A RETIRED Ilkley dentist is full of praise for a surgical team who not only restored his vision but did so with zero pain.

One year on from cataract surgery, Stephen Spencer, is delighted that he can now see where he has hit his golf ball, and who is on the other side of the net when playing tennis. He is also still grateful for the ease of the procedure which was carried out by Mr Oliver Backhouse, consultant ophthalmic surgeon at Optegra Eye Hospital Yorkshire in Apperley Bridge.

Mr Spencer said: “As a dentist I used to pride myself on being painless but I have to hand it to my surgeon, Mr Backhouse, I felt no pain whatsoever, either during the procedure or in the post operative period.”

The 69-year-old had cataract surgery a year ago as the cloudiness of his lens was affecting his sport. He realised the people the other side of the tennis net were becoming indistinct, yet only a year previously he had been complementing himself on how clear his vision was. It was a fast decline which convinced him to have surgery.

Despite his fears of the actual surgery the father-of-four said: “It was such an easy procedure. On the pain factor, it was absolutely zero out of 10 and everyone in the team dealt with it so well and with such kindness. I was amazed they could do this procedure with just eye drops - I had been expecting a big needle! As a dentist there is no such thing as a little bit of pain, people want no pain whatsoever. And while we try not to cause any pain, you can even hurt a bit by giving the jab as teeth can be so sensitive. But at Optegra, that is what they did! I thought I would have pain after the procedure instead, but no, nothing at all!”

Mr Backhouse, consultant ophthalmic surgeon at Optegra Eye Hospital Yorkshire, said: “We always aim to not only achieve optimum results through eye surgery, but also to deliver it with absolute care and minimum discomfort. We often have patients saying that their experience of cataract or vision correction surgery is much less uncomfortable than a visit to the dentist or hygienist! We are able to achieve this thanks to such advances in medicine and with the latest technology at our hospital, so are delighted that Mr Spencer, as a retired dentist himself, can testify to this.”