About us

Oculoplastics Service

What this service does

We care for patients of all ages with diseases and disorders of the eyelids, tear drainage system (lacrimal system), and the orbit (the bony box in which the eye sits).

Clinics are held Balmoral eye clinic. These are very busy clinics; you may be required to be seen in more than one area of the hospital in order to be seen by other professionals working with the oculoplastics team. These appointments can take up to 3 hours. Examples of clinics include:

Lid clinic: These clinics are run to address problems associated with the skin around the eyes, such as inward turning lids, outward turning lids, droopy lids and eyelid tumours.
Lacrimal Clinic: This clinic deals with the tear production and drainage problems e.g. watery eyes.
Orbital Clinics: These clinics deal structures around the eyeball and problems involving the eye socket, such as tumours, thyroid eye disease, and fractures involving the eye socket.

In addition to these regular clinics we also provide a service dealing with the following:

Minor Operations: Deals with the removal of small lumps and swellings on or around the eye lid.
Facial paralysis clinic: A clinic for patients with problems caused by facial paralysis.
Eyelid Spasm Clinic: This clinic offers treatment for patients who have involuntary facial twitching.
Thyroid eye disease clinics: These clinics deal with thyroid related eye problems.
Nurse-led paediatric cyst clinic: We assess children with small lumps on their eyelids; this is held in the Orthoptic department.
Oculoprosthetics: This is the clinic that provides our artificial eye service to patients.

Meet the team

The team consists of consultants, doctors, and dedicated specialist nurses. The consultants are Mrs Joyce Burns, Mr Sampath, and Ms Antonella Berry-Brincat.

We hold a monthly neuro-orbital meeting and invite all specialities to attend and input into this.

The oculoplastics team present papers and research at the Midlands Oculoplastic Society meetings twice yearly, and in 2012 hosted the National meeting for the British Oculoplastic Surgery Society

Useful Contact Numbers

Switchboard: (0300) 303 1573

Eye casualty: (0116) 258 6273

Secretary to Mr. Sampath: (0116) 258 6198

Secretary to Mrs Burns & Ms Antonella Berry-Brincat : (0116) 258 6177

Useful Links

British OculoPlastics Surgery Society - This is the website of the British Oculoplastic Surgery Society (BOPSS), which was founded in 2000 by ophthalmic surgeons who have training and experience in the highly specialized field of Oculoplastic and Oculo-Facial surgery.

National Artificial Eye Service - The website for the National Artificial Eye Service.Based in Blackpool and part of the National Health Service.

ESOPRS - Aims to advance the science and art of eyelid, lacrimal, orbital and eye socket surgery.

ASOPRS - The purpose of the Society is to advance training, research and patient care in the fields of aesthetic, plastic and reconstructive surgery of the eyelids, tear system, orbit and face.