About
Mr Aasheet Desai
MBBS, DOMS, MRCOphth, MRCSEd, FRCOphth, FRCSEd, FEBO
Professional biography
Mr Aasheet Desai is a Consultant Ophthalmologist specialising in cataract and refractive lens surgery, practising at The Wilmslow Hospital in Cheshire. To the end of 2023 he has performed approximately 35,000 eye operations, operating on over 3,000 eyes per year — a volume matched by very few surgeons in the UK.
His qualifications: MBBS; Diploma in Ophthalmology (DOMS); Member and Fellow of the Royal College of Ophthalmologists (MRCOphth, FRCOphth); Member and Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (MRCSEd, FRCSEd); and Fellow of the European Board of Ophthalmology (FEBO).
Beyond routine cataract and lens surgery, Mr Desai has performed over 350 IOL exchanges in the past 3 years — one of few surgeons in the country undertaking these complex revision procedures.
The average operation time in his care is about 7 minutes, and in his patient audit around 95% of patients met the driving vision standard by the next morning.
Audited outcomes
National Ophthalmology Database (NOD) audit
The NOD audit is the national, independent audit of cataract surgery outcomes across the UK. Every contributing surgeon's complication rate is recorded and benchmarked, so results are facts rather than claims.
This places Mr Desai among the surgeons with the lowest complication rates in the country — roughly four times lower than the national average.
Teaching & publications
Training the next generation of surgeons
Mr Desai has trained over 75 doctors in cataract surgery and is currently involved in training future UK consultant ophthalmologists. He has also published a book on cataract surgery.
Surgeons who teach an operation must understand it deeply enough to explain every step — and to handle every complication a trainee might encounter. That experience is part of what patients benefit from.
Considering surgery?
Start with an honest conversation about all your options — including not operating.