Paulo E. Stanga

Director, The Retina Clinic London; Honorary Professor, UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, London, UK

What is a little-known fact about you?

I am a big fan of the countryside, horses and gardening. I am happiest on horseback or in wellies, with my polo ponies, or my old roses, camellias and magnolias. 

Make a bold prediction for the future of ophthalmology.

The independent sector in the UK will continue to grow and become mainstream. Private practice will stop being a well-kept secret and will be carried out in parallel to the NHS. 

I envisage three established ways of accessing medical care: on a self paying basis, through medical insurance, and through state-funded systems. 

There will be more self-contained independent clinics like ours (The Retina Clinic London), providing clinical care with on-site operating theaters, conducting research and publishing, and also offering patients participation in clinical trials. Training of junior doctors and sub-specialization will also develop further in the independent sector.

If you weren’t an ophthalmologist, what would you be doing instead?

I would most likely have been a plastic surgeon. In a different life, I would have liked to be an orchestra conductor, perhaps, as I always admired Herbert von Karajan, or a flamboyant but skilled Formula 1 driver like James Hunt, or a long-haired, adrenaline-filled rock-star like David Lee Roth!

How do you think AI and machine learning will impact ophthalmology?

AI and ML have already arrived and they are here to stay. We should see them as helping hands that already allow for earlier and more accurate diagnosis and objective monitoring. Those who regard them in any other way are already being left behind.

What global trends in eye health should ophthalmologists be aware of?

The rise of independent clinics. Self-paying care. Research and clinical trials performed and offered at independent clinics. Office-based surgery. Personalized medicine, genetic testing and gene therapy. Applied AI and machine learning. And the demise of the large multi-specialty hospital, which can sometimes appear impersonal.