Our Ophthalmologists

Leaders in Ophthalmology, experts in the industry, revolutionary by nature

Professor Lawrence Hirst

Cornea and External Diseases
MBBS Hons (Qld) MD (Qld) MPH (Hopkins) DO (Melb) FRANZCO, FRACS, Cert.Am.Bd.Ophth.

Lawrence Hirst was born in Brisbane in after his parents emigrated from Austria. 

Professor Hirst was educated at Brisbane Grammar School, and in his final year was scholastically ranked seventeenth in Queensland out of over 4000 students. He graduated from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Queensland in 1969 with a MBBS (First class Honours). Since then his career has become a list of high achievements at some of the finest medical institutions in the United States of America and in Australia.

Professor Hirst's clinical achievements are well-known and include:

Tissue adhesive: new techniques for the application of tissue adhesives in perforated eyes have been introduced by Professor Hirst. This has saved eyes in elderly patients, who previously would have lost their eyes because of infection.

Corneoscleral Grafts: used in patients with severe infections of the front of the eye, many of them referred to Professor Hirst for removal of the eye, but in some cases Professor Hirst has been able to stabilize the condition to the point of non-removal and in several cases has been able te retain the patient's vision by surgical replacement of the front of the eye.

Pterygium: Professor Hirst has pioneered a new method for the removal of pterygium which has resulted in only few recurrences and a good cosmetic appearance. Professor Lawrence Hirst has now restricted his practice to the treatment of pterygium, through the P.E.R.F.E.C.T. for PTERYGIUM® technique.

  If you wish to make an appointment to see Professor Hirst please call (07) 3010 3360

Dr Anthony Pane

Eye Disease and Surgery
Neuro-Ophthalmology
MBBS Hons (Qld), MMedSc, FRANZCO 

Dr Anthony Pane is a University of Queensland graduate who undertook his eye specialist training in the Brisbane hospitals. In 2004 he returned from three years advanced training in the United Kingdom to join the Queensland Eye Institute.

Director of Teaching at the Queensland Eye Institute and Senior Lecturer in Ophthalmology at the University of Queensland, Dr Pane enjoys teaching trainee ophthalmologists and medical students.

Dr Pane has recently written two practical textbooks of ophthalmology which have been published internationally. His third book, on neuro-ophthalmology, is now a standard text for trainee Ophthalmology surgeons in many major teaching hospitals throughout the USA, UK and Europe.

One of Dr Pane's key interests is in improving outcomes for patients by developing a method for ophthalmologists to detect and diagnose serious causes of optic nerve disease earlier and more accurately. He is currently pursuing his PhD in this area.

Although Dr Pane's practice covers general adult ophthalmology, including cataract surgery, his special clinical and research interest is in neuro-ophthalmology. This is the branch of ophthalmology dealing with diseases of the brain and nerves which can cause blurred vision, double vision, or abnormal eye movements.

Visit Dr Anthony Pane's personal page.

 If you wish to make an appointment to see Dr Pane please call (07) 3010 3362

Associate Professor Tony Kwan

Vitreoretinal Surgeon
Surgical and medical retinal diseases
MBChB (UK), MD (London), FRCOphth (UK), FRANZCO

Associate Professor Anthony Kwan is a vitreoretinal surgeon with an academic interest and the director of vitreoretinal service at QEI. He received his schooling and medical training in England, and ophthalmology training in London. He spent over 10 years at the largest specialist eye hospital in the world, Moorfields Eye Hospital, London. This training equipped him as one of a few selected Australian eye surgeons trained to deal with both routine and complex retinal diseases. Dr Kwan is always happy to deal with retinal emergency like wet age-related macular degeneration and retinal detachment. 

Dr Kwan has extensive experience in research and is internationally known for his work in experimental retinal transplantation. He obtained his research doctorate of Doctor of Medicine (MD) on the subject of retinal transplantation from the Institute of Ophthalmology, the University of London. Between research and clinical care, Dr Kwan devotes himself to the education of junior doctors and he is currently an examiner for the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists (RANZCO).

Professor Ravi Thomas is our Glaucoma specialist. He has also trained in Cataracts, Paediatric Ophthalmology and Clinical Epidemiology. He is a founder member and ex-president of the Glaucoma Society of India, where he did most of his training and early research. Formerly the president of The International Society of Geographical and Epidemiological Ophthalmology, (ISGEO) and advisor to several international non-governmental agencies working in eye health, Dr Thomas brings to the Queensland Eye Institute a wealth of international knowledge.

Dr Thomas sits on the Board of Governors for the World Glaucoma Society and the South and East Asia Glaucoma Interest Group and is on the executive of the Glaucoma Research Society. He is on the editorial board of Ophthalmic Epidemiology, Journal of Glaucoma and International Ophthalmology.

If you wish to make an appointment to see Prof Thomas please call (07) 3010 5751

 Dr Jim McAlister

Eye Disease Corneal and External

MB BSc BSc (Hons) FRCOphth FRANZCO

As the director of cornea and external eye disease services, Dr McAlister is committed to continuing the care of Professor Hirst's patients as he moves to restrict his surgical practice to pterygium alone.

Dr Mc Alister's early training was based in Moorfields in the UK, where he found and nurtured his natural surgical skills and began to build his experience in all aspects of modern cornea and external eye disease.

As an integral part of his clinical services, Dr Mc Alister is actively involved in many research programs at the Queensland Eye Institute.This includes participation in corneal cross linking trials for progressive keratoconus. On the basis of work published from this and other trials he continues to expand the remit of these newer therapies and reduce the burden of corneal and ocular surface disease.

  If you wish to make an appointment to see Dr Mc Alister please call (07) 3010 5752