Milestones in the Wellington Eye Clinic History
1) First clinic in the republic to do refractive surgery (Radial Keratotomy)
2) First clinic in Europe to purchase an excimer laser
3) First clinic in Ireland to do bilateral LASIK (1997)
4) First clinic in Ireland to do wavefront-guided LASIK (2001)
5) First and only clinic to do Topography-guided LASIK (2005)
6) First and only clinic to do Asphericity-controlled LASIK (2005)
7) First and only clinic to do LASIK guided by Pentacam data (2006)
8) Awarded the status of being the Global Ambassador site for Wavelight Lasers (GmBH)
9) The first clinic to provide a lifetime warranty on laser eye surgery
10) First clinic to offer Neuro-Vision treatments for amblyopia (lazy eye)
11) First clinic in Ireland to offer Corneal Cross Linking (C3R)
12) The first dedicated presbyopia clinic at our sister clinic "The Beacon Eye Clinic"
Details
1) The Wellington Eye Clinic was the first in Ireland to do radial keratotomy. This procedure made use of a diamond knife to make incisions in the cornea that changed the shape in order to correct short-sightedness
2) The very first laser ever bought by a clinic in Europe was bought by the Wellington Eye Clinic. There were other lasers in Europe that preceded that date where the initial studies were performed on excimer lasers, but the first commercial sale of a laser was to the Wellington Eye Clinic
3) In 1997 the Wellington Eye Clinic became the first clinic in Ireland to perform LASIK on both eyes on the same day. The record of the clinic at that point in time was 100% in terms of never having had a post-operative infection and hence the decision was made to start doing procedures bilaterally. To this day, 23000 procedures later, the clinic still boasts a record of never having had a post-operative LASIK infection.
4) In September of 2001 the clinic became the first in Ireland to perform a wavefront-guided LASIK and only the 3rd in the world to do so. Wavefront-guided LASIK is indicated for people with complaints about the quality of their vision and would constitute about 1% of the procedures that we do at the Wellington Eye Clinic
5) Topography-guided LASIK is unique to the Wellington Eye Clinic. This is where the corneal shape is used in conjunction with the refraction to design a customised treatment. This is used to improve quality of vision especially where topographical irregularities are present and constitutes 25% of the procedures that we do at the Wellington Eye Clinic
6) The only facility in Ireland that can do a treatment to influence the corneal asphericity and the spherical aberration of the total eye is the Wellington Eye Clinic. Being able to regulate asperity improves the quality of night vision as well as allowing us more flexibility with monovision treatments where a patient older than 45 years of age can be given improved distance and near vision.
7) The diagnostic tool that is showing the greatest growth world-wide as an essential part of the refractive surgery evaluation process is called the Pentacam. Never before has there been a diagnostic tool to evaluate the front of the eye that has been so accurate and so repeatable. Not only was the clinic the first in Ireland to use a Pentacam for diagnosis, but it is the only clinic in Ireland that can export Pentacam maps directly to the laser in order to customise a treatment. Again, this leads to an improvement in the quality of vision where it is indicated.
8) The world’s fastest growing laser manufacturer is a company by the name of Wavelight and they are based in Erlangen, Germany. They have sold more lasers than any other company in the past 7 years, despite being the most expensive laser on the market. Around 800 installations around the world have made Wavelight the world’s fastest growing excimer laser company. There are a number of reasons for this success: the laser is the fastest in the world by a considerable margin, it uses a wavefront-optimised profile even in “standard” cases and it is the first laser to have been designed for customised treatment right from the start. Almost all the other lasers have old platforms and technology that have been adapted to doing wavefront treatments. The Wellington Eye Clinic has been the recipient of the most prestigious award from Wavelight: that of Global Ambassador site for the recognition of the contribution that the clinic has made to research, teaching other surgeons from around the world and the commitment and dedication to our patients.
9) We have so much faith in the procedures that we do at the Wellington Eye Clinic that we provide a lifetime warranty on the work that we do. This means that if you have laser eye surgery at the clinic and at any time in the future your vision changes to a point where laser surgery is again indicated, we will do this at no cost. (This applies to procedures done after 2004. For procedures before 2004 there is a 10% cost for doing an enhancement if it is after the first year as all enhancements within the first year are free of charge anyway). As far as we are aware, there is no other reputable clinic in Ireland that has stood the test of time that offers this. It is not a hollow promise.
10) Between 2 – 4% of the general population have a lazy eye. This is a condition where the brain has chosen to ignore or suppress one eye due to either a turn in the eye or a big difference between the prescriptions in the 2 eyes. Up until recently this could only be addressed by patching and glasses in childhood before the ages of 7 to 8 years of age. Now with Neuro-Vision, adults may also benefit from treatment and improve the vision in a lazy eye. The Wellington Eye Clinic is the only clinic in Ireland to offer this treatment.
11) Corneal cross-linking is a procedure designed to treat Keratoconus. This is a condition where the cornea is thinner than normal at a particular point and this area steepens. Usually the treatment is with hard contact lenses but when they no longer work, the next step is a corneal transplant. This is where C3R or corneal cross linking comes in – it stabilises the cornea and has the potential to avoid the transplant route altogether. Interestingly, patients with corneal problems are not candidates for laser eye surgery but after undergoing cross-linking, they can be treated in some cases with advanced surface treatment like the Wellington Eye Clinic offer.
12) The first clinic in Ireland to exclusively focus on treating presbyopia is the Beacon Eye Clinic (the Wellington Eye Clinic’s sister clinic.) Presbyopia is the condition that affects 100% of patients over 50 years of age. It usually starts earlier around 42 to 45 years of age and is due to a progressive hardening of the natural lens. This is normally remedied by wearing reading glasses. We now have a FDA approved treatment that does not involve laser treatment and can give you freedom from reading glasses. This treatment, called conductive Keratoplasty (CK), is even safer than laser treatment. It needs to be borne in mind that laser treatment in the right hands is a very safe procedure with the latest scientific literature stating that when performed properly, it is 8 times safer than wearing a daily disposable contact lens.
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The car park for the clinic is shared with the Beacon Hotel and Beacon Hospital Car Parks
