7,8/8: I never wore glasses, but now I was going blind - fast | EPIRETINAL MEMBRANE

"Under normal circumstances, the retina receives information which is converted by the brain to give us vision.

As the vitreous turns more liquidy as we age, it shrinks and moves away from the retina, which is at the back of the eye.

With a mild form of this condition a patient may have 'floaters', specks across their vision, but no significant visual damage. But in some, the vitreous becomes attached to the retina itself.

As it continues to shrink, it pulls on the retina, resulting in microscopic-damage. Cells then form as part of the natural healing process and while they may not cause any significant visual disturbance, in some cases they form a thicker, opaque membrane or layer of scar tissue and vision is affected.

To remove the scarring, I insert tiny surgical forceps to lever up the scar tissue and drag it clear. I monitor what's going on with a microscope.

If you are too rough moving the scar tissue, there is a risk of retinal detachment, which would require further surgery.

Patients can normally go home the day after surgery and the eye takes three to four months to recover. Then we are able to judge how successful the operation has been.

Patients usually recover 75 per cent of vision. . But Dickie has recovered most of his sight. I'm delighted it has been such a success for him."