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Consultant interview - Miss Sharon Heng

Heng, Sharon

Miss Sharon Heng is a Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon specialising in treating medical retina conditions at Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Moorfields Private Hospital.

She is a Clinical Lead of the Medical Retina Digital Clinics and the Lead of the North West London (Ealing) Diabetic Retinopathy Screening Programme.

Besides English, Miss Heng speaks Mandarin as well as Cantonese and Hokkien dialects. She has 15+ years of ophthalmic practice.

What are your areas of expertise?

  • Diabetic macular oedema
  • Corneal abrasion
  • Chalazion
  • Cataract surgery
  • Age-related macular degeneration (AMD)
  • Diabetic Retinopathy
  • Retinal vein occlusion

My area of expertise includes diagnosing and treatment of medical retina diseases - these include diabetic eye screening and treatment of advanced stages of diabetic eye disease including proliferative (new vessels) retinopathy and macular oedema (fluid in the macular or back of the eye), advising on prevention or treatment of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), treatment of retinal vein occlusions, central serous retinopathy etc. I am a cataract surgeon and an expert in complex cataract surgeries, particularly those involving retinal diseases.

Why do patients come to see you?

As a clinician, I believe in providing a holistic care. Medical retina diseases are often linked to systemic co-morbidities such as diabetes, hypertension and hypercholesterolemia, and preventative therapy and healthy lifestyle can make a significant impact there. Where possible and required, I advise patients on how to better care for themselves and their vision.

I keep up to date with clinical trials and the newly available treatment options, so I provide my patients with the most recent advice for their needs.

Please tell us about your research interests.

I have a special interest in preventative therapy in age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and retina lasers. My PhD evaluated the role of a nanosecond (2RT) laser as a preventative therapy to delay the onset of AMD and is often used as a teaching guide for the pathophysiology of lasers.

Throughout my career, I was involved in numerous phase II/III clinical trials in medical retina diseases. These studies investigated new treatments/protocols for diabetic macular oedema and AMD.

My research interests have now expanded to improving clinical governance within the digital medicine - I am a principal investigator in a study to determine barriers and acceptability of digital clinics.

I am also committed to training the next generation of ophthalmologists and allied health professionals, I am actively involved in developing teaching modules and programs for education within the NHS and beyond.