Keeping you up to date with our news

Radio Kent's breakfast show team John Warnett and Julia George spent part of the morning interviewing the Centre for Sight Medical Director Mr Daya looking into the ever increasing popularity of laser vision correction.

The huge advancements in technology over the last decade has had a big impact on the overall safety of the procedure with many patients now achieving better vision then with glasses or contact lenses.

Mr Daya also spent part of the interview discussing the alternative corrective procedures for those not suitable for laser vision correction.

Centre for Sight opened it's doors to optometrists last Wednesday for its first Cornea, Cataract and Refractive update.

Mr Daya, Miss Espinosa and Mr Khan, three of the Centre for Sight consultants, gave a series of talks updating the audience in new corneal techniques, cataract and refractive surgery.  A highlight of the day was live Intralasik Wavefront Aspheric Surgery.

All optometrists derived great value from the day and rated all aspects as "Excellent", in particular the live Laser eye surgery procedure.

A highly respected Norwegian laser eye surgeon, flew in to England and underwent Lasik with Intralase and Zyoptix Wavefront Aspheric correction at the Centre for Sight last week.

Dr. Trond Thilesen is Co-owner and Managing Director of All Bright & Clear Synskirurgi, Norway. The next day he was back in Norway enjoying his new vision, seeing his own patients and performing laser eye surgery himself using similar technology!

After receiving official Council clearance last week, our move to Hazelden Place is fully complete. We are now running full clinics at the hospital.

The peaceful, modern and contemporary environment has been extremely well received and we are very proud to call it our own hospital.

Medical Director Sheraz Daya was honoured as the 2009 Choyce Medal Lecturer.

The Choyce Medal Lecture is regarded as one of the most prestigious and eponymous lectures organised by the society. Mr Daya was invited specifically to talk about developments and the work he has done as consultant and Medical Director of the world renowned Corneoplastic Unit and eye bank at the Queen Victoria Hospital, East Grinstead.

Centre for Sight congratulates Sheraz Daya on the award !

Centre for Sight Crystalens data was presented this week at the Annual Meeting of the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons in Barcelona. As providers of the Crystalens technology since 2002, Centre for Sight have the longest experience and also have performed amongst Europe's highest numbers of the procedure. The outcomes of the most recent advances of Crystalens were presented and outcomes revealed excellent depth of focus. 72% of patients were completely free of glasses.

Today the FIRST two UK patients have been treated with the new 5th Generation iFS Intralase laser with remarkable outcomes at 6/4.8 (20/15) vision on the first postoperative day. They both underwent IntraLASIK Zyoptix Wavefront with 10 second flaps and the new inverse side-cut.

"The flaps were barely visible and well tucked away under the reverse side cut" commented Mr Sheraz Daya, Medical Director, who conducted the procedure on March 31st 2009. He also added "these were the smoothest flaps I have seen and it is no surprise both patients had excellent quality vision on the first day! Additionally the reverse side-cut resulted in minimal if any postoperative discomfort."

Sarah Vaughan

"I was so happy with the service I received from Centre for Sight. From the ladies in the office to the consultation, to the surgeon. Everybody here is so extremely helpful and I am more than 100% happy with my new eyes! Thank you Mr Daya."

In keeping with our leadership role, we have yet again made considerable investment in new technology for the benefit of its patients.

The new 5th generation 150 KHz Intralase iFS laser has several advantages over the current 4th generation laser:

1) At a speed of almost 3 times, flap creation is reduced from 30 seconds to less than 10 seconds, making the process quicker and safer with very short suction times on the eye.

2) Oval shaped flaps for those with astigmatism.

3) Reverse entry angle to maintain corneal and flap strength.
Faster Corneal transplantation and Intacs.

Today the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) issued full guidance to the NHS in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland on intraocular lens insertion for correction of refractive error, with preservation of the natural lens. This means that, like their guidance on laser eye surgery back in March 2006, they officially consider Intraocular lens insertions, such as ICL and Artisan, safe and worthwhile procedures for those with higher prescriptions that may preclude them from conventional laser eye surgery.

Read the full guidance

Mr Hobson explained how the ceremony had evolved from one performed in Pagan times and intended to help protect the building and its occupants from harm. He also took the opportunity to thank everyone who had been working so hard on the project.

Two young oak trees were presented to Mr. Sheraz Daya, our Medical Director and Medical Director of the Corneoplastic Unit at the Queen Victoria Hospital, and his wife and fellow ophthalmic consultant, Marcela Espinosa-Lagana. Mr Daya promised to plant the trees within the extensive grounds of the hospital.

Click here to see more about the build...

Medical Director, Sheraz Daya MD, will be presenting our outcomes of CrystaLens at the annual congress of the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons in Berlin next week!

Point of interest: Centre for Sight outcomes have surpassed those of the International Registry as well as those of US surgeons with 75% of patients completely free of glasses (both distance and near) and 80% never requiring the use of readers!

Read more about CrystaLens...

This major accolade is for care provided by his NHS team with some surgical support from the team at Centre for Sight.

Here is what the Awards had to say about him:

Sheraz Daya has single handedly turned the corneoplastic unit and eye bank at the Queen Victoria Hospital NHS Foundation Trust into a nationally and internationally renowned unit, providing some of the most modern corneal care in the world.

As director of the unit for the past fourteen years, he has developed and introduced a number of innovative new techniques in corneal transplant, and his pioneering work in stem cell transplation to restore the ocular surface resulted in a breakthrough in 2004/5 which was reported in the world press.

The success and accomplishments of the unit in providing very complex patients with exceptional treatment and care have been outstanding. They not only benefit NHS patients, but many others who are referred to the unit from throughout the European Union.

Nominating patient Sara Wiseman sums up, “Mr Daya is a genius and a miracle worker. He is forever fighting for people who others see as beyong help. He transforms lives in an unimaginable way and has literally given sight to the blind. He has improved my quality of life and I have comfort I never dreamt possible for the first time in 30 years.”

Read all about it in the local papers:

With our new hospital rising from it's foundations, and a third new centre scheduled to open in central Surrey early 2009, we were thrilled when Maggie Middleton accepted the new position of CEO to help ensure our exceptionally high medical and care standards are guaranteed to continue throughout our growth.

Maggie will bring many years of senior management experience of healthcare, from both the public and independent sector.

"I am incredibly excited to be part of such an innovative, high quality and growing company" says Ms Middleton.

Corneal specialist Saj Khan became familiar with the Centre for Sight team when he completed his specialty cornea fellowship training,in the NHS Corneo Plastic Unit, Queen Victoria Hospital, East Grinstead.

Famous for being leaders in laser vision correction and for their specialist care of all medical conditions relating to the cornea or front of the eye, for Mr Khan the opportunity to join the centre was the pinnacle to years of specialist training.

As a contact lens and glasses wearer for the last 20 years, naturally his induction had the added bonus of including undergoing surgery performed by himself – IntraLASIK Zyoptix wavefront – the latest and safest in laser vision correction. His prescription of -2.5 wasn’t high, but Mr Khan knew that he had thin cornea and prior to undergoing all the tests was genuinely nervous about whether or not he might be suitable.

With his surgery booked, the whole team were waiting in anticipation for the results of his consultation. He was a particularly difficult patient as his eyes were straining during evaluation and provided spurious readings. After repeating the tests, Mr Sheraz Daya, Medical Director of Centre for Sight, assessed the results of his tests and affirmed his suitability.

The day of treatment came and ever thoughtful, the team brought in a film crew to divert any anxiety. Surgery, as always, went smoothly and swiftly – a total of only twenty minutes in theatre and his transformation was complete.

Immediate tests following his surgery showed his vision had already reached 20/20 (6/6). A short sleep and quick follow-up appointment the next day showed it had improved further to an amazing 20/12 (6/4) – better than his corrected vision with lenses prior to surgery. The next day back to the grindstone – only now with the advantage of being able to reassure Centre for Sight patients with the benefit of personal experience!

A video of Mr Khan’s consultation or surgery will shortly be available on the Centre for Sight website or alternatively contact us and ask to be put on the list to receive a copy as soon as it becomes available: enquiries@centreforsight.com or 0800 011 2882