Dr Allan Simpson leaves SES With Dr Simpson retiring at the start of 2022, we have lost an incredible doctor, a true gentleman, a champion of nature and a wonderful colleague. Joining Southern Eye Specialists shortly after its inception,... Read more >
March is Glaucoma Awareness Month. This year the theme is ‘EYE Believe’. Glaucoma NZ states that EYE Believe is “a positive affirmation to engage everyone in the action of valuing eye health education and research associated with saving sight.” Glaucoma... Read more >
Air quality affects more than just your lungs. New research shows the prevalence of Age-related Macular Degeneration in locations with high levels of air pollution. The British Journal of Ophthalmology has recently released a study that found residents... Read more >
We are proud to share the news of our very own Dr Stack joining the Board of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists (RANZCO). Dr Rebecca Stack is certainly well-equipped to deal with the work ahead. As... Read more >
Astronauts must deal with many negative physical effects when travelling into space, including potential changes in shape of the heart, bone mass loss, muscle fibre shrinkage and flattened eyeballs and swollen optic nerves. This is why 49% of long-flight astronauts... Read more >
Dr Genevieve Oliver joins Southern Eye Specialists We are excited to announce that Dr Genevieve Oliver has arrived at Southern Eye Specialists. Dr Oliver has recently returned to Christchurch after spending the last decade gathering valuable experience and expertise at... Read more >
Our Xmas seminar event breaks the mould We sat down with Dr. Logan Robinson to chat about the 2021 Christmas seminar event, how it differed from previous years and why it matters for SES and our professional network. Why... Read more >
Some doctors might deliver abstraction and pontificating when asked why they joined the profession. For Dr Jo-Anne Pon the answer is clear-cut. “I wanted to do something to help people,” she says. “And I’m no good at art… and I’m... Read more >
Van Damme’s eye scan gem scam Who is the most famous person to arrive at your workplace? For one Parisian optometrist near the Champs-Elysées, a visit by a celebrity in July drew quite the crowd. Unfortunately for the optometrist’s neighbour... Read more >
How to protect your eyes while wearing masks Wearing masks in everyday life is here – and it may be a while before we don’t have to regularly put them on again. While the mask is a common-sense... Read more >
Thanks to all of our survey respondents We need feedback to ensure our service can remain at a consistently high standard. That’s why we sent out a survey to our referral network earlier in the year… The results were pleasing... Read more >
Our August birdwalk certainly covers some ground… Bleak weather and melancholic thoughts beset our urban explorers during their late-winter bird watching trip. Dr Allan Simpson describes the journey around the city, to the coast, through our history and into... Read more >
Dr Rebecca Stack and the natural progression of artificial intelligence It’s something we hear more and more nowadays: Is there an app for that? In May Dr Rebecca Stack presented a fascinating seminar on how A.I will continue to revolutionise... Read more >
Our mid-winter birdwalk grapples with history repeating itself... Our June Birdwalk came just a day or two after Canterbury’s “one-in-two hundred-year” flood, a nonsense description now that we have such rapid climate change. But it got me thinking about flooding... Read more >
Heidelberg Spectralis OCT in the spotlight at SES In June we were lucky to host Dr Rahul Dwivedi for his astute presentation on glaucoma diagnosis and how new technology is leading the way in early detection and diagnosis. After... Read more >
100 treatments a milestone for Florence In June we celebrated a remarkable milestone for Florence Davidson – her 100th intravitreal injection. With family arriving from throughout the South Island to mark the occasion the day was filled with balloons,... Read more >
Our birdwalk pays tribute to a champion of the Avon It was a warm May afternoon and great to be marching out in the fresh air. Once again there were the usual suspects out and about – Sparrows, Blackbirds and a... Read more >
How eagle-eyed Ann captures her remarkable images The screens in our waiting rooms are providing patients with some wonderful insight into the lives of our feathered friends thanks to the skill of one particularly talented team member… Our patients will... Read more >
Looking back on (and forward to) Movember. In 2020 Daniel Freeman put his best foot forward for Movember, raising over $1000 for the charity. Now his recent attendance at a Movember ‘Hall of Fame’ breakfast has inspired our ophthalmic... Read more >
Dr James Borthwick presents on Geographic Atrophy, the ‘other’ blinding AMD Our March seminar was a popular one, with plenty of local optometrists arriving eager to learn from Dr Borthwick about the latest research into treatment for Geographic Atrophy (GA).... Read more >
Close to home event far and away a hit with attendees The RANZCO 2021 Branch Meeting recently took place in Christchurch, the first time we’ve hosted it here since prior to the earthquakes. It proved worth the wait, the event... Read more >
How to monitor your monitor use It’s the curse of the modern age, a plague of shining boxes upon all our houses (and our workplaces, our cafes, beaches and everywhere else we take our screens). But how do you avoid... Read more >
‘Fake tears’ provide real research results... Accusing someone of shedding ‘crocodile tears’ traditionally meant they would have been faking their grief, these insincere tears paralleling the ancient (and erroneous) belief that these animals shed tears as they consume their prey.... Read more >
Our latest birdwalk makes fresh discoveries With a greeting to autumn, a farewell for Donna, and a welcome to trout, the tenth Southern Eye Birdwalk proved a bittersweet journey for Dr Allan Simpson and his fellow travellers. The March... Read more >
The history behind our Pop Up Penguin (and it's future ahead) Our penguin has arrived and is now happily welcoming visitors as part of the Christchurch’s incredible Pop Up Penguins initiative. The penguin is part of a network of 50... Read more >
Our annual event draws crowd, conversation, good cheer It was a night of equal amounts of helpful insight and heartfelt catch-ups as the SES team of doctors met with many from our local network for our Christmas seminar event.... Read more >
The last Birdwalk for 2020 looks beyond the city The eighth instalment of Southern Eye on the River sees our exploring team visit larger than life penguins and get the best view yet of the breeding season within ‘Apocalypse... Read more >
Introducing our innovative iStent treatment At Southern Eye Specialists we now offer the revolutionary iStent technology – an extremely small implant placed in the eye during cataract surgery to help treat glaucoma. We introduced the procedure late in 2019,... Read more >
Four famous athletes with eye conditions An athlete relies on clear visual information to ensure they have the quick reflexes needed for competing at elite levels. So what happens when this information is damaged or impaired? For the sportspeople below... Read more >
The team go off piste in this month’s birdwalk September 1st was Birdwalk Tuesday and the first day of Spring. But Winter had its last fling with a cold snap that rained on the river and snowed on... Read more >
Our SES team conquers the course After pushing their limits across 30 kilometres of a rugged North Canterbury landscape our SES team arrived at the finish line with tired muscles and big smiles. The Spring Challenge has become a bit... Read more >
Fruit flies get dizzy over illusions too That dizzy and sometimes queasy feeling you’ll have when looking at optical illusions is not just a human experience – it’s experienced by all types of animals too. A recent study at Yale... Read more >
The S4 Seminar Series debuts online Optometrists can now earn CPD points online with our new approach to remote learning. Our 4S Seminar Series provides optometrists with the knowledge to increase their expertise and gain CPD points. It... Read more >
Ever wondered if that baby is actually happy to see you? The guide below might help. A baby’s vision is tested in a few different ways, with one of the main processes checking for preferential looking: how an infant... Read more >
A chat with Dr Jim Borthwick Jim Borthwick has been at the vanguard of eye surgery in the South Island for decades now, starting Southern Eye Specialists back in 1994 and helping to take the clinic to where... Read more >
Six famous musicians with eye conditions While Stevie Wonder and Ray Charles are well known examples of vision-impaired musicians there are many others who have also taken to the spotlight despite the challenges of their eye conditions. José Feliciano Born... Read more >
A wonderful pastime and a helping hand We’re making time spent in reception more interesting for our patients and, ultimately, their efforts here more rewarding for those in need. Our knitting project first started in 2019 when Rose, one... Read more >
This month’s birdwalk proves anything but… Chris and Justin joined me for the July Birdwalk. Starting out I expressed my anxiety that one of these months we might see nothing new. I might be taking them on a wild... Read more >
The rise and rise of Ross Taylor. Playing professional sport at the highest level requires an incredible amount of hand-eye coordination. Decisions must be made in a fraction of a second and focus must be exceptional. This makes the story... Read more >
Staying true to evidence-based eyecare Real science and medical testing will always trump a gut-reaction, feel-good approach to the diagnosis and treatment of patients. Dr Logan Robinson looks at the recent chaos behind unproven ‘cures’ and the very real... Read more >
I did May’s birdwalk on my own under Alert Level Three rules, in solidarity with Rob and his solo golfwalk (no flags and no rake in his sandpit). And I did it on Friday since I am not at work... Read more >
Taking the battle to dry eye We recently launched an exciting new service – IPL technology that delivers fast, effective relief for patients suffering from Dry Eye or Meibomian Gland Dysfunction (MGD). A lot of work has gone in behind... Read more >
Five great self-isolating podcast recommendations These last few weeks have certainly allowed some of us time to explore new things. One relaxing pastime has been with the discovery of some great podcasts. Here are some of our recommendations… If you’re... Read more >
The Southern Eye Birdwalk: Lockdown edition With the concern and uncertainty in our daily lives never has the opportunity to get outside to reconnect with nature been so important. Allan Simpson reports on his latest Covid-19 bird-watching quest through a... Read more >
SES recognised for clinical trial expertise. Running clinical studies can be demanding. There are a large number of complex processes to undertake, and substantial work is required in administration. However the effort is worth it. Every piece of information collected... Read more >
Our top 5 films about vision impairment or sight loss. Hollywood often plays fast and loose with the facts with eyesight and the loss of vision. Here are five noteworthy examples of movies where vision impairment plays a major role…... Read more >
They say to never judge a book by its cover. But is it acceptable to judge someone’s intelligence by whether they wear glasses? It turns out the answer is... kind of… maybe? As romance films have repeatedly told... Read more >
Our Feast For Your Eyes prize We recently asked our Facebook followers what sights around Christchurch they appreciated the most. The answers were fabulous – we live in a wonderful place. Now, with her prize, our winner is ready for... Read more >
The first Southern Eye Birdwalk left my waiting room at 1pm on December 4 and will again in future, on the first Tuesday of each month (except January). There were seven of us to share observations on the river... Read more >
An up and coming Christchurch filmmaker found the perfect back drop for her sci-fi short film at Southern Eye Specialists. Lucy Hammond, a Level 5 film production and animation student at Yoobee College, spent about 45 minutes filming some... Read more >
One of Southern Eye Specialists’ doctors rode alongside a large group of ‘distinguished gentlemen’ recently, helping raise hundreds of dollars for a cause that means a lot to him. The Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride (DGR) is an international event which... Read more >
Dr Allan Simpson says he will never buy another plastic bottle of shampoo ever again. The sentiment came after he and his wife Dr Beth Simpson recently spent a weekend on the West Coast helping pick up rubbish at... Read more >
Many Kiwis don’t know much about Glaucoma until they or someone they know is personally affected by it. With a little knowledge early symptoms can be caught and expert treatment can prevent the issue from getting worse. Dr Allan... Read more >
If you were a recent patient to SES in April 2019, you may have noticed some new faces around the office. We have been supporting the Canterbury DHB during a recent crisis where the Eye Department was displaced for a... Read more >
Hard on the heels of our recent upgrade of our OCT-A capability, Southern Eye Specialists has also purchased the new ELLEX YAG LASER - a non-invasive laser utilised to treat patients with posterior capsular opacity (secondary cataract), YAG laser... Read more >
The OCT-A capability is a non-invasive imaging technique that assists in the diagnosis of various forms of retinal disease, recently purchased and installed at Southern Eye Specialists. This capability speeds up diagnosis and treatment planning for our patients. Chair... Read more >
Southern Eye Specialists announce the purchase of a Plusoptix A12C Mobile Autorefractor to compliment delivery of paediatric eye care for our patients, primarily to infants, young children, and for adults who may encounter difficulty with our standard autorefractor equipment.... Read more >
In June 2019 we welcomed Dr Antony Bedggood, MB ChB (Otago)FRANZCO, to the SES team. Dr Bedggood is an experienced cataract surgeon and general adult ophthalmologist. He regularly works managing neuro-ophthalmic disease and also has extensive experience in the surgical... Read more >
Interested in hearing and learning more about Glaucoma? Dr Allan Simpson, (MB ChB FRANZCO), Director at SES, and our Glaucoma expert is the key note speaker at the Glaucoma NZ seminar being held at the Commodore Hotel on Memorial Ave,... Read more >
SES introduces newest Director, Dr Logan Robinson, MB CHB, PGDip Ophth, BS (Distinction), FRANZCO. Many of our patients and referrers will already know of Logan as one of our consulting ophthalmologist's. Logan actually joined us in 2016 having completed his... Read more >
More and more New Zealanders are opting to buy their glasses online to save money. The trend is to visit an optometrist or optician, get an eye test including an important measurement called pupillary distance (PD) and enter those measurements... Read more >