About A/Prof Adrian Hunt — Cataract Surgeon and Medical Retina Specialist, Miranda

Cataract surgery and medical retina — subspecialty experience

Cataract surgery is not simply about removing a cloudy lens. Achieving the best possible visual outcome also depends on identifying and managing any underlying retinal disease.

A/Prof Hunt combines a comprehensive cataract practice with subspecialty expertise in medical retina. This is particularly valuable for patients with conditions such as macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, retinal vein occlusion, epiretinal membrane, high myopia, or previous retinal surgery, where retinal disease may influence the expected visual outcome, the timing of surgery, lens selection, or postoperative management.

His cataract practice includes both straightforward and complex cases, offering the full range of intraocular lens options, including monofocal, toric, extended depth of focus (EDOF), and multifocal lenses. Recommendations are individualised according to each patient's eyes, retinal health, and visual goals.

For most patients, cataract surgery is performed one eye at a time. The eye is fully numbed and patients are lightly sedated for comfort. Operating sequentially also allows the result from the first eye to guide planning for the second where appropriate.

Alongside cataract surgery, A/Prof Hunt's medical retina practice focuses on the diagnosis, monitoring, and long-term management of retinal disease using advanced OCT imaging, intravitreal injection therapy, retinal laser, and evidence-based care informed by both clinical practice and research.

Training and professional development

A/Prof Hunt's ophthalmology training began over twenty years ago, and he has maintained a sustained commitment to professional development since — not only advancing his own practice, but contributing to the specialty through research, teaching, and regulatory work. Each stage of that development has been at one of Australia's leading ophthalmic institutions.

He trained in general ophthalmology at Sydney Eye Hospital from 2003 — Australia's largest and busiest ophthalmic training centre — and then completed subspecialty fellowship training in medical retina at Westmead Hospital, where he was invited to stay on as a Staff Specialist at the end of his fellowship.

In clinical practice, A/Prof Hunt's focus is on improving outcomes for individual patients — one eye, one treatment decision at a time. His PhD at the Save Sight Institute, University of Sydney, completed in 2025, extended that commitment beyond the consulting room. His doctoral research focused on real-world treatment outcomes in retinal vein occlusion, producing findings that inform how the condition is managed not only in his own practice but across the specialty.

Qualifications and appointments

• FRANZCO — Fellow of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists
• PhD — University of Sydney, Save Sight Institute (retinal vein occlusion, completed 2025)
• MBiomedE — Master of Biomedical Engineering, UNSW (2000)
• MBBS — Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery, University of Sydney (1995)
• Associate Professor — University of Sydney
• Staff Specialist — Westmead Hospital, since 2007
• Member — TGA Advisory Committee on Medicines
• Investigator, RVO module — Fight Retinal Blindness! registry, Save Sight Institute

Affiliations & recognition

Affiliations

Fellow (FRANZCO)

PhD. A/Prof, Save Sight Institute

Staff Specialist since 2007

Advisory Committee on Medicines

Member since 2007

Member since 2017

Investigator, RVO module — FRB! registry

Recognition

Presenter, Best Paper Session 2024

Presenter, Prize Paper 2021

Editor's Choice 2025

Why ophthalmology, why medical retina

A/Prof Hunt was drawn to ophthalmology early in his training by the precision of the specialty — the imaging, the instrumentation, and the outcomes are all measurable. You can see exactly what you are treating and exactly how the patient responds. Few areas of medicine offer that kind of direct, visible benefit to patients.

Within ophthalmology, he developed a particular interest in medical retina — the diseases of the macula and retinal vasculature that most often threaten the central vision patients rely on most. His direction was shaped by early clinical exposure to retinal imaging and fluorescein angiography, and the investigative depth that retinal disease demands. His practice spans both medical retina and cataract surgery — two areas that share a commitment to precision, careful planning, and measurable outcomes.

A primary practice, not a circuit

Many ophthalmologists, early in their careers, consult across four or five private rooms in a week — a city circuit of different suites, different teams, different equipment — gradually concentrating on the practices that grow. A/Prof Hunt took a different approach from the outset. Rather than dividing his private practice across multiple locations, he made Miranda his primary practice and built it in the traditional model of a doctor based in his own community.

That decision shapes how the practice runs. The equipment, the imaging set-up, the team and the workflow at Miranda were personally chosen by A/Prof Hunt — selected for the long arc of his career, kept to the standard he wants, and configured around the way he practices. Consultation time goes to the patient, not to navigating an unfamiliar system.

A team takes time to build. Rachael, who manages the front desk, and Naomi, the practice orthoptist, have both been with A/Prof Hunt for more than ten years — long enough to know the patients, the workflow, and the way the practice runs.

With some of the team at our 2025 Melbourne Cup lunch in Cronulla.

From the Shire — a decision to return

A/Prof Hunt grew up in the Sutherland Shire. During his ophthalmology registrar years at Sydney Eye Hospital, he made a deliberate decision to return. He wanted to raise children in the Shire he grew up in — for the space, the familiarity, and to be near family on both sides.

Practising in Miranda lets him serve the community he is part of — the same community he was raised in, and the one his children are growing up in.

I grew up in the Shire, and during my training I made a deliberate decision to come back and raise my own children here. Practising in Miranda means caring for the community I'm part of — often the same families, over many years. That continuity is something I value, and I think patients feel it too.

— A/Prof Adrian Hunt, FRANZCO PhD

Port Hacking, Sutherland Shire.

Research and academic roles

A/Prof Hunt's research is built around a practical question: how do treatments for retinal disease actually perform in everyday practice — not just in clinical trials, but in real patients, over real time?

He has been the investigator on multiple analyses of retinal vein occlusion outcomes using data from the Fight Retinal Blindness! (FRB!) registry at the Save Sight Institute, University of Sydney — a clinical database that collects treatment outcomes from ophthalmologists across Australia and internationally. Clinical trials tell us how treatments perform under ideal conditions; registry data tells us what actually happens in routine care, over years. That distinction matters, because retinal conditions are typically lifelong.

He is an active co-author on more than twenty peer-reviewed papers covering intravitreal therapy in macular degeneration, retinal vein occlusion, and diabetic eye disease — frequently performing the data analysis and drafting the manuscript. He regularly presents findings at national and international conferences, including RANZCO, EURETINA, ARVO, and ASRS.

He is an Associate Professor at the University of Sydney and teaches ophthalmology registrars at Westmead Hospital, where he has been a Staff Specialist since 2007. He also serves on the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) Advisory Committee on Medicines, contributing to the national evaluation of new therapies before they become available to Australian patients.

Published in

What the research has found

Retinal Vein Occlusion

One of the most common questions patients ask is: how long will I need injections, and how often? A/Prof Hunt's PhD research used data from thousands of real patients to understand why treatment needs vary so widely.

• Long-term outcomes are encouraging. Three-year data showed that patients who start treatment promptly and maintain it consistently achieve meaningful, sustained improvements in vision. Published in Ophthalmology Retina (2023).
• Some eyes can eventually pause treatment and stay stable. Among eyes that responded well to injections, around half were able to stop and remain stable for at least two years — and a strong early response that continues to improve helps identify who is likely to manage without ongoing injections. Published in the British Journal of Ophthalmology (2026).
• Treatment intensity varies between practitioners — and it matters. Ophthalmologists differ substantially in how frequently they treat RVO, and the outcomes reflect that variation. Published in Clinical & Experimental Ophthalmology (2025), presented at the RANZCO 2024 Best Paper Session.
• Hemiretinal vein occlusion is a unique entity that responds particularly well. HRVO has historically been lumped in with branch or central RVO in trials, potentially skewing the results of both. Published in the British Journal of Ophthalmology (2022).
• Steroid implants are a valid alternative to anti-VEGF injections. Published in Scientific Reports (2024).
• Both main anti-VEGF medications work well. Published in the British Journal of Ophthalmology (2021) and Acta Ophthalmologica (2022).

What this means for patients: If you have retinal vein occlusion, the benchmarks for how your vision is likely to respond, how long treatment typically continues, and when adjustments are appropriate come directly from this work.

Macular Degeneration

• Switching to faricimab maintains good outcomes. Published in Clinical & Experimental Ophthalmology (2025) and selected as Editor's Choice by the American Academy of Ophthalmology.
• Initial treatment response predicts long-term vision. Published in Ophthalmology (2019).
• Some eyes respond poorly despite treatment. Published in Ophthalmology Retina (2024).

What this means for patients: The decisions about which medication to use, whether to switch agents, and what to expect over the coming years are informed by this research.

Diabetic Eye Disease

• Treatment gaps matter. Published in the British Journal of Ophthalmology (2025).
• Poor outcomes are not always explained by undertreatment. Published in Ophthalmology Retina (2022).

What this means for patients: This research reinforces the importance of consistent follow-up and helps identify when a different treatment approach may be needed.

Cataract Surgery

Cataract surgery can be performed safely in eyes receiving ongoing intravitreal injections for retinal vein occlusion, with meaningful gains in vision — although patients may require a slight increase in injection frequency in the twelve months following surgery. Published in Clinical & Experimental Ophthalmology (2025).

Presenting at the podium, RANZCO 2024 Best Paper Session

Selected publications

Common questions

What conditions does A/Prof Hunt treat?

A/Prof Hunt's practice focuses on cataract surgery and medical retina — the diagnosis, monitoring, and long-term treatment of macular degeneration, retinal vein occlusion, and diabetic eye disease. He also provides general ophthalmic care, including assessment and management of glaucoma, dry eye, pterygium, and common eyelid conditions.

Does A/Prof Hunt work in both private and public hospitals?

Yes. Private consultations, cataract surgery, and retinal treatment take place at Eye Surgeons Miranda and an associated private day surgery facility. A/Prof Hunt has also been a Staff Specialist at Westmead Hospital since 2007, treating public patients and teaching ophthalmology trainees.

What is medical retina?

Medical retina is the ophthalmology subspecialty focused on the diagnosis and long-term management of retinal disease — macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, retinal vein occlusion, and related conditions. It draws on OCT imaging, intravitreal injection therapy, and retinal laser. A/Prof Hunt completed subspecialty training in medical retina after his general ophthalmology training at Sydney Eye Hospital, and it is one of the two core areas of his practice alongside cataract surgery.

Does A/Prof Hunt's research affect how he treats patients?

Yes. A/Prof Hunt has conducted multiple analyses of retinal vein occlusion outcomes using Fight Retinal Blindness! registry data — real-world treatment results tracked across thousands of patients. The findings directly inform how he approaches injection therapy, treatment frequency, and long-term management.