Ulrich Meyer-Bothling


Ulrich Meyer-Bothling is an English ophthalmic surgeon. He is founding member and also the Clinical Director of the Diabetic Retinopathy Screening service for Surrey.
Meyer-Bothling is a consultant ophthalmic surgeon who practises in the South East of England, United Kingdom. He has a research background in glaucoma and specialist training in retinal diseases. He specialises in complex cataract surgery and in the 1990s he began publishing the advantages of performing small incision cataract surgery under topical anaesthesia.

Education

Meyer-Bothling spent his childhood in France, where his parents were accredited with the diplomatic service, and later in Germany. In 1980 he won a scholarship to attend the sixth form United World College of the Atlantic in Wales, UK. In 1982 he graduated from Atlantic College with the International Baccalaureate. Meyer-Bothling then attended the University of Hamburg to study Medicine. He studied Haematology at the University of Rochester, Neurology at the University of Oxford, Infectious diseases at Yale University and General Surgery at the University of Melbourne. He completed his dual MD/PhD degree in 1989.

Professional work

For his research on T-Lymphocyte subsets in Myasthenia gravis Meyer-Bothling received a PhD in 1990 from the University of Hamburg.
From 1990 to 1992 Meyer-Bothling was a research fellow at the Nuffield Laboratory of Ophthalmology in Oxford. He was awarded a Master of Science from the University of Oxford for exploring the role of serotonin and related substances in the regulation of intraocular pressure.
His clinical residency was spent at the University of Hamburg, where he left in 1997 as a specialist in retinal surgery. He became one of three partners in a large day surgery centre in Hamburg. This practice of three eye surgeons performed over 3000 surgical procedures every year.
In 2000 Meyer-Bothling left Hamburg to do further clinical work and research as a fellow at Moorfields Eye Hospital in London.
At the age of 38, in 2002, he was appointed Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeon by Ashford and St. Peter’s Hospitals NHS Trust, where he runs speciality services in cataract, glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy. Meyer-Bothling has a wide referral base for his private practice, which operates from various locations in West London and Surrey.
In 2008 Meyer-Bothling was appointed Clinical Director of the Diabetic Retinopathy Screening Service in Surrey.
Meyer-Bothling has published his basic science research, in his early years mainly glaucoma related, later he published mainly clinical research. He co-authored the standard textbook "Emergency Medicine", which is now in its fourth edition, and the OPHDA Ophthalmology databank.

Degrees and awards

Meyer-Bothling has travelled widely throughout Europe, Asia, the Americas, Africa and Australia. During his student and early residency years he regularly worked as a tour guide in China. He speaks English, French and German. He is a keen keyboard player, enjoys hiking and sailing and is an avid skier. Over the past few years Meyer-Bothling and his family have financially supported the United World Colleges, Green Templeton College, Oxford, the Eastman School of Music, the Hochstein School of Music and the Al Sigl Rehabilitation Center. He is married with four children and lives in Surrey/England.

Selected publications