Vitreoretinal surgery now available in Wollongong for first time

This is branded content for Victoria Street Private Hospital.

Patients requiring vitreoretinal surgery for conditions such as retinal detachments, macular holes, epiretinal membranes, vitreous haemorrhage and dislocated lenses no longer need to head to Sydney.

For the first time the surgery is available in Wollongong at the new Victoria Street Private Hospital (VSPH) which opened its doors in October offering cutting-edge eye surgery services.

Now part of the surgical team at VSPH is experienced opthalmic surgeon Dr Gaurav Bhardwaj who specialises in vitreoretinal surgery, cataract surgery and medical management of retinal diseases.

He's one of a few retinal surgeons in Australia skilled in both adult and paediatric retinal surgery.

VSPH founding director Ash Agarwal said the aim with the facility was to provide local patients with access to world-class facilities, technology and services that they might have previously needed to travel to Sydney for.

"When we were building this facility, we did not look at it as a facility good enough for Wollongong - we wanted something which was actually one of the best in the country," Mr Agarwal said.

"VSPH takes a lot of pride in bringing such a versatile, highly-specialised eye surgeon to Wollongong that immensely benefits the South Coast patients with serious eye conditions such as retina detachments, macular holes, vitreous haemorrhage and dislocated eye lenses to name a few."

Dr Bhardwaj's credentials are lengthy. In 2019, he was a co-surgeon involved in performing Australia's first ocular gene therapy on a child with retinitis pigmentosa associated with RPE65 retinal dystrophy at the Children's Hospital at Westmead.

He undertook specialist training in Ophthalmology in the Sydney Eye Hospital network for four years, followed by a further two years of fellowship training in Medical Retina, Uveitis and Vitreoretinal Surgery at the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital (RVEEH) in Melbourne, the largest Retinal Unit in Australia.

That was followed by a further year as a senior Vitreoretinal Fellow at Moorfields Eye Hospital in London UK, the largest eye hospital in Europe, where Dr Bhardwaj worked with world-renowned experts and managed adult and paediatric patients from all over Europe. He also gained exposure to the latest techniques in the areas of retinal gene therapy, stem cell treatment and bionic eyes.

He has a strong interest in research, having completed a PhD in the area of retinal haemorrhages in children and was awarded a research grant from the Sydney Children's Hospital Foundation. He has continued his research interest by publishing in major scientific journals and being an expert reviewer for such journals.

Heavily involved in training eye surgeons and retinal fellows from Australia and abroad, Dr Bhardwaj is also a Clinical Senior Lecturer at the University of Sydney.

Mr Agarwal said Dr Bhardwaj prides himself on providing the best possible care for his patients and is committed to providing his world class services at VSPH.

His professionalism is reflected by the numerous written compliments he has received from patients he has helped along the way.

"Over the last few months, Dr Bhardwaj has successfully performed several complex eye surgeries at VSPH with great outcomes," Mr Agarwal said.

The surgeries performed at VSPH currently include Ophthalmology, Oral Maxillofacial, Plastic Surgery, Orthopaedic Surgery and General Surgery.

Mr Agarwal said the hospital is in the process of also adding endoscopy procedures.

To find out more about Victoria Street Private Hospital visit vsph.com.au