Although cataract surgery is the main focus of this website, I am an experienced squint surgeon and happy to see adults with squint.
Emma is a professional who would have been concerned about her squint for many years and came to me during COVID.
“I’ve been blind in my left eye since I was a toddler following an injury. I’m 38 now and over the years my eye has drifted outwards and recently had really started to bother me and affect my confidence, especially when meeting new people. I had been scheduled for surgery with the NHS in March 2020 after waiting 14 months for a date, but unfortunately the impact of the pandemic saw the surgery cancelled a few days before. Following a few months of thinking about it, I made an enquiry at the Nuffield at the end of January 2021 for squint surgery and then began to look up the Consultant Ophthalmologists on the list provided to me individually on the internet to help me decide who to have surgery with. After reading some lovely reviews about Mr Shafiq’s nature, manner and surgical experience I decided that he would be my preferred choice. This decision was further supported by a friend who is an optician, as well as my own optician at the RVI whose wife had cataract surgery with Mr Shafiq in the past. Both of which said I had definitely made the right choice!
My experience of the whole booking process, communication with the staff at the Nuffield, the pre-assessment and my telephone calls with Mr Shafiq prior to the operation was great. Mr Shafiq explained some options to me over the phone and we decided to go for the squint surgery with adjustable sutures so that some fine tuning of the alignment could be made under a local anaesthetic following the surgery, if needed. It turned out I didn’t need this as the work performed under the general anaesthetic was perfect.
On the day of the surgery I was quite nervous about the anaesthetic and what might go wrong during the surgery, but it was totally unnecessary! I arrived at hospital for 7.15am and I was in surgery by 9.30am, then discharged at 1pm. Mr Shafiq came to see me both before and after my surgery on the ward to reiterate the procedure, make sure I was okay and to answer any questions. The reviews I’d read about his manner and personality were all found to be entirely accurate. He has a lovely approach with his patients – a good balance of professionalism and charisma. I got the sense that he is also popular with his colleagues as there was a good atmosphere amongst them when he was on the ward.
I had a follow up call with Mr Shafiq a week after the surgery to see how I was recovering and to find out if I was happy with the alignment. I confirmed I was really pleased and recovering well and Mr Shafiq asked me to email across some photos of my eyes so he could have a look at the result himself. I sent a few over and received a response to say he too was happy with the alignment and I was just to get in touch if I had any concerns.
This operation has been life changing for me. The procedure was nearly 3 weeks ago and my eye has settled remarkably well and I’m so happy with how it has turned out. I already feel happier about the prospect of getting my photo taken with my family and friends, and instantly felt better when on Microsoft Team calls for work. I’m glad I picked Mr Shafiq for the surgery as it makes such a difference to medical experiences when you feel comfortable with the consultant. I would recommend him to anyone.
Thank you Mr Shafiq!”
newcastlecataractsurgery.com 