Retired North Yorkshire dentist John Barr cannot suppress his delight at being able to see properly again.

His eyesight had deteriorated over a number of years to the point where he could see nothing out of his right eye and little out of his left. When he heard about a new technique that might help sufferers of macular degeneration like himself, he jumped at the chance to undergo the operation.

But that does not tell the whole story. It takes courage to volunteer for untested surgery. Without pioneering patients like Mr Barr, pioneering doctors like David Wong could never make progress.

During a few hours in theatre at the St Paul's Eye Unit in Liverpool, they made medical history together. Thanks to the surgeon's brilliant skills, Mr Barr can now see well enough to read the many newspaper headlines his operation has generated.

This success will bring hope to many people. Macular degeneration is the most common cause of blindness in the Western world. In Britain alone, there are an estimated 16,000 sufferers.

Their sight declines as the retina begins to wear out. Total loss of vision was the inevitable result - until now.

Mr Wong's surgical innovation could make a huge difference to the quality of life of these patients. Their number rises as our life expectancy increases. Such surgery could help to make old age a far more rewarding experience for many.

We are bombarded with advances in technology every day. Multi-billion pound computer corporations are constantly trumpeting the processing power of their latest computers.

Yet some of the most astonishing breakthroughs are happening not in a blaze of glory in Silicon Valley but quietly in research hospitals. The work of Mr Wong and other medical trailblazers is likely to have a greater impact on our lives than anything in the new Millennium.

This latest breakthrough will come with a price, of course. National Health Service bosses, already struggling to fund existing needs, must view such advances with mixed feelings.

But these considerations are for another day. Today we salute Mr Wong and offer our congratulations to Mr Barr - a greeting he can once again read for himself.

see NEWS 'Gift of sight for Pickering man'

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