Scots woman’s life saved after optician spots serious infection during emergency appointment

Susan Dolan said she could have lost an eye were it not for the discovery.

A woman’s life was saved when an optometrist spotted a serious eye infection during an emergency appointment. Logistics worker Susan Dolan, 57, from Houston, Renfrewshire, thought she had the beginnings of a stye.

But within 24 hours of popping into her opticians, she was on her way for an emergency op. She said: "The surgeon explained to me that if I had left it for another 24 hours, I could have lost my sight, or even my eye."

Susan noticed her eye was irritated while at work one Saturday morning when she had a pain above her right eyebrow and some itchiness.

When a colleague said her eye looked swollen, she went to her local pharmacist to get ointment for a stye. The pharmacist suggested she see an optician so Susan went into Hill Eyecare, her regular opticians, for advice.

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Owner and optometrist Gemma Hill noticed clouding across the cornea as well as the swelling. She immediately made her an urgent out-of-hours referral to ophthalmology at Gartnavel General Hospital, Glasgow, the next day.

By then, she was unable to open her eye and after a brief consultation was transferred to the city’s Queen Elizabeth University Hospital where she was diagnosed with orbital cellulitis.

The condition is an infection of soft tissue and requires emergency surgery. It comes with the risk of significant complications including loss of vision, abscess formation, thrombosis, meningitis and sepsis that could lead to death.

Later that day, she had surgery to remove pressure caused by the infection. The surgical team had to remove parts of her nasal passages and bone from behind her eye, to alleviate the strain and stop the infection from spreading.

Susan said: "It was thanks to Gemma’s rapid response that thankfully I still have my vision. I was probably the last thing she wanted to see when closing after a busy Saturday but thank goodness she was able to seek out the correct treatment for me."

Susan is now recovering at home. Gemma said: "I hope that by Susan sharing her story, others will know who to call in a similar situation."

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