Woman’s vision improves after new procedure following cataract surgery

JACKSONVILLE, Florida. – A woman can see without glasses after new technology improved her vision after cataract surgery.

Kathy Pumphrey is one of more than 1,000 people in the Jacksonville area who have had adjustable lenses implanted.

Thanks to the procedure, she has been able to see without glasses for the first time. It is a move she believes will change her life.

Pumphrey enjoys her life with her family and her career as a registered nurse, but said her vision always seemed to be a problem.

“Without my glasses, the world was just a blur,” Pumphrey said. “I couldn’t read anything, I couldn’t drive, I couldn’t watch TV or anything other than the computer. I couldn’t do anything without my glasses.”

A few months ago, Pumphrey got the first adjustable lenses of their kind after cataract surgery. It is an option that has been in demand recently.

Pumphrey now has 20/20 vision.

“I feel like I’ve got my vision back,” Pumphrey said.

Dr. Christian Guier is an optometrist at Florida Eye Specialists on Jacksonville’s south side. He said there are many success stories with cataract surgery.

Guier also said that success is not always the case, so the adjustable lens creates a new alternative for people to make changes to their vision if surgery does not meet their needs, something that was not possible before.

“Cataract surgery is the only elective surgery where every time you get out of bed for the rest of your life, you appreciate good vision,” Guier said. “If we can make that vision the best it can be, they will recognize that benefit always and forever.”

The procedure involves using ultraviolet light to shape the lens inside the eye. Guier said the entire process can take more than a month.

Include fitting appointments before fixing the final measurements in place.

“This is by far a real step forward in what technology functionally offers people,” Guier said.

They said it is a transformative way to make vision sharper and clearer.

“I’ve never seen so well in my life,” Pumphrey said.

Guier said this method is becoming so popular for him that he spends at least four days a week exclusively treating patients who receive these new lenses.

As more people opt for this procedure, it is expanding to offer it in Fernandina Beach and Ormond Beach as well.