Private Cataract Surgery Bournemouth

Cataracts can gradually make everyday tasks more difficult by reducing the clarity and quality of your eyesight. You may notice haziness, stronger glare from lights, faded colours or increasing difficulty with reading and driving, particularly at night. A specialist assessment can establish how significantly a cataract is affecting your vision and whether surgery is appropriate.

If you are considering private cataract surgery in Bournemouth, you can book a Free Online Consultation with Sapphire Eye Care.

Cataracts often progress slowly. Signs can include a gradual deterioration in sharpness, difficulty seeing in dim conditions, halos or glare around lights and colours becoming less distinct. You may also find that changing your glasses prescription no longer provides the improvement it once did.

Your cataract-affected natural lens is carefully removed and replaced with a clear artificial intraocular lens (IOL). Surgery is normally performed under local anaesthetic by a consultant ophthalmic surgeon and is usually a day-case procedure, allowing you to return home afterwards.

The procedure itself generally takes around 20–30 minutes per eye, but you will spend longer at the clinic to allow for preparation and checks following surgery. If you are travelling back to Bournemouth, it is sensible to keep the rest of your day free.

Your consultant will recommend an IOL after considering your prescription, eye measurements, ocular health and the way you use your vision. Depending on suitability, options can include monofocal, multifocal, trifocal and Extended Depth of Focus (EDOF) lenses, each offering different visual characteristics.

Pricing varies according to the treatment required and the type of IOL selected. Following your diagnostic assessment, you will receive a recommendation and quotation for your proposed surgery, allowing you to understand the costs before deciding whether to proceed.

Potentially. Certain premium IOLs can provide useful focus across more than one distance, which may reduce spectacle dependence for suitable patients. Results vary according to the lens chosen and the characteristics of your eyes, so your consultant will discuss what can realistically be achieved.

Private care can provide quicker access to assessment and treatment, greater continuity with your consultant ophthalmic surgeon and a wider selection of IOL technologies. At Sapphire Eye Care Highcliffe, your treatment plan can therefore consider both the health of your eyes and the visual outcome you would like to achieve.

Yes. The Highcliffe clinic is conveniently located for patients from Bournemouth and the surrounding Dorset coast. Highcliffe can be reached by road from Bournemouth via the A35 and A337, making it a practical alternative to travelling considerably further for specialist private cataract care.

You should arrange for a friend, relative or companion to take you home following surgery, as you must not drive immediately afterwards. You will also be given instructions covering eye drops, recovery precautions and any required follow-up care before leaving the clinic.

Recovery differs between individuals. Driving should only resume when your eyesight satisfies the legal driving standard and you have followed the advice of your clinical team. Other everyday activities can usually be reintroduced progressively according to your recovery guidance.

Yes. You do not need to wait for an NHS referral to enquire about private treatment. Patients from Bournemouth, Christchurch and surrounding Dorset areas can contact Sapphire Eye Care directly, with an assessment at the Highcliffe clinic arranged where appropriate following your initial enquiry.

• After surgery you may experience some pain. Simple paracetamol is usually enough to control this.
• The eyelids will be a bruised and swollen. Bruising will take approximately 2 weeks to settle. Swelling is greatly reduced after 2 weeks but may not completely resolve for several months.
• Some people report not feeling ‘back to normal’ for up to 6 months after surgery.
• Initially it may feel difficult for you to close your eyelids and this will be managed with eye ointments.
• It is important not to have surgery too close to important events, in case you have not fully recovered in time.

• Dermatochalasis is excess of eyelid skin. It can present as an extra fold of skin, which may overhang the upper eyelashes.
• It is caused by the skin loosing its elasticity, usually due to age but is also seen in some medical conditions such as Thyroid related.
• It may be associated with prolapse of orbital fat causing the eyelid to bulge (eye bags). This may occur in the upper or lower eyelid.
• The lower lid may be lax or loose, which may cause it to sag or hang lower than in youth.

• A blepharoplasty is an operation to rejuvenate the eyelids and in some cases can improve vision where excess skin is obscuring it.
• It usually involves removal of excess eyelid skin.
• Depending on an individual, muscle or fat underlying the skin may also be removed, repositioned or tightened surgically.
• The procedure can be carried out in the upper or lower eyelid

Upper eyelid blepharoplasty:

• At the beginning of the operation the amount of skin to be removed will be carefully assessed. Marks will be drawn on the eyelid with a sterile marking pen to assist the surgeon during the procedure.
• The incision is based in the skin crease of the upper lid, which helps to minimise any sign that you have had upper lid surgery.
• After this, local anaesthetic will be injected under the skin of the eyelid and excess skin is then removed.
• Depending on your particular needs, the muscle beneath the skin may be preserved or partially removed.
• If there is fat prolapse, this may be treated with partial fat removal or repositioning.
• Sutures are placed to reform the natural skin crease in the eyelid.
• The skin edges are sutured together with either a continuous suture that is removed one week later or absorbable sutures that will naturally fall out after 2-3 weeks.
• It may be performed alone or in conjunction with other procedures such as lower eyelid surgery, ptosis surgery or brow surgery.

Lower eyelid blepharoplasty:

• There are several elements to lower lid blepharoplasty: skin, muscle, fat and eyelid laxity. The procedure will be tailored to your needs.
• Fat prolapse in the lower eyelid gives the appearance of ‘eye bags’. This fat can be excised or repositioned over the orbital rim to create a smoother transition from the eyelid into the cheek.
• Surgery on the prolapsed fat may be done without a skin incision from the inside of the eyelid – transconjunctival or via a skin incision just beneath the eyelashes – transcutaneous.
• The lower eyelid usually needs to be tightened at the time of surgery. Even a small amount of lid laxity can lead to postoperative lower lid retraction or ectropion if not addressed at the time of surgery.
• The orbicularis muscle, which lies directly beneath the skin is often tightened by placing sutures from it to the bony rim of the orbit – ‘orbicularis suspension’.
• Lower eyelid skin is excised in much smaller amounts than in the upper lid. This is to avoid the unwanted side effect following surgery of eyelid retraction.

• Bleeding and bruising.
• Over or under correction of excess skin with the potential for residual bulging after surgery. Under correction does not usually necessitate revision surgery and is relatively common and preferable to over correction. Over correction results from removal of too much eyelid skin and/or fat with a resultant cosmetic sunken appearance to the eyelids after blepharoplasty).
• Asymmetry of the shape of the eyelids.
• Dry eye requiring the use of artificial teardrops temporarily blurred vision, which is usually temporary.
• Weak or limited eyelid blink (occurs due to excessive scarring)
• Weak or limited eyelid closure (especially at night)
• Should the cornea break down, partial closure of the eye with sutures may be necessary to protect it. Further corrective surgery may be necessary.
• Recurrence of excess skin/bag.
• The need for further eyelid surgery in the future.
• Cysts or whiteheads along suture sites.
• Temporary patches of numbness of the eyelids.
• Orbital haemorrhage with a potential for permanent visual loss
• Infection
• Scarring, or persistent eyelid swelling, and other unusual skin changes, especially in patients with thin sensitive skin, are extremely rare complications.

Crow’s feet are not generally improved by blepharoplasty. Smile lines are not improved by blepharoplasty and may change after surgery. In addition to the risks specific to the individual procedure, there are also general risks, such as blood loss, infection, cardiac arrest, airway problems and blood clots, which are associated with any surgical procedure. Local anaesthetic may cause bruising or possible allergic responses. If your operation is to be carried out under general anaesthetic, the anaesthetist will discuss this with you.

• Both eyelid dermatochalasis and eyebrow ptosis may reduce the visual field due to the hooding of skin over the eyelid; surgery can therefore improve visual function and relieve some headaches.
• It also will improve the appearance of the eyes with a fresher more awake look.

If you choose not to have this surgery, the appearance and symptoms caused by the excess skin or fat is not likely to improve and may worsen over time, although this will not have any permanent detrimental effect on your vision or general health.