Sami Habal

Consultant Ophthalmic and Vitreoretinal Surgeon 

Sami is a leading consultant ophthalmic and vitreoretinal (VR) surgeon, specialising in cataract surgery (simple and complex), age-related macular degeneration, retinal detachment, and diabetic retinopathy, along with several other specialities. 

To become an experienced VR surgeon, Sami undertook 11 years of training and 8 years of practicing VR surgery independently. He completed his medical degree at Damascus University in Syria with a distinction in 2003. He was subsequently awarded a place for ophthalmology training on the competitive Damascus rotation at the Eye Surgical Hospital in Damascus, with a full year acting as a Chief Ophthalmology Resident. Upon moving to the UK, he carried out additional ophthalmology training in the West Midlands and South Yorkshire.  

Sami is one of the very few ophthalmic surgeons worldwide who has dedicated six years of his life to train purely in advanced medical and surgical retinal conditions through completing formal fellowships programs in centres of excellence around the world. This was augmented by undertaking the competitive fellowship of Ocular Oncology in the University of Toronto, Canada, combined with prestigious retinal surgical fellowships in vitreoretinal conditions in the Birmingham and Midlands Eye Centre in Birmingham and also at the John Radcliff Hospital at Oxford University. He has authored peer-reviewed publications and has presented his work at international and national meetings. 

Sami also has a passion for teaching and training the next generation of ophthalmic surgeons. He has already trained nine VR fellows who have gone on to become VR consultants, practicing independently both in the UK and abroad.