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I'd still be able to see if they could have done this about 20 years ago.

I'm glad they can now though.


First British glaucoma patient has eyesight saved with tiny iStent implant
. 
By  Daily Mail Reporter. 
A mother-of-six has become the first British patient to undergo revolutionary 
eye surgery aimed at stopping the march of the blinding illness glaucoma.
Mary McCall, 66, from Belfast, had been slowly losing her eyesight to the 
disease, which is responsible for causing blindness in more than 67 million 
people worldwide.
Surgeons at the Cathedral Eye Clinic in Belfast fitted Mrs McCall's eye with a 
device already being dubbed the 'millimetre miracle'.
The tube, a 'stent', is implanted into the eye and siphons off excess fluid 
that can lead to the blinding eye condition called Glaucoma 
The tube, a 'stent', is implanted into the eye and siphons off excess fluid 
that can lead to the blinding eye condition called Glaucoma
The iStent is a tiny piece of titanium weighing just 60 microgrammes - and is 
the smallest medical device ever to be implanted into the  human body.
It drains fluid away, lowering eye pressure from a sensitive part at the back 
of the eye which causes glaucoma.
Details of the operation were disclosed by Cathedral Eye Clinic consultant 
Colin Willoughby as National Glaucoma Awareness Week got under way.
Glaucoma is a progressive and irreversible illness caused when the optic nerve 
is damaged by a build-up of fluid. Patients begin to lose peripheral vision and 
can go blind.
'One eye is brilliant now. It's like somebody just switched on a light.'
Mrs McCall will soon undergo the 15-minute procedure on her second eye.
Mr Willoughby said: 'This is a massive step forward for the treatment of 
glaucoma and has the potential to help so many people.
'We have now had time to assess Mrs McCall and we are delighted with the 
result. More importantly, though, is that she is delighted and we are planning 
to schedule treatment of her other eye soon.'
Andrew Spence, director at Cathedral Eye Clinic, said: 'This is a revolutionary 
step forward for the treatment of glaucoma, an illness which medical science 
has been battling for years. There is still no known cure.
'The iStent procedure stops the progression of glaucoma and has the potential 
to save the eyesight of many people.'
More.... 
Girl, 16, has life saved by optician who spotted rare brain condition that 
could have blinded her in 48 hours . 
Mrs McCall said: 'The procedure has changed my life. My eyesight was getting 
worse and the procedure has stopped that.
'Mr Willoughby was brilliant throughout. I went into hospital in the morning 
and I was home in time for lunch. Sure you couldn't beat that.
'I used to have to put three different types of drops into my eye in the 
morning and two at night. I'm hoping to have the other eye done soon, so I 
won't have to use drops at all.
'I would hate to go blind. That is a possibility with glaucoma and now I don't 
have to worry about that.
'The Cathedral Eye Clinic carried out the procedure for free and Mr Willoughby 
also removed a cataract in another operation, so that eye is brilliant now. 
It's like somebody just switched on a light.'

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