Mr Gerard McGowan 2020-06-26 Person 5 5 0

Mr McGowan diagnosed me with a retinal detachment on 27 May 2020. I was devastated and very anxious as although I have had eye problems since birth and have had squint and cataract surgeries, as well as subsequent Yag laser, I had never received bad news about my eyes as such. Mr McGowan talked through the options with me fully explaining everything clearly. I found his confidence to be very reassuring and calming and I was so appreciative of his patience and kind manner that day. He answered all my questions and then answered them again to give extra reassurance about the procedure and expected outcome. I was booked in for vitrectomy surgery the following day. He then talked through the surgery both pre and post operatively with me again in his relaxed, calming and caring manner; this kind of patient care is so very important especially for anxious people like me who need to be well informed. I am now four weeks post surgery and the operation has been successful and for this I am very thankful to him. Because of my cumulative eye history now, there is a 1 in 10 lifetime risk that that a retinal detachment will occur in my other eye. I hope and pray that this never happens but if it does, I have faith and confidence that Mr McGowan would have the best skills to fix it. All told, I consider myself to be extremely fortunate and actually very blessed to have found and been treated by someone of Mr McGowan's calibre and talent, especially in the middle of a pandemic, when accessing services and specialists is so difficult. I cannot recommend him highly enough and hope that many others continue to benefit from his intercession, care and healing.