A hospital in Manchester has become the first to offer a new treatment using a tiny telescope to restore sight on the NHS.
The device, which is roughly the size of a pea, can be implanted during surgery lasting just an hour.
It will offer hope to the hundreds of thousands of people with age-related macular degeneration (AMD) – the leading cause of sight loss in the over-55s.
The disease gradually robs people of their central vision, and about four million Britons have it, including 500,000 with late-stage AMD in which there are significant problems with sight.
Although drug treatments can slow the disease’s progress, there is no cure.
Now the implant, which costs about £12,000, has been made available on the NHS after Manchester Royal Eye Hospital announced it could offer its patients the life-changing procedure.
The pea-sized telescopic device magnifies everything three times and is ideal for macular degeneration patients as the condition causes them to lose their central vision, but not their peripheral vision
The telescopic lens works by magnifying the images that are projected onto the retina. It projects images onto the healthy part of the retina which is not degenerated by the disease
The hospital said it would prioritise treatment to patients in Greater Manchester with the most extreme sufferers of AMD in Greater Manchester.
But it is hoped it could lead to hospitals nationwide offering the procedure – which is currently only available through private treatment – on the NHS.
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In 2014, great-grandmother Margaret Ward, became one of the first patients to have the procedure – allowing her to see her husband clearly for the first time in 15 years.
She lost her sight in 1999 after the gradual onset of late-stage macular degeneration.
It left her with no central vision in her left eye and only partial sight in the corner of her right eye.
As a result, she was unable to cook or read or recognise her husband Charles’ face.
She became one of seven people in the country to undergo pioneering surgery and have an Implantable Miniature Telescope, from CentraSight – put in her right eye.
Speaking at the time, she said: ‘I am still in love with my husband Charles and it has been awful not seeing him properly for the past 15 years.
Margaret Ward was able to see her husband, Charles clearly for the first time in 15 years after she had a tiny telescope fitted into her eye during a pioneering procedure in 2014. The device is now being offered to patients in Greater Manchester on the NHS
Demonstrated here in a cross section of the lens when in the eye, the lens will be available to on the NHS after Manchester Royal Eye Hospital announced it could offer its patients the life-transforming implant
‘I can see he hasn’t changed at all in the past 15 years. He doesn’t have any wrinkles and he’s lovely.
‘I am not one just to go on looks alone, so it’s not just that he’s gorgeous, he’s just a wonderful person.’
The surgery involves removing the eye’s natural lens and replacing it with a tiny telescopic lens – this is done under local anaesthetic.
HOW DOES THE TELESCOPE WORK?
The Implantable Miniature Telescope, from CentraSight, is implanted in place of the eye’s lens – this has to be removed first.
The operation takes place under local anaesthetic while the patient is awake.
The new telescopic lens magnifies everything by three times.
The eye with the implanted telescope is then used for central vision while the other eye is used for peripheral vision.
Before the full benefits are reaped, the patient’s brain has to get used to blending the magnified image with the image from the other eye.
The telescope is ideal for macular degeneration patients as the condition causes them to lose their central vision, but not their peripheral vision.
This lens magnifies objects by three times and also projects images onto a healthy part of the retina instead of the areas damaged by the disease.
The patient then use the eye with the telescope for detailed central vision and the other eye for peripheral vision.
Mrs Ward, who has eight great-grandchildren, said: ‘I can now see my great-grandchildren’s faces properly and that is really exciting.’
She added: ‘Charles and I can watch sports on television – snooker and darts – without me having to constantly ask him who is playing.
‘I can make out the difference and see who is taking the shot. We’re sports mad, Charles and I, so this is really important to us.’
Mrs Ward, of Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, underwent the surgery at the Spire Dunedin Hospital in Reading in August 2014 after her grandaughter enquired to see if she would be eligible for the trial.
‘Before the surgery I struggled to see people properly, even people that I knew well,’ she said.
‘I never knew who was speaking and I would have to say who are you – which was awful when it was someone I knew well. This has given me my social life back.’
Speaking in response to MREH’s decision to make the treatment available on the NHS, Cathy Yelf, chief executive of the Macular Society, said it could help thousands.
‘It’s good news that this new lens implant will be available to some patients at an NHS hospital,’ she said.
‘Studies suggest it can improve vision and therefore for those few who qualify for the treatment, it should help improve their quality of life and enable them to cope with day to day activities.
‘By 2020 almost 700,000 Britons will have late stage AMD. It is now the most common cause of sight loss in the country.
‘It is important that we continue to fight for more funding for macular research because our ageing society means many more people are developing the condition.’