Intacs

[sweet2sweet]

Having read about the glowing reviews for the Centre for Sight, I am seriously considering Intacs with them.

I cannot bear contact lenses having tried them, I should consider myself a mild Keratoconus patient but the asigmatisim within my left eye is starting to become overbearing to the point that my right eye cannot compansate while looking at a computer monitor at work and also objects in the distance are blurry within the left eye. This gets worse as the day goes on and my eyes and brain get tired.

I am thinking of intacs just in the left eye, however it is not to fix my vision as that is generally fine with glasses but its is to possibly fix the asigtmatism and blurriness.

Can anyone help with an experience with intacs, would they help reduce the asigtmatism and blurriness?
I ask here because quite frankly the £150 consultation fee at the Centre for Sight is very high that I can make a fair judgement on to attend the consultation based on some feedback here.

Thanks in advance for any feedback.

[Andrew MacLean]

sweet2sweet

Are you in London? why not also have a referral to St thomas Hospital where they perform the Intacs procedure?

It may help you to clarify your own thnking. the decision whether to have the procedure done privately would then remain open for you to take.

Andrew

[GarethB]

Intacs are available on the NHS, but at the hospitals where this can be performed they have to apply for funding.

Birmingham Eye Hospital has had great success with Intacs and these ahve been done on the NHS.

[sweet2sweet]

I understand the cost at Centre for Sight is £2400, how much would it be at Moorfields? I do work full time, so i do have to bare some cost.
I am living in London and did not know that Moorfields now do intacs.

Would the consultation be free with moorfields and would it be a 6 week waiting list of some nature. Is it a walk in referral/self referral in the post or would I need one from my GP?
I did deal with moorfields before with my contact lenses (unsucessfully), so am on there books.

Thanks for your quick answers guys.

[Andrew MacLean]

If you are already on the books at Moorfields, the quickest way to see a consultant is to ask for an emergency appointment with an optometrist and when you go to see them ask for a referral to an ophthalmologist.

this means that the ophthalmologist has all your notes when you go for your consultation.

I do not know about patients making a contribution to the cost of NHS surgery: the whole popint of NHS care is that we have already paid for it!

Andrew

[Vicky Houston]

I had my intacs done at the centre for sight 18 months ago and i had everything done on the NHS, i did not pay for the consultation or the procedure. My eye doc here in Bristol referred me to the centre for sight when i told him i wanted to have the intacs put in.

[Anne Klepacz]

sweet2sweet

As far as I know, Moorfields aren't offering Intacs yet (maybe someone from Moorfields will correct me if I'm wrong). And the person on the forum who had Intacs fitted at St Thomas's also had it done privately. There are a few hospitals around the country that are doing Intacs on the NHS and I'm very interested Vicky to hear that you had the procedure done on the NHS with a referral from your local hospital. All this may change later this year or next if the final guidance NICE produces recommends that Intacs be used more generally.
Anne

[sweet2sweet]

Thanks for the input, I doubt NHS will pay for my intacs as I had to pay for my contact lenses at moorfields, albeit at a lower cost then I would at an opticians.

I'm not concerned about the cost because you can't put a price on this issue but £2400 seemed pretty high for each eye as I read on here.

I'd rather find somewhere that can fit them and talk with someone first with experience with patients who have been fitted with them.

I will ring moorfields or St Thomas' next week, i believe that St Thomas' is in Camberwell, which will be great as I work in the local authority

Thanks again guys.

[Andrew MacLean]

sweet2sweet

The standard NHS price for lenses is now £50 per lens (but if you need another lens for the same eye within twelve months, you get it free).

That is different entirely to surgical procedures. These are provided free at the point of delivery because we have already paid for the treatment through our taxes.

Andrew

Aarrghhhhh! what have I done? Oops, sorry if I hve messed up everything. I think I'll have a little panic while soembody clever tells me what went wrong.

Andrew

[GarethB]

In England we pay £50 per lens which is subsidised by the NHS so we have them at this price. The subsidy comes from what we pay into the treasury through taxes.