Cataract Surgery

Cataract Surgery Research at St Thomas' Hospital
Cataract surgery is the commonest operation in the western world. This is because it is so successful that we can now operate on cataracts much earlier and of course the the number of elderly people in the population continues to grow.
At St Thomas we have the biggest and most productive research team in the UK and one of the three major research teams in Europe. Our research is focused on making the surgery better and safer and improving the patient's quality of vision after the operation.  We are internationally known for our research on the design of the intraocular lens implanted at surgery.
Current research projects are
1. Prevention of posterior capsule opacification after surgery
2. Improved quality of vision with aspheric lenses
3. Evaluation of a new generation of ultra small lenses for micro surgery
4. Accommodating intraocular lenses which will give the patient good distance and near vision without glasses
This work directly benefits our patients and improves their lives. We receive no funding from the NHS and support ourselves from charitable and industrial sources so we live on a shoe string and always need more money. If you would like to contribute or know more about our work please contact David Spalton, Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon at St Thomas' Hospital, London SE1 7EH or at dspalton@hotmail.com

Macular Degeneration

Research at St Thomas Hospital in collaboration with Universty of Kingston and City Universtiy. Age related macular degeneration is the amjor cause of blindness in the developed world, early detection has become more important because of new treatments such as Vitamin supplementation and intraocular injections of Anti Vegf. We are testing way of using computers to determine the presence of ARMD to allow early detection and therefore earlier treatment. If you wish to find out more about this project please contact Tom Williamson Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon at St Thomas' Hospital, London SE1 7EH or at tom@retinasurgery.co.uk