Professor Paulo Stanga founded The Retina Clinic London to create a specialist eye clinic in London where detailed diagnosis, advanced retinal imaging, clinical expertise, treatment, surgery and research could work together within one connected environment.
The idea grew from a career spanning clinical ophthalmology, retinal imaging, vitreoretinal surgery and research. At its heart is a simple principle: complex eye conditions often require more than a single test, symptom or isolated opinion.
They require careful investigation, specialist interpretation and a clear understanding of the individual patient.
The Retina Clinic London was created around this approach, bringing together advanced diagnostics, specialist retinal care and a range of medical and surgical treatments within a personalised patient pathway.
Professor Stanga’s founding perspective
“I founded The Retina Clinic London to bring together the elements that I believe are essential to good specialist eye care: careful diagnosis, advanced imaging, clinical expertise, treatment, surgery and research.
Patients with complex eye conditions often need more than one test or one isolated opinion. They need a clear understanding of what is happening, an explanation of the available options and a treatment plan that reflects their individual circumstances.
My aim was to create a connected clinical environment in which these elements could work together. This means using technology thoughtfully, applying specialist judgement, involving the right expertise and continuing to learn through research and clinical experience.
The Retina Clinic London is built around that approach: detailed assessment, personalised care and a commitment to advancing ophthalmology.”
Advanced retinal imaging and detailed diagnosis
Advanced retinal imaging is central to the way patients are assessed at The Retina Clinic London.
Depending on the condition being investigated, an assessment may include optical coherence tomography, or OCT. This non-invasive scan produces highly detailed cross-sectional images of the retina and can help specialists identify and monitor subtle structural changes.
Other investigations may include OCT angiography to examine retinal blood flow, ultra-widefield retinal imaging, fundus autofluorescence to highlight changes within retinal tissue, or specialist dye-based angiography to examine the circulation of the retina and the layer beneath it.
Functional testing, genetic testing or additional medical investigations may also be considered when appropriate.
The value of advanced eye imaging lies not simply in having access to the technology. It lies in bringing information from different examinations together and interpreting it in the context of the individual patient.
Technology supports specialist clinical judgement. It does not replace it.
For patients, the purpose is straightforward: to build as complete a picture as possible before deciding whether monitoring, treatment or surgery may be appropriate.
Connecting diagnosis with retinal treatment and surgery
The Retina Clinic London was designed to connect detailed diagnosis with access to treatment when treatment is appropriate.
The clinic provides medical retinal treatments, retinal laser therapy, light-based treatments and vitreoretinal surgery, alongside cataract surgery and other specialist ophthalmic care.
A dedicated onsite surgical theatre allows surgery to form part of a coordinated clinical pathway when required.
This means that information gathered during examination and advanced imaging can directly inform discussions about the next stage of care.
Not every eye condition requires immediate treatment. In some cases, careful observation and follow-up may be the most appropriate approach. Where treatment is considered, patients can discuss the available options, potential benefits, limitations and relevant risks before an individual plan is agreed.
The aim is not simply to provide access to tests or procedures. It is to connect diagnosis, specialist judgement, treatment and ongoing care in a thoughtful and personalised way.
Specialist eye care beyond the retina
Retinal and macular disease remain at the heart of The Retina Clinic London, but eye conditions do not always exist in isolation.
A patient with retinal disease may also have a cataract, glaucoma, inflammation within the eye or another condition that needs specialist assessment. Inherited retinal diseases may require genetic testing and detailed functional investigation.
For this reason, the clinic brings together expertise across several areas of ophthalmology, including retinal and vitreoretinal disease, cataract and anterior segment care, glaucoma, uveitis and inflammatory eye disease, oncology, and inherited retinal conditions.
This multidisciplinary approach allows the appropriate specialist expertise to be involved when conditions overlap or when a more complex assessment is required.
The purpose is not to make the patient journey more complicated. It is to make the right expertise available when it is needed.
Retinal research and clinical trials
Research has been an important part of Professor Stanga’s professional career and remains part of the philosophy behind The Retina Clinic London.
His published research and clinical trial experience spans retinal imaging, inherited retinal diseases and gene therapy research, diabetic retinal disease, vitreoretinal surgery, retinal prostheses and artificial vision, age-related macular degeneration and the development and assessment of new ophthalmic technologies.
This experience helps create a clinical environment informed by established medical practice while maintaining a close awareness of how retinal diagnosis and treatment continue to develop.
The Retina Clinic London also participates in clinical research and clinical trials investigating new and developing approaches to retinal disease.
Clinical trial participation is always voluntary. Suitability depends on the requirements of the individual study and is established through appropriate screening, informed consent and the relevant ethical and regulatory processes.
Research is not a replacement for established clinical care. Instead, it forms part of a wider commitment to understanding how ophthalmology is evolving and where carefully evaluated new approaches may have a role in the future.
How clinical care and research inform one another
One of the principles behind The Retina Clinic London is that clinical care and research can inform each other.
Advances in retinal imaging can change the way eye disease is identified and monitored. Surgical experience can contribute to the evaluation of new techniques and technologies. Detailed clinical observations can raise important research questions.
Research, in turn, can deepen understanding of retinal disease and help shape future approaches to diagnosis and treatment.
Bringing these areas into closer contact creates an environment in which established specialist eye care sits alongside continued scientific enquiry.
A personalised approach to specialist eye care in London
Today, The Retina Clinic London brings together specialist ophthalmic consultation, advanced retinal imaging, medical treatment, retinal laser therapy, surgery and clinical research within its London facilities.
For Professor Stanga, however, the purpose has never simply been to assemble these capabilities in one place.
The philosophy is to connect them.
That means taking the time to understand each patient’s condition in detail, using advanced technology appropriately to support clinical judgement, involving the right specialist expertise and explaining the available options clearly.
It also means recognising when treatment is appropriate, when careful monitoring may be preferable and when expertise from more than one area of ophthalmology may be valuable.
Above all, the approach is centred on the individual patient: detailed assessment, personalised care and an ongoing commitment to advancing the understanding and treatment of eye disease.
To learn more about what to expect at The Retina Clinic London, visit our Patient Journey page, explore our retinal conditions and treatments, or find out more about our clinical research and currently recruiting trials.
To book a private consultation, please call +44 (0)20 4548 5310 or visit The Retina Clinic London website.