When actor Shobna Gulati found that their vision had started to deteriorate over the years, leaving them struggling to read scripts and impacting on their confidence at work, they knew that they had to make a change. Opting for varifocal glasses to correct their vision, Shobna quickly realised that they struggled to get accustomed to them, and that this left them more vulnerable to trips and falls. Keen to opt for an alternative solution, they decided to book a consultation at Optical Express and was delighted to find that they were a suitable candidate for lens replacement surgery.

“When I transferred to varifocals, it was freeing for a time, but as my varifocal prescription got more, sometimes if I looked down I wouldn’t see a step and I would trip, especially going down to a tube because you’re rushing and I’d look down and miss the step. It was a complicated thing, it’s not a solution,” they explain. As Shobna was also occasionally forced to rely on disposable contact lenses during auditions, they grew increasingly worried about the environmental impact of their vision correction choices. “I felt quite bad using them because they were disposable and I hate everything about plastics, so throwing them away I felt like I was probably adding to the plastic content in water that we’re all so familiar with now,” they share.

Booking in for lens replacement surgery at our state-of-the-art Bridgewater clinic, Shobna was treated by one of our world-leading ophthalmic surgeons, Dr Jan Venter. “He absolutely put me at ease, and he kind of managed my expectations as well. He talked me through everything and I think that was really important to hear that from the surgeon in person,” they comment. As the team took their time to ensure that Shobna felt comfortable every step of the way, explaining the procedure in more detail and guiding them through the process, they felt confident going into surgery: “I knew that my eyes were being prepared for surgery and I knew exactly what was going on, and I knew what they were putting in my eyes and I knew every step of the way. Everybody was very, very friendly.”

Shobna is thrilled at the prospect of not having to wear glasses any longer, describing it as an incredible feeling of freedom. Not only is their vision clearer and sharper after lens replacement surgery, they have also observed a significant change in the perception of colours: “It’s vivid, it feels like life has been filtered in technicolour. I feel like I’ve come out from being in the black and white Wizard of Oz to being in Oz and everything is technicolour.” Impressed with the world-class technology available at Optical Express, they are over the moon with the results of her treatment. “It’s mind-blowing that I’ve got a lens in my eye that can do what it does,” they say.

As having complete visual freedom has massively boosted their confidence, Shobna is excited to get back to work and already has some exciting projects lined up: “I’m filming in another month and I’m actually doing a radio play. I’m so looking forward to doing the radio play without having to wear my glasses all day, for seven hours, concentrating hard. I’m just really looking forward to being able to just look at the script. I wish I’d done it sooner.”