Interview with Eastbourne eye doctor

Shahram Kashani is a consultant ophthalmologist, which means he cares for patients with eye conditions. He’s worked at the trust for 12 years.

He was influenced by his father to become an ophthalmologist. Shahram said: “My late father was an ophthalmologist and he was a huge influence. Ophthalmology has a perfect mixture of medicine and surgery and as an ophthalmologist you can decide how medical or surgical you want to be. There is also plenty of scope to get into research or education in ophthalmology. Teaching is a particular passion of mine.

“Another reason I chose ophthalmology is that you can diagnose the majority of patients with non-invasive diagnostics that we have in clinic, without the need for blood tests or complex imaging.

“Finally, cataract surgery is one of the most commonly performed operations in the NHS and is extremely satisfying with over 99 per cent success rate. In my view, sight is the most important sense and restoring people’s sight is very rewarding.”

Shahram was a senior fellow at Moorfields Eye Hospital in London but when he started to look for consultant jobs, Eastbourne stood out. He said: “My junior doctor had worked at Eastbourne and told me how friendly the team of consultants and nurses were there. I decided to visit Eastbourne and was very impressed with the department’s enthusiasm to be progressive and modernise. The team’s friendly culture was palpable and I knew that this was the place for me to start my consultant career.”

Cataract surgery is a big part of Shahram’s day. He said: “My average day starts around 8am. I usually have a mixture of outpatient clinic and theatre activity. In clinic I see new and follow up patients. I tend to see complex new cases or those sent for second opinions. I am also a clinical supervisor and am consulted by junior doctors, optometrists, nurse practitioners and orthoptists on various cases.

“Theatre is normally filled with challenging and complex cataract cases. When cases are suitable for our junior doctors, I train them on cataract surgery.”Shahram recently climbed Mount Kilimanjaro to raise money for Kent Surrey Sussex Air Ambulance. This was due to a personal connection to the charity.

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