Surgeons treating children with rare eye cancer at the Royal London have been commended in the annual Bayer Ophthalmology honours.
The hospital’s Retinoblastoma team has been commended for achieving 98 per cent survival of children after five years.
Judges acknowledged “the team that has achieved striking results in survival rates”.
They praised its Eye Club where older children teach younger patients how to care for their prosthetic eye and help to reduce stigma.
The ophthalmic team, one of two national centres in the UK, treats 16 children in a single day, under general anaesthesia. It also has a 60pc success rate helping save the children’s eyesight, double the rate eight years ago.
The team has two consultant ophthalmologists, three paediatric oncologists, a specialist orthoptist, play therapist, psychologist, three specialist oncology nurses and two clinical fellows.
Every child has a play specialist who knows how each young patient reacts to anaesthetic, which aids recovery.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here