A new ophthalmology service to help treat animals with serious eye conditions has been launched across London and Hertfordshire.

Ophthalmologist Barbara Thielman will be leading the new service for Linnaeus-owned Village Vet and will initially be dealing with cases at its practices in Primrose Hill, Potters Bar and Winchmore Hill.

Barbara, who has a British Small Animal Veterinary Association (BSAVA) certificate in veterinary ophthalmology, has a vision to see it expand and extend in the future.

Barbara said: “I will be managing both in-house and referral eye cases at Village Vet and I am hoping to make advanced eye care more available in the local region.

“Currently, there are only very limited referral options so the aim is to take the weight off the shoulders of the general practitioners who are stuck with difficult, recurrent or chronic eye cases and frustrated clients.”

Barbara has a passion for eye care and is keen to use her skills to transform the lives of animals with chronic eye conditions.

She added: “I enjoy both the surgical and medical side of the speciality and there is nothing more rewarding than being able to help a patient with a chronic eye issue.

“Clients frequently tell me how they underestimated the degree of discomfort resulting from eye disease. They only notice their pet’s change in behaviour once the eye problem has resolved and the animal appears rejuvenated.

“That’s what a difference we can make here at Village Vet with this new service.”

Barbara joined Village Vet in 2016 where she successfully completed the three-year BSAVA postgraduate certificate in small animal ophthalmology.

She received her master’s in veterinary medicine from the University of Ghent, Belgium in 2009 before completing her internship at the University of Vienna, Austria where her keen interest in ophthalmology began to develop.

She then honed her skills working in general practice in Germany, France and the UK before joining Village Vet.

Barbara was awarded RCVS Advanced Practitioner status in Veterinary Ophthalmology in 2021.

In her spare time, Barbara enjoys cooking, reading and sports, particularly cycling and running, as well as her winter passion, splitboarding.

For more information on Village Vet, visit https://villagevet.co.uk or search for Village Vet on social media.

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