What is your glaucoma treatment expertise?

What is my glaucoma treatment expertise? My NHS subspecialty expertise is in the subject of glaucoma. This means that I base my outpatient services almost exclusively on assessing patients who may have risk factors for glaucoma or patients who already have a glaucoma diagnosis.

I am trained to evaluate other ophthalmic conditions or problems, e.g. cataracts and red eye. However, the bulk of the service that I have delivered as an NHS consultant since 2008 is based on looking after glaucoma patients.

The care of my patients includes diagnosing and treating their glaucoma. I regularly perform glaucoma treatments including a weekly operating list and a monthly laser list.

Annually, I undergo an appraisal in which my outpatient service, and my surgical log book, is scrutinised. In my years as an NHS consultant and the many years I spent training before becoming a consultant, I’ve never experienced an adverse event (called a clinical incident) related to my performance.

I am particularly interested in glaucoma surgical treatments including a more recent innovative treatment called microinvasive glaucoma surgery. The reason why I became interested in this type of treatment is that I believe it is essential to be able to offer my glaucoma patients the full range of glaucoma surgical treatments.

I have been able to provide this type of treatment to my patients since 2012 and perform about 20 to 30 of these operations per year. I also do the longer established trabeculectomy surgery, performing similar numbers per year.

Why did I choose to be a glaucoma subspecialist?

I enjoy looking after patients long term. When looking after glaucoma patients, it is my job to help patients choose the right management or treatment to help preserve their visual health or function in the long term. I am interested in taking my patients through that journey and looking after them in the best possible way.