| Name: |
Mark Donaldson |
 |
| Qualifications: |
MB ChB FRANZCO |
| Rooms at: |
Eye Doctors, Ormiston Hospital
Eye Doctors, Ascot Hospital
|
| Phone: |
09 277-6787 |
| Fax: |
09 277-6779
|
| Mobile: |
021 565 215 |
| Email: |
mark@eyedoctors.co.nz |
| Areas of specialisation: |
Adult Refractive Cataract Surgery & Intraocular Lens Implantation. Management and Treatment of Glaucoma.
Management and Treatment of Diabetic Eye Disease, Retinal Vein Occlusions and Age Related Macular Degeneration.
Laser Treatment of Glaucoma and Diabetic Retinopathy.
|
| Specialist Training: |
Undertaken at Wellington Hospital (NZ), Western Eye Hospital, Marylebone Road, London (UK), Birmingham Eye
Hospital (UK)
|
| Positions held & memberships: |
Founding Director of Eye Doctors, Consultant surgeon ADHB, Member American Society of Retina Specialists,
Honorary Senior Lecturer University of Auckland, Trustee of Glaucoma New Zealand |
| Continuing Education & Research: |
Mark has pursued his research interests actively since establishing himself in the Auckland Ophthalmology scene. He
has been the principal investigator for a series of studies instigated by the US companies Allergan and Alcon. These
have all involved trialing new therapies for common maculopathies secondary to diabetes, venous occlusion and agerelated
macular degeneration. One of the therapies – Osurdex – has been established as an approved treatment for
macular oedema secondary to vein occlusion. Osurdex is available in the USA & Australia.
In addition to industry research he followed his own parallel research interest and was awarded a NZ Health Research
Council grant to study the role of transpupillary thermotherapy in diabetic macular oedema. The results of this were
published in Retina in 2009. Currently he is recruiting for a study of the Iridex micropulse laser for the treatment
diabetic macular oedema. The benefit of successful application of the micropulse laser to macula oedema is that it is
non-injurious. Conventional lasers cause injury in the process of effecting an improvement in macular oedemas from
any cause.
Another research project is being carried out in conjunction with a group of St Heliers GPs. GPs have little time in
their daily routines to evaluate eyes but on the other hand most New Zealanders pass through the doors of a GP.
Therefore there is no doubt that the General Practice is an important place in which to practice ophthalmic primary
care well. A very compact and friendly device for assessing a visual field accurately and swiftly has been set up in a St
Heliers practice and has proved itself in discovering a lot of important treatable eye disease. The field analyzer is
called FDT and was originally developed by Australian scientists but Zeiss took on the idea and such convenient
instruments are available to General practice Groups and dedicated Eye Health Units alike. |
| Outside of Work: |
Mark is married to Natalie and lives in Mt Eden. They have five children. Mark loves learning new things and hopes to
transmit his enthusiasm for learning and enquiry to his children. “Never be afraid to ask questions”. |