Private Cataract Surgery Sussex

Cataracts can gradually interfere with the quality of your sight, affecting everything from recognising detail and reading comfortably to coping with bright sunshine or driving after dark. If your eyesight is beginning to restrict the things you normally do, it may be time to consider a specialist assessment. Patients throughout East Sussex, West Sussex and Mid Sussex can access consultant-led private cataract treatment at Sapphire Eye Care’s Brighton clinic, with comprehensive diagnostics and a choice of intraocular lens technologies.

To discuss whether treatment could be appropriate for you, book a Free Online Consultation with Sapphire Eye Care.

You may experience a gradual loss of definition, find bright lights increasingly dazzling or struggle more when moving between different lighting conditions. Night driving can become uncomfortable, colours may look less vivid and an updated glasses prescription may no longer provide the improvement you expect. An eye assessment can identify whether cataracts are causing these changes.

Cataract surgery removes the clouded natural lens and replaces it with an artificial intraocular lens (IOL). Treatment is generally performed using local anaesthetic and usually does not require an overnight stay. Following appropriate checks after the procedure, you can normally return home the same day.

The surgical procedure commonly takes around 20–30 minutes per eye, although your total appointment will be longer. This allows time for preparation beforehand and monitoring afterwards, as well as receiving instructions about eye drops and your recovery. Patients travelling from elsewhere in Sussex should allow sufficient time for the complete visit.

Yes, although suitability varies between patients. Detailed measurements, your prescription and the health of your eyes help your consultant determine which technologies should be considered. Options can include monofocal, multifocal, trifocal and Extended Depth of Focus (EDOF) IOLs, each offering different visual characteristics.

The cost depends on your individual treatment plan and the lens technology recommended. Once your eyes have been assessed, Sapphire Eye Care will explain the proposed treatment and provide the relevant pricing so you can make an informed decision before proceeding.

Possibly. For appropriately selected patients, premium IOLs can provide functional vision over a wider range of distances than a standard single-focus lens. This may allow spectacles to be used less often, although complete glasses independence cannot be guaranteed. Your consultant will explain the likely outcome for your eyes.

The Brighton clinic provides a central location for patients travelling from communities across Sussex. Cataract care is consultant-led and supported by specialist diagnostic technology and access to different IOL options, allowing treatment to consider your individual visual goals as well as the cataract itself.

Brighton has good connections with the surrounding region. The A23, A27 and A259 provide important road links, while direct rail services connect Brighton with locations including Worthing, Burgess Hill, Haywards Heath, Lewes and Eastbourne. Your most convenient route will depend on where in Sussex you are travelling from.

Yes. You should arrange for a responsible adult to collect or accompany you following cataract surgery. Your eyesight may be temporarily affected, so you must not drive yourself home. This is particularly important to plan in advance if you have a longer journey back to another part of Sussex.

You can drive again once your vision has recovered sufficiently to satisfy the legal eyesight requirements for driving and you have followed the advice provided by your clinical team. There is no fixed recovery period that applies to everyone.

You can contact Sapphire Eye Care directly about private cataract treatment without waiting for an NHS referral. Patients throughout Sussex can begin with a Free Online Consultation, with a detailed assessment at the Brighton clinic arranged where appropriate.

• 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.