Business

Belfast eye clinic spends £2m for 'safest ever surgery'

BIG PLANS: Professor Johnny Moore, left, clinical director, Cathedral Eye Clinic and Mark O’Connor, director, Marcon Fit-Out survey the progress at the new clinic in Belfast
BIG PLANS: Professor Johnny Moore, left, clinical director, Cathedral Eye Clinic and Mark O’Connor, director, Marcon Fit-Out survey the progress at the new clinic in Belfast BIG PLANS: Professor Johnny Moore, left, clinical director, Cathedral Eye Clinic and Mark O’Connor, director, Marcon Fit-Out survey the progress at the new clinic in Belfast

BELFAST'S private Cathedral Eye Clinic is investing £2 million in a move to new premises and the purchase of new technology which they said would bring the safest laser eye surgery to Ireland.

The company is moving to Academy Street where it is in the process of completely refitting former office accommodation to a clinic.

And it has spent half a million pounds on a new machine which will be the first of its kind in the country.

The expansion will not only bring the most up to date laser eye surgery to the firm but will also provide two new full time jobs.

The Zeiss VisuMax ReLEx SMILE procedure is a key-hole style laser eye treatment, which is virtually pain-free and has a rapid recovery time.

It is the newest, most accurate and safest laser eye treatment available.

Leading consultant ophthalmic surgeon Professor Johnny Moore founded the company in 2008 who said his onus has always been on "safety first".

He has developed a technique over recent years of the least invasive laser eye surgery that allows for a speedy recovery time and dramatically reduces the risk of complications.

However, traditional methods tended to be painful - something he said could be consigned to the past with the new machine.

"For sportsmen and women in particular, they want a short recovery time," he said.

"With this new equipment, you could virtually be one day having surgery and then back training the following day, although I typically advise a two day rest period.

"Previously, the recovery period could have been around three months."

Prof Moore said the clinic's main selling point was the availability of specialists - it has 10 consultants on the books.

It means that whatever issue may arise, there is always help on hand.

And it offers a range of services also including cataract and lens surgery.

Prof Moore said the clinic typically deals with around 3,000 clients a year but said the number is growing steadily.

"We actually could have moved around two years ago.

"Our current premises have just become too small but we were waiting for the right building to come up."

He added: "We are committed to offering the safest and most effective forms of surgery in Ireland, with our Belfast based consultants overseeing the entire process from consultation right through to post-operative care."

Among those to avail of surgery at the clinic is Cork hurler Conor Lehane.

"I had the treatment on a Wednesday and within a couple of days I was blown away by the difference. It has changed my life on and off the pitch," he said.

"I only wore lenses during games. All other times I wore glasses, but I've binned the lot now. "I couldn't rely on lenses during matches either. They were either falling out or getting covered in sweat or grit. The worst of it all was training or playing under floodlights, because you were constantly getting a glare effect."

Work on the new premises is being carried out by Marcon Fit Out and is expected to be finished next month.