As a leading glaucoma surgeon and ophthalmic specialist, Professor Barton has been actively involved in advancing glaucoma research, surgical innovations, and global eye care initiatives.

Whether you’re a fellow professional, researcher, or patient seeking insights into his work, this page serves as a comprehensive resource on his expertise and ongoing contributions to the field of ophthalmology.

About Prof. Barton

Keith Barton is a Consultant Ophthalmologist and Glaucoma Specialist at Moorfields Eye Hospital, Professor of Ophthalmology at UCL Institute of Ophthalmology and Co-Founder and Co-Chair of Ophthalmology Futures Forums and the International Glaucoma Surgery Registry.

His areas of interest are the surgical management of glaucoma, especially aqueous shunt devices, micro-invasive glaucoma surgery (MIGS) and secondary glaucoma’s, specifically the management of glaucoma in uveitis. Keith has been at the forefront of surgical innovation in glaucoma, specifically glaucoma surgical devices and is a co-inventor of the Paul Glaucoma Implant (United States Patent No. 9,808,374 B2. Nov 7th, 2017).

Professor Barton was Editor-in-Chief of the British Journal of Ophthalmology from 2014-2021, Hong Leong Visiting Professor at National University of Singapore from 2011-2014 and again in 2016. He has been invited to lecture on every continent, has received a number of awards including the Charamis Medal at the European Ophthalmological Society in Barcelona 2017 for achievement in the field of Ophthalmic surgery and has five times been voted by The Ophthalmologist magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in Ophthalmology and twice in the top 10. In March 2024 he received the International Scholar Award of the American Glaucoma Society and in October 2024 gave the Francisco Fantes Memorial Lecture at the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine. He is actively involved in surgical teaching, patient education and charitable projects. He has produced patient information on aqueous shunt implantation and trabeculectomy that are available online in several languages and which have been awarded the NHS Information Standard in the UK. He also has established an online resource migs.org to help patients and clinicians navigate the proliferation of new glaucoma surgical devices and in 2018 established an internet-based International Registry of Glaucoma Surgery, in order to collect outcome information on all types of glaucoma surgery from around the world, that now holds anonymised details of almost 11,000 glaucoma surgical procedures from over 40 countries.

Professor Barton organises and runs glaucoma educational symposia which have attracted significant acclaim, founding the Moorfields International Glaucoma Symposium in 2008, and co-founding and organising Ophthalmology Futures Forums, industry investor networking events in Ophthalmology, both in Europe and Asia, in 2012.

He has been involved in charitable work and population-based research in Ghana, West Africa, since 2004, as an Investigator in the Tema Eye Survey and the follow-up Tema Eye Survey II. He regularly takes part in charitable sporting events, having cycled from London to Paris in 24 hours on 6 occasions from 2017-2024, raising over £164,000 for Glaucoma UK, and will be cycling again in 2026.

Please view glaucoma-surgery.org to view Professor Barton’s other online activities and resources.

Current Clinical Practice

Despite wide-ranging interests in clinical education and commercial innovation, Prof. Barton is primarily a clinical ophthalmologist with a practice that is focused on the surgical management of glaucoma, including both traditional techniques and new minimally invasive surgical techniques.

A large additional proportion of his practice is also dedicated to the management of glaucoma secondary to uveitis.

Aqueous Shunt Implantation

Although Professor Barton performs a significant number of trabeculectomies, he has pioneered the use of the Baerveldt Glaucoma Implant in the UK, promoted the use of aqueous shunts (glaucoma drainage devices) in Europe where they have been much less popular than in North America and co-designed the Paul Glaucoma Implant, a new shunt, developed in Singapore, consisting of a smaller lumen tube than conventional shunts, that is placed inside the eye (United States Patent No. 9,808,374 B2).

Glaucoma Secondary to Uveitis

In 1996, Professor Barton set up a clinic dedicated solely to the management of glaucoma secondary to uveitis. This clinic attracts referrals from all over the United Kingdom, with a high proportion requiring glaucoma surgery. This has proven to be a unique resource for the study of surgical outcomes in patients with uveitic glaucoma.

New Glaucoma Surgical Devices & Techniques

Professor Barton’s practice has trialled most of the new glaucoma surgical devices including iStent, Hydrus, Cypass, MicroShunt, Xen, Trabectome, CLASS laser, High Frequency Focused Ultrasound (HiFu), Micropulse Diode laser and endoscopic cyclophotocoagulation. He has also trialled newer forms of traditional Aqueous Shunts, such as the Aurolab AADI and is a co-inventor of the Paul Glaucoma Implant.

Cataract Surgery

Cataract surgery is an integral part of the management of patients with glaucoma who require surgery. Patients with glaucoma, especially those with secondary glaucomas requiring glaucoma surgery, have a high rate of later cataract development. Given that cataract surgery has the potential to compromise the outcome of glaucoma surgery, the co-management of surgical glaucoma and cataract is an important part of his surgical glaucoma practice.

Professor Barton’s clinical practice offers phacoemulsification and intraocular lens implantation, including Toric intraocular lenses for those with significant astigmatism. His private practice additionally offers femtosecond-laser assisted phacoemulsification for suitable patients.

Current Positions

October 1996 – present: Consultant Ophthalmologist, Glaucoma Service, Moorfields Eye Hospital
October 2021 – present: Professor of Ophthalmology, Institute of Ophthalmology, University College London
November 2015 – present: Trustee, TFC Frost Charitable Trust (Registered Charity)
October 2014 – present: Director, Vision Medical Events Ltd
July 2012 – present: Director, Vision Futures Ltd
October 2018 – present: Director, International Glaucoma Surgery Registry Ltd
July 2019 – present: Director, MedEther Ophthalmology (Hong Kong) Ltd

Editorial Activity

2014 – present: Editor-In-Chief, British Journal of Ophthalmology
2013 – present: International Advisory Board Member, Journal of the Royal Jordanian Medical Sciences
2012 – present: International Advisory Board Member, Canadian Journal of Ophthalmology
2006 – 2015: Editorial Board, EyeNet (American Academy of Ophthalmology)
2011 – 2013: Editorial Board, International Glaucoma Review (World Glaucoma Association)

Journal Reviewer

Ophthalmology, Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science, American Journal of Ophthalmology, British Journal of Ophthalmology, Journal of Glaucoma, Cornea, Current Eye research, Acta Ophthalmologica Scand, Eye, Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology, Translational Vision Science & Technology, Expert review of Medical Devices.

March 2005 – October 2011: Glaucoma Service Director, Moorfields Eye Hospital
March 2007 – April 2012: Honorary Senior Lecturer, Division of Epidemiology and Genetics, Institute of Ophthalmology, UCL
March 2012 – March 2017: Chair, Board of Trustees, International Glaucoma Association (registered charity)
2011 – 2014 & 2016 – 2017: Hong Leong Visiting Professor, Department of Ophthalmology, National University of Singapore
2014 – 2017: Director, London Claremont Clinic Limited
April 2014 – March 2021: Editor in Chief, British Journal of Ophthalmology
May 2012 – Sept 2021: Honorary Reader, Institute of Ophthalmology, University College London
February 2014 – 2024: Treasurer, International Society for Glaucoma Surgery

Charitable Work

International Glaucoma Association

2012 – 2020:
Chairman of the board of Trustees
2010 – 2012:
Research Grants Committee Chairman. In this capacity Keith was successful in obtaining National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) accreditation of the annual two research funding streams awarded by the IGA
2008 – 2017:
Trustee of the Fund for the IGA Chair of Ophthalmology for Glaucoma and Allied Studies
2005 – 2017:
Trustee and Council Member

TFC Frost Charitable Trust

2015 – present:
Trustee

Charitable fundraising

Professor Barton cycled from London to Paris in under 24 hours for the 6th time in 2024. If you would like to donate toward his 2026 cycle, then please visit his Just Giving page.

In the last 10 years the Professor has raised over £160,000 from charity cycle rides. This fundraising includes 5 x 100 mile RideLondon events, 6 x 300km in 24 hours, London to Paris events. He has also raised £230,000 in private donations to support Glaucoma UK and the glaucoma service at Moorfields Eye Hospital.

Awards & Achievements

Professor Barton has won numerous global awards in his ophthalmology career recognizing his vast contributions to the advancement of eye care.

2018 – Achievement Award, Asia-Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology, Hong Kong
2017 – The Charamis Medal, Hellenic Ophthalmological Society (Awarded at European Society of Ophthalmology Congress)
2017 – Honored International Keynote Speaker, ASCRS Glaucoma Day, American Society of Cataract & Refractive Surgeons, Los Angeles
2017 – NHS National Bronze Clinical Excellence Award
2016 – 10th Annual Alcon International Lecturer, Midwest & South Glaucoma Society, Vanderbilt University, Nashville
2011–2016 – NHS National Silver Clinical Excellence Award
2015–2016 – Best Poster Awards (2), American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO)
2015 – Senior Achievement Award, American Academy of Ophthalmology
2015 – Invited Keynote Speaker, French Glaucoma Society, Paris
2014 – Nabil Sabry Lecturer, Egyptian Society for the Glaucomas, Cairo
2012 – Gold Medal of Merit & Honour of A. Anagnostakis & A. Tranta, Greek Glaucoma Society, Athens
2010 – Inaugural M.I. Abdalla Lecturer, Egyptian Society for the Glaucomas, Cairo
2008 – Achievement Award, American Academy of Ophthalmology
2008 – Treacher-Collins Prize for the Best Video, Royal College of Ophthalmologists (UK)
2008 – Janice Krushner Memorial Lecturer, International Glaucoma Association, UK
2005–2008 – Best of Show Awards for 4 Surgical Videos, AAO Annual Meeting
1995 – The Iris Fund for the Prevention of Blindness Award
1995 – Sir William Lister Award in Ophthalmology, Royal College of Ophthalmologists
1995 – The Cripplegate & Dowsett Travelling & Educational Scholarship
1994 – King Edward’s Hospital Fund for London Travelling Fellowship
1985 – Magrath Clinical Scholarship in Ophthalmology, Queen’s University of Belfast
1983 – Sir Thomas Dixon & Lady Edith Dixon Travelling Scholarship, Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong
1979 – Anderson Scholarship, Coleraine Academical Institution, Northern Ireland

2024: International Scholar Award
American Glaucoma Society.
2024: Francisco Fantes Memorial Lecturer
Curso Interamericano, Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2020, 2018:
The Ophthalmologist Power List
Named one of the 100 Most Influential People in Global Ophthalmology (5 times), twice in the top 10. 2025: Named in the top 10 of the Glaucoma category
2017: The Charamis Medal
Hellenic Ophthalmological Society (Awarded at European Society of Ophthalmology Congress)
2017: Honored International Keynote Speaker
ASCRS Glaucoma Day, American Society of Cataract & Refractive Surgeons

Research

The main focus of Professor Keith Barton’s research has been the surgical management of glaucoma, although he has also been involved in other areas of glaucoma research. The studies in which he is involved or have been involved are grouped below according to area of focus.

Aqueous Shunt Trials

2002 – 2012: Tube versus trabeculectomy (TVT) Study
United States-based multi-centre randomised surgical trial. 212 patients were randomized in this 17 centre investigator-initiated trial which published 5 years of follow-up in 2012. Steering committee member, principal investigator at Moorfields Eye Hospital and only non-US investigator.

2006 – 2015: Ahmed Baerveldt Comparison (ABC) Study
US-based international multi-centre randomised surgical trial. 276 patients were randomised in this 16 centre investigator-initiated trial which published 5 years of follow-up in 2015. Co-chairman of study and principal investigator at Moorfields Eye Hospital.

2008 – 2020: Primary Tube versus Trabeculectomy (PTVT) Study
US-based international multi-centre randomised surgical trial. Recruitment of 242 patients was completed in 2015. Treatment outcomes and surgical complications after one year of follow-up were presented at the American Academy Annual meeting in Chicago 2016. Steering committee member and principal investigator at Moorfields Eye Hospital.

2010 – 2020: Prospective study of risk factors for corneal endothelial failure after aqueous shunt implantation
This study of consecutive patients implanted with aqueous shunts under Keith Barton’s care with planned 5-year follow-up identified tube entry site position as an important risk factor for corneal endothelial cell loss after aqueous shunt implantation and was presented at the American Glaucoma Society in Washington DC in February 2020.

Trabeculectomy Trials

2014 – present: Treatment of Advanced Glaucoma Study (TAGS)
Investigator-initiated, NIHR-HTA funded UK based multi-centre randomised controlled trial comparing primary medical treatment with primary trabeculectomy in 440 patients with newly diagnosed advanced glaucoma.
Co-investigator and member of Trial Management Group.

Glaucoma Laser Therapy Trials

2012 – 2023: Health-Related Quality of Life in two treatment Pathways for open angle glaucoma and ocular hypertension: A randomised controlled trial of initial selective laser trabeculoplasty vs conventional medical therapy (Light Trial)
Investigator-initiated NIHR-HTA funded multi-centre randomised clinical trial in which 718 patients were recruited by 2014 with planned 3 year follow-up. Co-investigator and member of trial management group.

2007 – 2020: Zhongsham Angle-Closure Prevention (ZAP) Trial
Investigator-initiated randomised, controlled trial of Laser Iridotomy for prevention of angle-closure glaucoma in southern China and subsequently published in The Lancet. Member of safety and data monitoring committee.

Further information

Visit Professor Barton’s dedicated page for information on his Qualifications, Clinical Training, Visiting Professorships, Examining and Lecturing Invitations, International Congress and International Ophthalmic Innovation Forum Organisation.