Professor Robert MacLaren : Ophthalmology

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Professor Robert MacLaren

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Cataract Full Pathway provider
I offer Bupa customers standard cataract surgery on the Full Pathway package option at Nuffield Health The Manor Hospital .

This package includes your appointments before and after surgery, as well as your surgery and mono-focal lenses. It means you won’t use up your out-patient benefit or receive any additional bills from your surgeon (or anaesthetist, if you need one) for eligible treatment.

Please call the Bupa Eye Care team to find out more about and to pre-authorise your treatment on 0345 600 7267.

Overview

Cataract Full Pathway provider

I offer Bupa customers standard cataract surgery on the Full Pathway package option at Nuffield Health The Manor Hospital .

This package includes your appointments before and after surgery, as well as your surgery and mono-focal lenses. It means you won’t use up your out-patient benefit or receive any additional bills from your surgeon (or anaesthetist, if you need one) for eligible treatment.

Please call the Bupa Eye Care team to find out more about and to pre-authorise your treatment on 0345 600 7267.

Specialises in

Medical

Surgical

Surgical retinal

About me

Robert MacLaren is Professor of Ophthalmology at the University of Oxford, Honorary Professor of Ophthalmology at the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, Honorary Consultant Vitreoretinal Surgeon at Moorfields Eye Hospital, Honorary Consultant Ophthalmologist at Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital, Faculty Member and Founding Theme Leader of the Moorfields-UCL, Institute of Ophthalmology Biomedical Research Centre. He currently the Theme Lead for gene and cell therapy research at the Oxford NIHR Biomedical Research Centre. He is also a Fellow of the Royal College of Ophthalmologists, Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences and Bodley Fellow of Merton College Oxford.

Previous notable achievements in ophthalmic surgery include defining the equations for lens power predictions for cataract surgery in extreme myopia (J Cataract Refract Surg 2005) and hyperopia (Am J Ophthalmol 2007); the first gene therapy trial for choroideremia (Lancet 2014; New Engl J Med 2016; Nature Med 2018); the first ever use of a robot to operate inside the human eye (Nature Biomed Eng 2018); the first gene therapy treatment to reverse vision loss in retinitis pigmentosa (Nature Med, 2020); the highest reported vision to date achieved with an electronic retina (Acta Ophthalmologica 2020) and the first gene therapy trial for the dry form of age-related macular degeneration, together with Gyroscope Therapeutics (www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-47226987).

Cataract patients will be offered the full range of intraocular lenses to reduce their spectacle dependence, however, many of these are not covered by insurance company reimbursement. Therefore patients opting for some of the more advanced lenses (e.g. multifocal) may incur an additional shortfall that represents the difference compared to the cost of the standard monofocal lens.

Areas of interest

Cataract surgery; Cataracts; Age related macular degeneration (AMD); Eyes; Diabetic retinopathy; Retinal disease / surgery; Visual disorders; Medical retina; Vitreoretinal surgery; Anterior segment surgery (eyes);

Medical secretaries

MacLaren practice manager team
Practice Manager to Prof MacLaren Nuffield Health The Manor Hospital Beech Road Headington Oxford OX3 7RP
01865 307777
robert.maclarenPA@nuffieldhealth.com

Anaesthetists worked with

Dr Sumit Das Not Fee Assured
Dr Johnathan Warwick Not Fee Assured

Dr Simon J M Raby Fee Assured

About me

Current NHS consultant posts held

Consultant Ophthalmologist at the Oxford Eye Hospital and Honorary Consultant at Moorfields Eye Hospital

Research interests

Clinical and laboratory research is dedicated to finding new treatments for blindness, particularly in patients with incurable retinal diseases. Includes developing gene therapy with adeno-associated viral (AAV) vectors in the lab and in forthcoming clinical trials.

A clinical research program in artificial vision with bio-genetic and electronic devices. Developing new eye surgery techniques for age-related macular degeneration, cataract and macular hole surgery.

Personal interests

Prior to ophthalmology, Robert was commissioned into the Royal Army Medical Corps. He saw active service as a Section Commander with 16 Armoured Field Ambulance and latterly served as the Surgeon Major to the Honourable Artillery Company in London. He remains a keen supporter of the military and provides concessions for former service personnel. In 2004 he was awarded the Volunteer Reserves Service Medal (VR) and in 2011 he was appointed as Civilian Consultant Advisor to the Royal Navy.

Awards received

2025 Fincham Medal, Worshipful Company of Spectacle Makers, UK
2024 The Doyne Lecture and Medal,
2024 The Ophthalmologist Power List
2023 University of Miami and Elsevier Molecular Neuroscience Award
2020 Lang Lecture and Medal, Royal Society of Medicine
2020 Senior Investigator Award, National Institute for Health Research
2019 Clinical Service of the Year Award, the Macular Society
2019 Keeler Lecture and Medal, Royal College of Ophthalmologists

(Additional) Languages spoken

Publications

Positive results reported in retinal gene therapy phase 3 clinical trial for choroideremia (MacLaren et al., Nat Med 2023).

Positive outcomes of first-in-human robot-assisted subretinal drug delivery (Cehajic-Kapetanovic et al., American J Ophthalmol 2022).

First report of a mirtron-mediated RNA knockdown/replacement therapy for the treatment of dominant retinitis pigmentosa (Orlans et al., Nature Comm 2021).

Initial results from a first-in-human gene therapy trial on X-linked retinitis pigmentosa caused by mutations in RPGR. (Cehajic-Kapetanovic et al, Nature Med, 2020).

Beneficial effects on vision in patients undergoing retinal gene therapy for choroideremia. (Xue et al, Nature Med, 2018).

First-in-human study of the safety and viability of intraocular robotic surgery. (Edwards et al, Nature Biomedical Engineering, 2016)

Long-term restoration of visual function in end-stage retinal degeneration using subretinal human melanopsin gene therapy. (De Silva et al, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2017).

Visual Acuity after Retinal Gene Therapy for Choroideremia. (Edwards et al, N Engl J Med, 2016)

Rescue of the Stargardt phenotype in Abca4 knockout mice through inhibition of vitamin A dimerization. (Charbel Issa et al, Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 2015).

Retinal gene therapy in patients with choroideremia: initial findings from a phase 1/2 clinical trial. (MacLaren et al, Lancet, 2014).

Reversal of end-stage retinal degeneration and restoration of visual function by photoreceptor transplantation. Singh et al, Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 2013).

Retinal repair by transplantation of photoreceptor precursors. (MacLaren et al, Nature, 2006).

About my work

View photos of my work

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My outcomes

My qualifications & training

Qualifications

FACS American College of Surgeons 2017
FMedSci Academy of Medical Sciences 2018
FRCOphth Royal College of Ophthalmologists 2004
FRCS (Edin) Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh 1998
DPhil University of Oxford 1996
DSc University of Oxford 2025
MB ChB University of Edinburgh 1990

GMC registration

Reference number 3493087

Professional bodies (positions held - last 3 yrs)

Specialist Advisor The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) 2019
Civilian Consultant Advisor The Royal Navy 2011

Details of entry to specialist register

Specialist Register (Ophthalmology) , 2003

Affiliations / memberships

Member of the American Society of Retina Specialists
Member of the Retina Society USA
Member of Euretina

My private practice

Information for healthcare professionals (Bupa patients only, last 12 months)

Procedures completed

C7122
Ultrasound phacoemulsification of cataract, with lens implant - unilateral (including topical or local anaesthetic) - (5-50)

Nuffield Health The Manor Hospital (5-50)
C7982
Pars plana vitrectomy with internal tamponade, scleral buckling and retinopexy with dissection or excision of epiretinal membrane/macular surgery - (1-5)

Nuffield Health The Manor Hospital (1-5)
C8200
Laser photocoagulation/cryotherapy of lesion of retina - (1-5)

Nuffield Health The Manor Hospital (1-5)
C7520
Lens implant/exchange - (1-5)

Nuffield Health The Manor Hospital (1-5)
C7341
YAG (Yttrium Aluminium Garnett) laser photodisruption of posterior capsule of lens (including laser capsulotomy) - bilateral - (1-5)

Nuffield Health The Manor Hospital (1-5)

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