AN 83-YEAR-OLD Dundee man, who lost the use of his right eye and was unable to go out on windy days because of a facial paralysis, had his life transformed by a “pound-sized” contact lens.

Nine years ago an operation to remove a tumour behind Hendry Ross’s right ear left him with paralysis that meant he was unable to blink and in terrible pain.

During the operation, one of his nerves was knocked, which meant his lower eyelid spills and droops down, and when he blinks it does not cover the full cornea or lubricate it.

Mr Ross, who stays in Dundee’s Waverley Terrace, lost his independence as he could only go outdoors on days that were not windy and even then only accompanied by his wife.

The eye drops he had to constantly use meant he could no longer see out of that eye.

Despite a number of surgical procedures, his condition was never fixed until his local optometrist Ian Jarvis suggested fitting him with a scleral contact lens.

At first Mr Ross was concerned at the size of the lens and unsure he would be able to fit it himself.

However, since first using it last November, he said his life has been turned around.

He said, “I had tried everything before this. They tried to fit a gold weight to my eye, I used an eye patch, all sorts of protective glasses and lots of drops, but nothing worked.

“I just accepted that every so often it would get infected and I would have to take antibiotics.

“When Mr Jarvis showed it to me, I thought it would be a lot of trouble trying to get it in my eye, but I can manage quite easily now.

“The difference is amazing. Even if I take it out for just a minute now, my eye can get a little sore, but as soon as I put it back in it gets better again straight away.”

Scleral lenses are designed to treat a variety of eye conditions which do not respond to other forms of treatment.

Mr Jarvis, whose clinic is on Dundee’s Arbroath Road, said although the scleral lens is not a new invention as such, using it to treat Mr Ross’s condition was quite unique.

He said, “It’s a very large contact lens, which completely covers the whole eye, shielding it from all the elements and lubricating it properly.

“It has transformed his life,” Mr Jarvis added.