Left to right: Graham Kirkby (60-70), Alistair Laidlaw (74-80), David Cottrell (60-70) and David Steel (79-84) Below: Craig Goldsmith (84-92)
Old Novo Eye Surgeons Four ON members of the British and Eire Association of Vitreo-Retinal Surgeons (BEAVRS) were present at its annual scientific meeting recently in Canterbury. Another, Craig Goldsmith, was unable to attend the dinner and is pictured separately.
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Vitreo-retinal surgery is a fascinating subject that involves microsurgical procedures on the inside of the back of the eye to treat conditions such as retinal detachment, severe eye trauma and the later stages of the effects of diabetes on the eye (photos and diagram). Many of the conditions would cause blindness if left untreated. Operations are done mostly under local anaesthetic. (The patient is awake but the eye is numb).
largely prescribe spectacles and contact lenses. The commonest operation in the UK is cataract extraction (removal of the misty lens of the eye) with around 350,000 procedures annually. There are only 1135 Consultant Ophthalmologists in the UK and of these about 110 are Vitreo-retinal specialists, so it is truly remarkable that five of these are ONs.
Vitreo-retinal (VR) surgery is a subspeciality of Ophthalmology. Ophthalmologists are qualified doctors that specialise in the medical and surgical management of eye diseases. Optometrists/Opticians are different: they are not medically qualified and
Graham (AKA Reg) Kirkby (60-70)
Pictured, from left to right, are:
I qualified in Medicine at Newcastle University in 1975 and after junior posts in Newcastle joined the RAF as a medical officer serving in the UK and Germany. After five years, I re-joined the NHS and did more ophthalmic
training in London and Leeds before being appointed as a Consultant at the Birmingham and Midland Eye Hospital, in Birmingham, in1986. I was at the first meeting of BEAVRS in 1986 when there were only about 12VR surgeons in the UK. As someone who could never be described as particularly academic at school, I have rather surprised myself by managing to publish 55 papers (one collaboratively with Alistair, see below) in peer reviewed journals and even a chapter in a textbook. I am currently Vice President of the Royal College of Ophthalmologists and Chair of the Professional Standards committee. I married Vivienne (nee Dalzell, ex Church High) in 1975 and we have
