Dr Anil Arora is an ophthalmologist who has been practising in Central Coast and in Sydney since 1998. Dr Arora completed his medical degree through the University of Sydney in 1985 and after carrying out his internship and residency training at Royal North Shore, Westmead and Royal Prince Alfred Hospitals, he embarked on a career in ophthalmology. He was one of the first to complete a Masters of Medicine in Ophthalmology with a thesis on retinal electrophysiology and carried out five years of specialist training in ophthalmology from the Sydney Eye Hospital from 1988 to 1993.
In 1997 – 1998 Dr Arora completed a clinical fellowship in “Diseases and Surgery of the Retina and Vitreous” from the University of Texas in Houston. He then began practicing on the Central Coast and Sydney’s North Shore and has established himself as a respected ophthalmologist and has performed surgeries on tens of thousands of patients over the past decade. He brought retinal surgery to Central Coast and this meant that patients no longer had to travel to Sydney for these procedures.
Dr Arora also saw the need for laser vision correction services on the Central Coast and carried out further postgraduate training in laser refractive surgery and was one of the first to obtain a Graduate Diploma in Medicine (Refractive Surgery) from the University of Sydney. He has established the Laser Vision Clinic Central Coast – a state-of-the-art laser refractive centre on the Central Coast.
Dr Arora has practices in Gosford, Long Jetty, Woy Woy and Wahroonga and is a Visiting Medical Officer at the Central Coast Day Hospital, Brisbane Waters Private Hospital and the Sydney Adventist Hospital.
He is a Fellow of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists, American Academy of Ophthalmology and American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery.
Clinical interests include cataract surgery, particularly with multifocal intraocular lenses, retinal diseases and surgery and laser refractive surgery.
Extracurricular interests include squash and long-distance running (30 City-to-Surfs, 16 half-marathons and 3 full marathons so far). He also has in interest in ophthalmology in developing countries and in charity work. He sponsors 60 children in all parts of the world through World Vision and has been a member of Amnesty International for over 10 years.
Dr Polya is a vitreoretinal surgeon, cataract surgeon, and a medical retina subspecialist ophthalmologist. He graduated from the Melbourne University Medical School, and completed ophthalmology training at the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital in Melbourne. He completed a Master of Public Heath at the University of NSW with a thesis in Clinical Risk Management and Patient Safety. Dr Polya completed the two year Michael Shae Fellowship in Diseases and Surgery of the Retina and Vitreous at St Michael’s Hospital, affiliated with the University of Toronto in Canada, where he was chief fellow of the Department of Ophthalmology. During this fellowship, at Canada’s busiest retinal service, he also received further subspecialist experience in uveitis and ocular oncology. Before returning to Sydney in 2013, Dan worked in private practice as the only vitreoretinal surgeon in the province of New Brunswick, Canada and was appointed as a clinical lecturer in the Department of Ophthalmology at Dalhousie University. He has extensive experience in surgery for cataract and retinal disorders, and is expert in intravitreal injections and ophthalamic laser procedures. He has been involved in the teaching and training of ophthalmology registrars, residents and fellows, medical students, general practitioners, optometrists and optometry students, and nurses.
Dr Polya is a VMO in ophthalmology with a special interest in vitreoretinal surgery and medical retina at Royal North Shore Hospital, where he teaches training eye specialists cataract and retinal surgery, as well as helping trainees develop their skills in retinal and general ophthalmology consultations.
Dan has been involved in clinical trials for macular degeneration and has been active in research into diabetic retinopathy, retinal vein occlusion, macular degeneration and sutureless vitrectomy surgery. He has authored and co-authored multiple published manuscripts in international journals and a book chapter on sutureless vitrectomy. He has presented at several international ophthalmic meetings, and has been an invited speaker at other professional meetings.
He is a fellow of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists and the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. He is a member of the Australian and New Zealand Society of Retina Specialists, Oceania Retina Association, American Academy of Ophthalmology, American Society of Retina Specialists, Canadian Ophthalmological Society, Canadian Retina Society, and Australian Medical Association. Dr Polya is an examiner for the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists in Anatomy and is a member of the RANZCO Clinical Standards Committee.
His subspecialty clinical interests are in cataract surgery, and in small-gauge vitrectomy surgery for retinal detachment, vitreous hemorrhage, macular hole and epiretinal membrane; and intravitreal and laser therapy for age related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy and retinal vascular occlusions.
Dr John Chang graduated in medicine and surgery from the University of NSW with first class honours.
After completing his specialist ophthalmology training in Australia, Dr Chang was awarded the RANZCO Eye Foundation scholarship to obtain further subspecialist training in Medical Retina & Uveitis at the prestigious Moorfields Eye Hospital in London.
Dr Chang’s expertise in specialist eye care is complemented by his strong academic and research credentials in this field. He was awarded a PhD in ocular immunology and is an Associate Senior Lecturer at the University of NSW.
Dr Chang is widely published with peer-reviewed journals and book chapters, and his work has been acknowledged by the award of nationally competitive research grants.
He continues to be actively involved as a clinical investigator in medical research to help further improve eye health, not only for his patients, but also for the broader community.
Dr Chang’s areas of clinical expertise include cataract surgery, diagnosis and treatment of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), diabetic retinopathy, retinal vascular diseases and uveitis.
He is experienced in performing retinal laser treatment, complex cataract surgery in the presence of uveitis or retinal disease, and intravitreal injection therapies.
Dr Dov Hersh is an ophthalmologist with sub-specialty expertise in diseases of the retina. Dr Hersh has rare dual international post-graduate fellowship qualifications from world leading institutions and brings this expertise to his patients.
Dov achieved his medical degree with first class honours through the University of Sydney, he then went on to complete a Masters of Medicine in ophthalmology. Dov undertook specialist ophthalmology training through Sydney Eye Hospital and gained Fellowship of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists. Following this he undertook a further 2.5 years of advanced sub-specialty training at two of Europe’s premiere eye institutions, Bristol Eye Hospital and Moorfields Eye Hospital, London.
During his fellowships Dr Hersh trained with pioneers in the medical retina field and was appointed as an investigator in an array of multi-national clinical trials studying emerging treatments for retinal diseases.
Dr Hersh has published multiple manuscripts in international peer reviewed journals and ensures to keeps up-to-date with the latest advances. As well as practicing general ophthalmology Dov is particularly interested in the management of retinal disorders including macular degeneration, diabetic eye disease and vein occlusions.
Prior to his medical career Dov gained a Bachelor of Commerce degree at UNSW, majoring in Information Technology. As a medical student he established telemedicine projects in developing countries. In recognition of his efforts Dov was awarded semi-finalist for young Australian of the Year.
Dov is passionate about patient-centred care, good functional outcomes and quality of life for his patients.
Dr Luke Northey is an ophthalmologist with subspecialty training in corneal, glaucoma, and cataract surgery. Dr Northey completed ophthalmology training at the Sydney Eye Hospital where he worked as the professorial senior registrar and served as the chair of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists trainee representative group.
He undertook fellowship in glaucoma at Westmead hospital, Sydney, gaining expertise in incisional and microinvasive glaucoma surgical techniques in addition to medical and laser glaucoma therapies. He then completed a cornea, external diseases, and refractive surgery fellowship at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. During this fellowship he gained experience in all aspects of corneal transplant surgery, complicated cataract surgery, pterygium surgery, and surface-based therapeutic and refractive laser procedures. Dr Northey was awarded the Sydney Hospitallers’ Norman Rose and the RANZCO Trevelyn-Smith travelling scholarships in support of his fellowship training.
Dr Northey believes in patient-focused and evidence-based healthcare and strives to achieve the best outcomes for his patients. He has published in peer reviewed medical journals, presented at national and international ophthalmology conferences, and is a clinical associate lecturer at the University of Sydney.
Dr Stephanie Young was a member of the last group of ophthalmologists to train under pioneering ophthalmic surgeon Fred Hollows. An expert in medical retina and uveitis, Stephanie spent several years overseas following her ophthalmology training, at hospitals including London’s prestigious Moorfields Eye Hospital where she completed fellowships in medical retina and then uveitis.
Since returning to Australia, Dr Young was appointed Visiting Medical Officer for Medical Retina and Uveitis at Concord Hospital where she trains ophthalmic registrars and medical students. She has worked in this specialty on the central coast since 2004. She also works in Gladesville and Hurstville. She has become a major contributor to the clinical auditing project Fight Retinal Blindness which investigates and evaluates the effectiveness of treatment of macular degeneration, diabetic macular oedema and retinal vein occlusion which are her particular interests. Dr Young has had a special interest in intravitreal injection therapy since the 1990’s when treating serious infections. Her focus is on the patient experience and seamless, pain-free therapy.
Dr Young is a member of the Australian and New Zealand Retinal Society, the Oceanic Retinal Association, the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the RANZCO Uveitis Special Interest Group. She was a board member of the Fred Hollows Foundation for many years.
Dr Hemal Mehta is a macula disease specialist and cataract surgeon with over 15 years experience.
He is at the forefront of retinal research globally and is involved in clinical trials of the latest therapies for macula disease. Dr Mehta is a Senior Researcher with the Fight Retinal Blindness! Registry at Sydney University, developing evidence-based guidelines to improve intravitreal injection treatment outcomes for diseases like wet age-related macular degeneration and diabetic macular oedema. He has over 50 peer-reviewed publications. More information is available at drhemalmehta.com.au/research/
Dr Mehta previously further specialised with medical retina and cataract surgery fellowships at Sydney Eye Hospital and Moorfields Eye Hospital. The clinical research during these fellowships contributed to his Doctorate of Medicine on ‘Novel endpoints in diabetic retinopathy clinical trials’ from Cambridge University. He was previously an Ophthalmology Consultant at Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust running the intravitreal injection services, teaching cataract surgery and leading the retinal clinical trials unit.
Dr Mehta is a retinal specialist on the Therapeutics Committee of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists. He is a member of the Australian and New Zealand Society of etinal Specialists and Australasian Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons. He has performed over 2000 cataract operations.
Hemal enjoys hiking, chess and spending time with his wife and two children. He is committed to delivering high-quality, evidence-based, and compassionate care for his patients.
