Clare Elliott
A woman who was left in intensive care and subjected to badly damaged eyes after contracting a rare auto-immune condition has been handed “a new lease of life” thanks to a pioneering set of custom-made contact lenses.
Clare Elliott was diagnosed with Stevens-Johnson syndrome – a rare condition arising from ‘over-reaction’ of the immune system to a trigger such as a mild infection or a medicine, leading to blistering and peeling of the skin and surfaces of the eyes, mouth and throat.
The illness caused significant damage to the 57-year-old accountant’s eyes and she was left with dry eye disease and ingrowing eyelashes which led to severe abrasions and eventually corneal ulcers.
Following repeated unsuccessful attempts to relieve the pain and burning sensation, Clare eventually heard about a specialist custom fit lens provided by Tompkins, Knight & Son Optometrists in Kingsley Road, Northampton.
She said: “I was in a bad way, I even told one of my doctors I was thinking of booking a one-way ticket to Switzerland but I now have special contact lenses that are comfortable and, for the first time in decades, allow me to drive at night and thrive at work.
“I have started exercising again and I have lost nearly three stone thanks to Nordic walking and pilates. I have a completely different outlook on life. The difference these lenses have made is incredible.”
TK&S was the first practice in the UK to offer EyePrint Pro lenses. Rather than relying on standard lenses and hoping they fit the shape of your eye, the practice can now create a 100 per cent bespoke lens that matches the exact contour of the surface of a patient’s eye.
Director Brian Tompkins said: “It’s effectively taking a fingerprint of your eye. It’s quick, painless and is having life-changing benefits – with people like Clare who have struggled for years to get a lens to fit now enjoying the benefits of a fully customised lens unique to them.
“The process sees us take an impression of the front surface of the patient’s eye, which allows us to design in 3D a bespoke scleral lens directly replicating every single aspect of the ocular surface that is then lathe cut by highly accurate precision machines.
“The impression allows us to fit complicated ocular irregularities with precision, giving patients the ultimate in comfort, health and vision.”
For more details about Tompkins, Knight & Son visit www.tks-optometrists.co.uk.
