Hospital’s new eye surgery provides vision for future

Mavis has become one of the first patients to undergo retinal eye surgery at St Andrew's Hospital, after it invested more than $250,000 in new technology.

TOOWOOMBA woman Mavis Sage has become one of the first patients to undergo retinal eye surgery at St Andrew's Hospital, after it invested more than $250,000 in state-of-the-art technology.

Ms Sage realised she had to visit an eye specialist after her vision became distorted in 2017.

"I was driving and a car coming the other way split in half and then came back together again," she said.

"I knew something was wrong, so I visited an optometrist and they forwarded me on to (the hospital)."

Prior to the purchase of the retinal suite, Ms Sage, alongside other patients, would have had to travel to Brisbane for treatment.

"I had been putting off the surgery for two years, because if I had the surgery in Brisbane, I would have had to stay there for a month before coming home," Ms Sage said.

"It was so great to be able to have this done here, I have to keep saying thanks to Dr McAllister."

The specialist she refers to is St Andrew's Hospital retinal surgeon Andrew McAllister, who helped establish the new permanent service.

"What it allows us to do is operate on the retina, which involves removing the jelly from inside the eye as well as very small membranes - which is what we did for Mavis last week," Dr McAllister said.

"She's done exceptionally well and her vision has improved dramatically."

Dr McAllister said it was likely the new equipment would help hundreds of patients a year.

"Around 300 patients each year go to Brisbane for surgery," he said.

"As well as surgery I can also offer (help) for other retinal problems, such as diabetes and macular degeneration - it's quite a large cohort of patients.

"I would like to see more of those patients to help maintain their vision."