2GB Interview – Dr Erica Darian-Smith & Michael McLaren

Eagle Eye Surgery · 2GB Sydney 24-Feb-26 13.37.48

This month, Dr Erica was recently interviewed again on 2GB Radio by Michael McLaren about laser eye surgery, presbyopia and eye health.

Transcript

[00:00:00.000] – Speaker 2
This week, I thought we’d look at our eyes and our vision. I guess I should ask you, you’re tired of having to pick up your glasses every time you’ve just got to read something. If all of that sounds a little familiar, I think you’re going to want to listen a bit more closely this week because we’re talking about vision. Now, here’s another question for you. Have you ever heard of presbyopia? No? Well, here you go. It’s basically the natural loss of near vision. It’s something that almost all of us will experience as we get older. I say almost all of us. I think the figure is something like 30% of Aussies aged over 55 show symptoms of presbyopia. However, the way we treat it has come a long way. From advanced laser surgery to sophisticated lens implants, there are now plenty of procedures designed to restore that lost vision. Now, you might have a question in this space. Well, I got an expert here that might be able to help. 131873. Her name is Dr. Erica Darian-Smith, an ophthalmic surgeon. I’ll try that again. Ophthalmic surgeon at Eagle Eye Surgeons. You know that name, of course.

[00:00:57.740] – Speaker 2
She joins me in the studio today. Dr. Erica, nice to see you.

[00:01:01.350] – Speaker 1
Hi there, Michael. How are you going?

[00:01:02.720] – Speaker 2
So far, so good. I don’t think I’ve got the presbyopia yet. I can see you pretty clearly. That’s lucky for you. Mind you, fairly common.

[00:01:10.860] – Speaker 1
Yeah, really common. Usually, it starts from the ages of 45 and over. It can impact on people slightly younger, but that’s the average age. It basically continues up to the age of 55 when there’s usually complete loss of that near vision. We call it near vision failure. Yeah, it’s really common. It affects all of us.

[00:01:30.000] – Speaker 2
Okay, so what’s the difference between that and, say, cataracts and other things that can affect people’s body? Sure.

[00:01:34.760] – Speaker 1
Presbyopia, like you said, it’s basically where our lens and our muscles that are used to focus up close to stop working together and they don’t work as effectively. That’s essentially where we can no longer see up close, either when we’re reading or when we’re on a computer. Whereas cataracts is a little bit different. That’s when the lens inside our eye actually becomes cloudy or it fogs up, like a fogged-up window, and then you can’t see out as clearly into the world. Cataracts typically affects our 60 and older age group or 65 and older, and that will cause a complete reduction in your distance vision as well, whereas ProzVyope is really focused to that near vision.

[00:02:13.150] – Speaker 2
Okay. I should ask, how often Should people be getting their eyes and their sight checked? Because I’d imagine it’s not something people do that regularly.

[00:02:20.060] – Speaker 1
Look, ideally, you’d be seeing your local optometrist every year. From what age? Usually, I would say from the age of 45 and over. That would be typically the best But if you have a medical problem, say you’re a diabetic or you’ve had problems with high scripts or refractive errors, you should get that done from a younger age.

[00:02:37.980] – Speaker 2
You mentioned computers earlier. Now, we all live in this digital age. We’re surrounded here by a control centre. It looks like something out of NASA. Screens everywhere. What impact is that having on our eyes? Is there a connexion between all of that constant observing of screens and digital information in Presbyopia?

[00:02:54.480] – Speaker 1
Yes. Look, Presbyopia is an entity on its own, but for sure, It impacts on us more so in this age because we are so reliant on iPhones and computers. But also, interestingly, our very digital age also impacts on other eye problems as well. We have a much higher prevalence of dry eye now because we’re always on the computer We no longer blink properly. We definitely have more dry eye, which can impact on our vision. Also, there’s a myopia endemic. Short-sidedness or myopia is a really common issue in children. The more screen time, the more indoor time we have, the more likely that is to progress and to get worse. It’s really important to still have outdoor time and time away from our screens, which is easier said than done.

[00:03:37.260] – Speaker 2
Yeah, I heard of that before because it seems that, as you say, everyone’s now looking at something that’s 10 centimetres, 20 centimetres away from their nose. Whereas to try to correct that as such, we should be looking out into the distance more frequently.

[00:03:50.000] – Speaker 1
Exactly. We should also be getting outside to try and get a bit more vitamin D and things like that. It’s all helpful for our eye development.

[00:03:57.620] – Speaker 2
I do find it extraordinary. In this country like this, In days like today, we have such chronic vitamin D deficiency.

[00:04:02.660] – Speaker 1
I know. It’s crazy.

[00:04:03.620] – Speaker 2
How we do that anyway. Now, you might have a question for Dr. Erica, 131873 to do with your eyes and your sight, and you might need a second opinion, or you’re thinking about getting a checkup, or maybe this is wrong, or you got these symptoms. Now is the time to call, but call quickly, 131873. I know the whole team there are eagle-eye surgeons. I mean, you do laser-eye surgery. This technology has been around a while, but of course, it’s advancing all the time, isn’t it?

[00:04:28.940] – Speaker 1
Yeah, definitely. Every few years, there’s high generation lasers. The safety profile has gone up exponentially. The accuracy and the predictability of our results is much higher. We now have treatments for presbyopia that are really excellent. We have those in both the laser setting, but also, as you’ve mentioned in your introduction, in the lens-based setting. We can correct presbyopia from both a surface procedure or a corneal-based procedure, which is the laser or the presbyon is the one that we offer at our clinic, but there’s a number of different options. Then, alternatively, you can have a lens or a clear lens exchange or replacement where we insert a multifocal lens inside the eye. The lenses that we can insert now are extraordinary. Every year, the technology of those improves more and more.

[00:05:17.620] – Speaker 2
It’s extraordinary. When you think about the science and the technology that’s come on inside the last decade, let alone 20 or 30 years. I’m very lucky. Absolutely. I’ve fortunately never had to have anything done with the eyes. Just talk people like me through a procedure here. Some people are a bit squirmish about going to any medical clinic, having lasers put in your eyes. What happens? You just sit there with your eyes open, don’t blink and away they go or what?

[00:05:42.200] – Speaker 1
No anaesthetic. No, I’m joking. There’s two different options for the laser. Get the drill out. Yeah, exactly. For the laser procedure, basically, we do that at our clinic on site in our laser suite. We make sure that patients usually have a tiny bit of sedation in the lead up to it, but they still need to be quite awake so they get the best results from the laser. We definitely numb the eye up so we’re not barbarians, and we make sure that it’s a very quick procedure. It only takes a few minutes per eye, and that’s because of the accuracy and the efficiency and the speed of the lasers. These lasers are from Germany. They’re incredibly amazing lasers. It’s not uncomfortable. It’s very reassuring because the surgeon’s there the whole time talking to you, and it’s very quick. The lens-based surgery, luckily, you’re in a hospital and you’re are under anaesthesia, so you don’t remember much. I usually have patients ask me when I started the procedure and it’s already finished. That’s nice. It’s a little bit different, but both of them are very comfortable for patients. I never really have patients complain of pain or discomfort.

[00:06:42.990] – Speaker 1
I think whilst it seems like a daunting experience. It’s life-changing for most patients, and the satisfaction rates are super high.

[00:06:49.250] – Speaker 2
Sure it is. Sue’s got a question for you. Hi, Sue.

[00:06:52.820] – Speaker 4
Hi, yes. I’ve got a cataract surgery book. It was booked a while ago, but I don’t I feel I’ve got any symptoms that I need to have the surgery for. My ophthalmologist is saying, Yes, you need to have the surgery, but my vision seems to be absolutely fine. I’m just wondering, is it bad to have pre Am I going to do a Caterax surgery or should I delay the surgery until I feel symptoms?

[00:07:20.640] – Speaker 1
Sorry, Sue. I just missed the beginning of that.

[00:07:23.100] – Speaker 2
Sue’s booked in for cataract surgery, but she doesn’t feel as though she has cataracts.

[00:07:27.300] – Speaker 1
Look, Sue, this is a really interesting discussion It’s a really interesting question. Traditionally, back in the day for cataracts, people used to wait till they completely lost their vision. The cataracts used to be extremely advanced and used to be highly symptomatic. Now, cataract surgery is typically done at an earlier point in time, and there’s a number of reasons for that. The first reason is when the cataract is more juvenile, it’s a much easier operation for the surgeon. You have to use less energy settings on the ultrasound machine that we use to remove the cataract. It’s technically less difficult. The risk of complications is already exceptionally low, but it’s even lower. We do it in an early phase. The technology, like I mentioned with these intraocular lenses, is extraordinary. It’s also done for quality of life and improvement of life. If you want to be glasses free, you can customise your lens to do that at the same time of cataract surgery. But typically for a cataract, you do need some symptoms. Most of my patients, even if they have an early cataract, they will have some visual disturbance. They’ll They’ll have some blurred vision at distance, or they’ll have some glow or halos or auras around light at night.

[00:08:36.230] – Speaker 1
So generally, there are some symptoms to be classified as cataract. But I think that the earlier you do it, generally, it can be helpful in terms of ease of procedure and the outcome and quality of life.

[00:08:49.070] – Speaker 2
Okay, Sue, there you go. Good question. Interesting answer. People are asking, Can diabetics get this treatment?

[00:08:55.220] – Speaker 1
I’ve mentioned this before, but for diabetes, there’s a huge spectrum of diabetes, and there’s a huge spectrum of control. In the setting of a very well-controlled diabetic, where the HBA1C, all the diabetic people will know what that means, but basically your sugar levels in your body are very well-controlled, then it can be a procedure that you can have. But we always discuss with your GP or endocrineologist to make sure that you’re safe for the procedure.

[00:09:20.360] – Speaker 2
Okay, Michelle, what’s your question there?

[00:09:23.640] – Speaker 3
Yes, hi. How are you?

[00:09:25.120] – Speaker 2
We’re good.

[00:09:27.080] – Speaker 3
I got UVI test about 15 years ago and lost my vision in my right eye completely. And whilst I’m fully aware that I will not get my vision back at all, I’m legally blind now in one eye, but because of the loss of pigmentation in that eye. I’ve got a blue eye with cataract on it, and the other one is brown. So I’m just wondering, I have heard about iris tattooing that sometimes they do. So my question is more of a cosmetic It’s a basic reason now to see if there’s anything that can be done that I get more confidence in my looks.

[00:10:07.020] – Speaker 1
So obviously, your case is super complex, so I can’t answer everything there. But iris tattooing is a procedure that is done typically overseas. We don’t really do that in Australia because there are huge number of side effects. So generally, I don’t recommend iris tattooing because it can cause glaucoma and actually UVitis. Having said that, because your If there is an eye that does not see, this may be an option for you. But I really do think that because your case is so specific and individual, you’d need to seek an individual independent assessment from an ophthalmologist. But generally, as a rule of thumb, I do not recommend iris tattooing. It’s actually quite a dangerous procedure.

[00:10:47.220] – Speaker 2
Okay, thank you, Michelle. We’ve got Dr. Erica Darian-Smith here from Eagaleye Surgeons. We might have time for one, maybe two calls quickly if we can. You’re popular. Hi, Joan.

[00:10:58.720] – Speaker 3
Good afternoon, Hi, Joan. Hi, darling. Just a general inquiry. I’ve had my cataracts done about eight years ago. Do you ever have to have them replaced or once they’re done, that’s it, final?

[00:11:13.460] – Speaker 1
How’s your vision? Is it still really good?

[00:11:16.480] – Speaker 3
Pretty good, but I get more watery eyes a fair bit. I don’t know.

[00:11:22.180] – Speaker 1
The watery eyes is probably, ironically, some dry eyes. You should probably get that looked at because that can improve your vision. But generally, no. Once Once you get cataracts done, that’s it. It’s a one-stop shop or a single procedure. You can get a little bit of a membrane sometimes on the artificial lens that we put in the eye, and we can just laser that off really easily for you. That’s called posterior capsular pacification, and it’s pretty common. If your vision has deteriorated, it is worth seeing your eye doctor to get looked for for that. But otherwise, to answer your question, cataract surgery is usually that’s it. There’s no more lens.

[00:11:55.640] – Speaker 2
There you go, Joan. Text here from someone, Ashley, who says, I recently had PRK. It’s been a week since. My eyes are still quite blurry long distance. Is that normal?

[00:12:05.900] – Speaker 1
Hi, Ashley. Obviously, I didn’t do your surgery, but generally for PRK, just to reassure you, that’s totally normal. Prk, which is one of the earlier iterations of the laser, so you’ve got PRK lacy can smile. Prk does take a bit of a longer time to heal, typically a few weeks, and your final vision is usually sitting at about three months. Obviously, see your doctor that did the surgery, make sure everything’s okay, but that’s pretty Very cool for that surgery.

[00:12:31.060] – Speaker 2
We’ll just take one more call here quickly for good. Eric, what’s your situation?

[00:12:34.920] – Speaker 3
My situation is that I’ve got a cataract behind me over the nerves. Just wondering if there’s anything you can do with it. I’ve had all my life. Is there anything to remove the cataract that might make that right eye better?

[00:12:52.520] – Speaker 1
If you’ve got a cataract, if I’m understanding properly, then you can have cataract surgery. That’s the surgery we were talking about before with Michael, where we can remove the lens from your eye and put in an artificial lens.

[00:13:02.940] – Speaker 2
I think you mentioned cataract behind the eye, near the nerves. Have you heard of that?

[00:13:06.860] – Speaker 1
Yeah, I’m not sure what you’re referring to there. You can always give our rooms a call. We can have a chat a bit more. I’m not quite sure about that one.

[00:13:13.260] – Speaker 2
A unique case, perhaps. Eric, thank you. Appreciate the call. Actually, speaking of which, maybe the best thing to do is go to eagleyesurgeons. Com. E if you want to speak to Dr. Erica. Appreciate you coming in. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Apologies to those of whom we didn’t have time, but Dr. Erica will be back at some point, of course. Dr. Erica Darian-Smith, ophthalmic surgeon, and I specialise at eagleyesurgeons. As I said, you can find out more about Dr. Erica at eagleyesurgeons. Com. Au.