Case Notes - Lens of the Eye

Dr Mark Porter investigates the latest treatments for problems with the lens of the eye. He visits Southampton General Hospital and talks to Rob Morris, consultant eye surgeon, about how he treats cataracts. These are very common: nearly half of us will develop some degree of clouding of the lens of the eye by late middle age. Most people have cataracts by the time they reach their mid-80s. Mark meets some of Rob Morris's patients and hears about how they realised that they had cataracts. He then watches an operation in which the patient is under just a local anaesthetic. Rob Morris explains that nowadays the replacement lenses are made to measure. Some patients, including some with astigmatism, have better eyesight after they have had their cataracts removed and tailor-made lenses fitted. Dr Susan Blakeney from the College of Optometrists tells Mark about what happens to the eye as we age. Also, Rob Morris explains how recent developments in lens implants are helping people with the most common type of macular degeneration - the dry form - in which thinning of the retina at the back of the eye leads to poor central vision.