Dr. Prasan Rao OPHTHALMOLOGIST

Dr. Prasan Rao has over 20 years of experience in the management of ophthalmology patients. He is specialised in procedures such as scleral buckling, pneumatic retinopexy, pars plana vitrectomy (23 & 25 gauge – MIVS) for complicated retinal detachments, intravitreal Lucentis/Avastin/Eylea/Ozurdex injection, retinal laser photocoagulation, management of intraocular tumours, uveitis, and retinopathy of prematurity.

After completing his medical degree at King Edward Memorial Hospital, Mumbai, with distinction in Ophthalmology, he pursued his post-graduate training at L.T.M.General Hospital and Sir J.J. Group of Hospital, Mumbai. He was among the first resident ophthalmologists to regularly perform non-phaco small incision cataract surgery and phacoemulsification in 1995-96 in Mumbai. He underwent an extensive and rigorous Fellowship in vitreo-retinal diseases and surgery at the esteemed Sankara Nethralaya & Vision Research Foundation (Chennai, India) and also completed his Fellowship in Ophthalmology from The Royal College of Surgeons, Edinburgh.

Dr. Rao joined Dubai Hospital in June 2003, and was instrumental in developing the vitreo-retinal unit. He was involved not only in clinical and surgical work, but also in surgical training of peers, clinical research, publications in peer-reviewed journals, and scientific paper presentations.

Prior to joining Mediclinic Welcare Hospital, he was the first to introduce scleral buckling for management of retinal detachments in retinopathy of prematurity in 2003, and intravitreal antiVEGF injections for active ROP in 2008 in the UAE. In 2006, he was the first to perform combined half-fluence photodynamic therapy and intravitreal lucentis injection for wet AMD in the gulf region. In 2009, he setup the ROP registry in Dubai and Al Wasl Hospitals.

He joined Mediclinic Welcare Hospital in October 2009. In 2010, he was credited as the first surgeon in UAE to perform lens sparing vitrectomy for Stage IV retinopathy of prematurity. He is also one of the first retinal surgeons to perform 25gauge vitrectomy for treatment of complex retinal detachments and for treatment of vitreoretinal complications of proliferative diabetic retinopathy. He has performed well over 2000 cataract surgeries (phacoemulsification) and over 5000 posterior segment surgeries including combined phaco-vitrectomies. He is a currently Medical Director, Specialist Ophthalmologist & Vitreoretinal Surgeon at Medcare Eye Center.

He is a Fellow in Vitreo-Retinal Diseases and Surgery from Sankara Nethralaya & Vision Research Foundation, Chennai, India, and Fellow in Ophthalmology from The Royal College of Surgeons, Edinburgh. He is board certified by the National Board for Ophthalmology (India). He is a Member of European Society of Vitreoretinal Surgery (EVRS), an International Member of American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO), Member of American Society of Retina Specialists (ASRS).