Prompt action by Sutton optician helped save the sight of woman

After carrying out routine tests, Sutton Specsavers optometrist Thomas Best realised Helen was suffering from narrow angles – a serious condition that could result in significant damage to the eyes if left untreated and even lead to blindness.

Thomas immediately referred Helen to her doctor, who said she needed to go to hospital for urgent treatment as soon as possible.

Following laser surgery, Helen is now recovering and thankful that her vision was saved in time.

Narrow or closed angles occur when drainage channels inside the eye become partially or fully blocked, which can lead to an acute increase of pressure inside the eye and can cause damage to the optic nerve.

This can lead to a condition called acute angle closure glaucoma.

“When the consultant at King’s Mill Hospital saw the condition of my eyes, he told me he had never seen angles so narrow and that I was at extreme risk of serious damage to my eyes,” said Helen, aged 50.

She added: “He told me I was at imminent risk of narrow angle glaucoma and said I could have gone blind at any time and was very clear that, by diagnosing the condition, the Specsavers’ optometrist had helped saved my sight.

“It has all been quite scary and I am so relieved it has turned out all right.

“I can’t thank Thomas enough for what he did for me.”

Narrow Angle Glaucoma is a serious type of glaucoma that occurs when fluid cannot drain from the eye as it should, causing it to suddenly build up behind the iris, requiring immediate treatment to minimize damage to the optic nerve.

Helen first attended the Specsavers store in the Idlewells Shopping Centre as she had been suffering intensely painful migraines and halos in the vision of her left eye and wanted to get it checked out by the opticians.

After carrying out a series of tests – Thomas identified the narrow angles and referred Helen to hospital for further tests and treatment.

Thomas said: “I am very pleased that I was able to identify Helen’s problem and she could be treated before any lasting damage occurred.”