Meet professional international footballer Lucy Bronze, MBE

Hi, I’m Lucy Bronze, MBE, winner of the Euros and 5 Champions League titles.

I’ve struggled with the hassles of playing football and living my life with glasses from a young age, and from my teenage years with the hassles of contact lenses. I have now achieved visual freedom with the EVO ICL.

Lucy Bronze2

What led me to EVO ICL

I’ve won the Euros and 5 champions leagues, but I always had that worry on the pitch that my contact lenses might fall out, and mid game, it actually happened.

Not to mention the tired, dry eyes, uncomfortable lens fits and daily hassles.

I realised I needed to tackle my vision.

I have often dreamed of getting my vision corrected so I no longer had to bother with glasses or contact lenses. Until I heard about EVO ICL I was not convinced I should take the plunge, as a professional footballer my vision is everything.

I looked at the options to correct my vision long term, and EVO ICL really stood out. The other procedures just didn’t look as good to me.

EVO is designed to be a permanent vision correction solution, so no daily maintenance or periodical replacement is required. One thing that appealed to me is that it’s a reversible lens implant, so if ever necessary, the lenses can be removed by my consultant.

Having that flexibility for the future provided me with the peace of mind I needed to make the decision. EVO is additive; it doesn’t remove any corneal tissue with lasers, so it’s in complete harmony with my natural eye – my eye is still the same, my eye.

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Life Changing

EVO ICL has been a procedure that has given me excellent vision and changed my life both on and off the pitch. My biggest regret is literally that I wish I had done it sooner!

Professional Footballer

As a professional footballer, my vision is everything, but my eyesight wasn’t the best, and on the pitch every moment counts. The moment between the opposition moving and me responding to it is milliseconds. To see clearly in those moments is so important, every moment counts, and my vision needs to be at its best. My eyesight can’t slow me down. Having that precision vision has really been life changing for both my football and for my active lifestyle.

Off the Pitch

My bad eyesight was definately a big inconvenience for me, not just in my football but in all aspects of life. I’m someone who is very active, I want to go swimming, I want to play on the beach, I want to do all of these things, and with contacts it was becoming just too difficult. I thought “that’s it, I need to do something about it”. My life is definately simpler with EVO.
Lucy Bronze 4
Lucy Bronze 5
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I first discovered that I needed glasses when I was about 9 years old. I was often losing or breaking my glasses while playing football. When I became a teenager, I began wearing contact lenses for when I was playing sport. I had quite a few problems with contact lenses, including tired and dry eyes, as well as uncomfortable lens fits. I couldn’t wait to get home so I could finally take them out and rest my eyes.

My eyesight is everything to me, so I needed to feel the benefit was greater than any potential risk.

I wasn’t nervous about the EVO procedure, I was just excited, it was something that I’d wanted for so so long. The procedure was even better than I expected; it was pain free and super quick for me - it’s simple.

My recovery was unbelievable, I was back playing sports, training and playing football within 2-3 weeks.

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Lucy Bronze has EVO ICL lenses and is sponsored by STAAR Surgical.
Lucy B BTS

Questions With Lucy

What do you do for a living?

I am a professional footballer, playing league, European and international games.

How long have you had problems with your vision?

I first discovered that I needed glasses when I was about 9 years old. I was often losing or breaking my glasses while playing football. When I became a teenager I began wearing contact lenses for when I was playing sport, which also had their challenges and hassles.

What’s your biggest pain point about wearing contacts?

I had quite a few problems with contact lenses, as any contact lens wearer will tell you, after a few hours of wear you start to feel irritated with dry eyes, you’re rubbing your eyes, and waiting to get home so you can finally take your lenses out and put your glasses on for a moment. It’s like when you take your shoes off at home and get to put your feet up. That was that feeling of, “I get to take my lenses out finally”. Not to mention the worry that a lens might fall out during a game, which actually happened during a league game.

What about EVO ICL helped make your decision?

Aside from the sharp, clear vision you can get - EVO is designed to be a permanent vision correction solution, so no daily maintenance or periodical replacement is required. One thing that appealed to me is that it’s a reversable lens implant, so if ever necessary, the lenses can be removed by my consultant. Having that flexibility for the future provided me with the peace of mind I needed to make the decision. EVO is additive; it doesn’t remove any corneal tissue with lasers, so it’s in complete harmony with my natural eye – my eye is still the same, my eye.

Find a clinic now to schedule a consultation.

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This information is presented in the public interest by STAAR Surgical™ to create awareness of options available for those with near-sightedness with or without astigmatism. Please consult your health care provider to determine which option is right for you.

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References

1Patient Survey, STAAR Surgical ICL Data Registry, 2018

2Sanders D. Vukich JA. Comparison of implantable collamer lens (ICL) and laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) for Low Myopia. Cornea. 2006 Dec; 25(10):1139-46.

3Naves, J.S. Carracedo, G. Cacho-Babillo, I. Diadenosine Nucleotid Measurements as Dry-Eye Score in Patients After LASIK and ICL Surgery. Presented at American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS) 2012.

4Shoja, MR. Besharati, MR. Dry eye after LASIK for myopia: Incidence and risk factors. European Journal of Ophthalmology. 2007; 17(1): pp. 1-6.

5aLee, Jae Bum et al. Comparison of tear secretion and tear film instability after photorefractive keratectomy and laser in situ keratomileusis. Journal of Cataract & Refractive Surgery , Volume 26 , Issue 9 , 1326 - 1331.

5bParkhurst, G. Psolka, M. Kezirian, G. Phakic intraocular lens implantantion in United States military warfighters: A retrospective analysis of early clinical outcomes of the Visian ICL. J Refract Surg. 2011;27(7):473-481.

*American Refractive Surgery Council