of the natural lens of the eye, which causes a change in focus and reduced clarity of vision close up. For many people, a first sign around the age of 40 years, is having to hold a newspaper, book or phone at arm’s length in order to read clearly.
Presbyond is one of the latest forms of laser eye surgery – it is minimally invasive, pain-free and a brief laser procedure which reshapes the surface of the cornea, focusing one eye for distance/mid-range vision and the other for near/mid-range vision, resulting in blended clear vision at all distances.
Peter explains: “The procedure was fine for me – I knew what to expect and my surgeon was very skilled in putting me at ease, letting me know what to do. It was very quick, just 28 seconds to be precise on my reading eye.
“The next morning, it was like a miracle had happened!
“Each eye is now focused on different distances. It took just a few days for my eyes to settle and for my brain to learn how to use the two different focusing points of the eyes, but I now have 20/20 vision and don’t need any glasses it is as good as it can be and has absolutely improved my quality of life.”
Peter had his treatment in March at Optegra’s flagship hospital on Queen Anne Street, with consultant ophthalmic surgeon Mr. Amir Hamid.
Peter Byloos, CEO of Optegra
