Mr John Brookes 2018-07-04 Person 5 5 0

I was referred to Mr Brookes in Spring 2017, via my optician and then a general eye consultant. with slightly elevated eye pressure and some loss of peripheral vision. He immediately diagnosed advanced open angle glaucoma with optic nerve damage and the loss of about 20-25% of my vision. At 55 years old this came as quite a shock, especially as I have always had annual eye checks and it had not been picked up the previous year. He was incredibly reassuring and we discussed the options available. After a few months of various drops that didn't get the pressure down to the target level, I underwent trabeculectomy surgery to both eyes, carried out at the Moorfields in September and November 2017. My left eye surgery went well and my pressure is down in the range 8-10 which is slightly on the low side but will hopefully protect me well into old age, if I ever get there! The right eye was very tricky as the pressure slowly dropped post-surgery over many months until it got down to 6 leading to ripples in my retina and slightly distorted vision. This seemed to be because my eye was not laying down enough scar tissue to control the flow of fluid from inside my eye. After further surgery (called a 'revision'), all seemed well initially but then I developed a leak to the 'bleb' which got worse, despite extra stitches having been put in. Again, my eye just didn't seem to want to lay down enough scar tissue. Eventually my pressure dropped to 4/5 and my vision was dreadful so i underwent a further revision where a patch graft is inserted under the bleb to direct the fluid away from the area where it was leaking. Again, I still developed a tiny leak that persisted for a few weeks but eventually stopped. Throughout this period I was seeing Mr Brookes almost weekly to monitor the leak, despite his busy patient list at the clinic (Claremont, just 10 mins off Oxford Street). He attitude was that he would always fit me in given my problems at the time. Right now the pressures in both eyes are great (10-12 now in my right) and my vision is superb for distance but not so great for reading. It seems that low pressure means a smaller eye and that tends to make you long-sighted. That is a small price to pay in my view! Throughout this difficult time Mr Brookes was quite outstanding in his care, his skill, his reassurance and his patience. He is also so easy to talk to. I recall him delaying his departure for a trip abroad to visit me at the Moorfield the morning after my second revision to check all was well. I spoke to him a couple of times on his mobile when I was struggling with the effects of the leak and a couple of times he fitted me in between meetings during non-clinic days. It was great knowing he was so accessible and so calm and down-to-earth. I have had a very difficult 'journey' with my eyes in the last 18 months and I know I have challenged him with these eyes that just refused to behave as they should. He joked that I have given him extra grey hairs! I would not wish to put myself in the care of any other surgeon as this point and I am so glad that I was referred to Mr Brookes. I cannot recommend him highly enough.