China's Top Departments: Ophthalmology at Guangdong Clifford Hospital

If you are facing cataract, glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, or a child's progressing myopia, the Department of Ophthalmology at Guangdong Clifford Hospital offers a comprehensive eye-care option in southern China — a featured department established in 2002 integrating medical care, teaching, research and blindness prevention, working closely with the Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center of Sun Yat-sen University, Southern Medical University and Jinan University, on the platform of China's first large general Grade 3A hospital to pass international JCI accreditation, and a designated institution under the Greater Bay Area "Hong Kong/Macao Medicine and Device Connect" scheme.

Overview

The Department of Ophthalmology at Guangdong Clifford Hospital is one of the hospital's featured departments, integrating medical care, teaching, research and blindness prevention. It brings together a team of highly skilled senior specialists and physicians with extensive clinical experience, has introduced advanced international examination and treatment equipment, and uses integrated Chinese–Western medicine together with naturopathic and other approaches to comprehensively address common, critical, severe and emergency eye conditions, while also providing eye-disease prevention and eye-care services to healthy and sub-healthy clients.

The department was established in 2002 and comprises an eye clinic, an inpatient ward, an operating theatre and an optometry centre. It works closely with platforms such as the Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center of Sun Yat-sen University, Southern Medical University and Jinan University, and has reached an advanced level in treating cataract, glaucoma, myopia, ocular surface disease and fundus (retinal) disease.

For patients from Hong Kong, Macao and overseas, the department offers a one-stop service spanning the diagnosis and treatment of common eye conditions, cataract / glaucoma / fundus surgery, medical optometry and spectacle fitting, myopia prevention and control for children and adolescents, and oculoplastic and aesthetic surgery — complemented by integrated Chinese–Western medicine for conditioning and recovery.

Academic Standing and Certifications

• The official website does not separately designate a "national / provincial / municipal key specialty" tier for the Department of Ophthalmology; this guide states this factually and makes no exaggeration.
• The department is one of the hospital's featured departments, integrating medical care, teaching, research and blindness prevention, and works closely with platforms such as the Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center of Sun Yat-sen University, Southern Medical University and Jinan University.
• Expert team: the department brings together several specially engaged experts with a Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center background (Wang Zhenfang, Huang Shengsong, Huang Xinhua, Xu Jiangang and others), several of whom hold academic appointments such as committee member of the Ocular Trauma Group of the Chinese Ophthalmological Society, member of the Professional Committee of the Guangdong Eye Health Association, and member of the Ocular Refraction Professional Committee of the Guangdong Optometric Society.
• Hospital level: the hospital is the first large general tertiary (Class A) hospital in China to obtain international JCI accreditation (with integrated Chinese–Western medicine features), a designated medical institution under the Greater Bay Area "Hong Kong/Macao Medicine and Device Connect" scheme, a National Drug Clinical Trial Base (GCP), a Guangdong Province Famous TCM Hospital, and Jinan University's Affiliated Clifford Hospital. For Hong Kong, Macao and international patients, this means relevant credentials and convenience in terms of medical quality management and cross-border access to medicines and devices.

Core Techniques and Features

• Cataract: routine phacoemulsification combined with intraocular lens (IOL) implantation, with monofocal, bifocal, trifocal and toric (astigmatism-correcting) lenses available.
• Glaucoma: anti-glaucoma surgery, with experience in managing refractory glaucoma (primary / neovascular / after multiple failed surgeries) and congenital glaucoma and its complications.
• Oculoplastic and aesthetic surgery: procedures such as double eyelid surgery, strabismus correction, ptosis (drooping eyelid) correction and eyelid tumour excision.
• Ocular surface / cornea: pterygium excision, amniotic membrane transplantation and other surgery; routine ocular surface analysis and Demodex (eyelash mite) examination; and dedicated ophthalmic therapies (such as ophthalmic herbal nebulisation, drug iontophoresis, meibomian gland massage and eyelid mite removal).
• Fundus (retinal) disease: routine fundus fluorescein angiography, retinal laser photocoagulation, YAG laser treatment and intravitreal injection, with marked efficacy in treating diabetic retinopathy, macular disease and retinal vein occlusion.
• Optometry centre: medical refraction, spectacle fitting, orthokeratology (OK lenses) and amblyopia (lazy eye) correction.
• Integrated Chinese–Western medicine: the department develops its integrated Chinese–Western medicine strengths, combining TCM features with modern medical examinations and surgical treatment, balancing treatment with conditioning and recovery.

Expert Team

• Ben Yanjie — Chief Physician, Deputy Director of the Department (Department of Ophthalmology). Member of the Professional Committee of the Guangdong Eye Health Association, member of the Visual Health Society of the Guangdong Health Care Association, and member of the Ocular Refraction Professional Committee of the Guangdong Optometric Society. With more than 20 years of clinical experience in ophthalmology, she has extensive experience in the diagnosis and treatment of eye diseases and minimally invasive eye surgery. Her specialties include phacoemulsification combined with IOL implantation, anti-glaucoma surgery, pterygium excision combined with limbal stem cell transplantation, and strabismus and oculoplastic aesthetic surgery; she has particular expertise in the treatment of amblyopia in children, orthokeratology (OK lens) treatment for adolescent myopia, and fundus disease, diabetic retinopathy and macular disease.
• Wang Zhenfang — Specially Engaged Expert, Chief Physician, Professor, Master's Supervisor (Department of Ophthalmology). Committee member of the Ocular Trauma Group of the Chinese Ophthalmological Society and a senior ophthalmologist at the Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center. She specialises in the diagnosis and treatment of various common and frequently occurring eye diseases, with extensive experience in complex ocular trauma, ocular chemical injuries and fundus disease, and particular expertise in traumatic cataract surgery, lens dislocation surgery, IOL implantation, ciliary body repositioning, vitrectomy, retinal reattachment surgery, intraocular foreign body removal, orbital implant placement and foldable artificial vitreous body balloon implantation.
• Xu Xiaoping — Specially Engaged Expert, Chief Physician, Associate Professor (Department of Ophthalmology). Member of the Guangdong Ophthalmological Society of the Chinese Medical Association. She worked in medical care, teaching and research in ophthalmology at Zhujiang Hospital of Southern Medical University for nearly 40 years. Her specialties include various strabismus corrections, correction of amblyopia, myopia, presbyopia and astigmatism in children; surgical correction of congenital ptosis and ocular plastic surgery; primary and secondary orbital implant placement and artificial eye fitting after traumatic orbital depression; glaucoma, retinal detachment and orbital tumour surgery; prevention and treatment of hypertensive and diabetic fundus disease; and the diagnosis and treatment of selected complex eye diseases.
• Huang Shengsong — Specially Engaged Expert, Associate Chief Physician, Professor, Master's Supervisor (Department of Ophthalmology). A cataract specialist at the Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, he graduated from Sun Yat-sen University of Medical Sciences and has worked in ophthalmic medical care, teaching and research for more than 20 years. He specialises in minimally invasive cataract sight-restoring surgery and has extensive experience in complex cataract surgery combined with glaucoma, high myopia, uveitis, and post-vitreoretinal surgery. He is a member of the national medical aid team for sight-restoring surgery, a surgical trainer for the international Helen Keller blindness-prevention organisation, a cataract surgery instructor for ORBIS International, and an outstanding trainer under China's grassroots eye-care development project; he is also the lead surgeon for cataract sight-restoring surgery for charitable organisations such as the Lions Club of China, the Ciyang Association and Lifeline Express.
• Huang Xinhua — Specially Engaged Expert, Chief Physician, Professor (Department of Ophthalmology). Former Deputy Director of the Fundus Surgery Department of the Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, and former Deputy Director of the Vitreoretinal Specialty of the TCM Ophthalmology Center. He has worked in ophthalmic clinical practice, teaching and research for 30 years. He specialises in the surgical treatment of retinal detachment, macular disease and diabetic retinopathy; he has a distinctive approach to the surgical treatment of various retinal detachments and has conducted in-depth research on surgery for various macular diseases, surgery for diabetic retinopathy, and the treatment of various trauma-related vitreoretinal diseases; he also has extensive clinical experience in laser treatment of fundus disease and in cataract treatment related to vitreous and retinal disease.
• Xu Jiangang — Specially Engaged Expert, Associate Chief Physician, MD (Doctor of Medicine) (Department of Ophthalmology). He worked for many years at the Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center of Sun Yat-sen University and was a member of the ninth batch of the Organisation Department's medical aid experts to Xinjiang, having served as Deputy Director of Ophthalmology at the People's Hospital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. He specialises in the diagnosis, treatment and management of various primary glaucomas, neovascular glaucoma, and refractory glaucomas after multiple failed anti-glaucoma surgeries, as well as congenital glaucoma and its intraoperative and postoperative complications, and has extensive experience in ophthalmic complex conditions such as glaucoma-related cataract and corneal disease. He has led two provincial/ministerial-level research projects and published more than ten papers.
• Liu Guangxin — Attending Physician, Master of Medicine (Department of Ophthalmology). He graduated from Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine and is a council member of the Naturopathy Research Professional Committee of the World Federation of Chinese Medicine Societies, with more than ten years of experience in ophthalmology. He specialises in the diagnosis and treatment of dry eye, ocular surface disease, uveitis, cataract, glaucoma and fundus disease using Chinese and Western medicine; he routinely performs eyelid surgery, intraocular tumour excision, pterygium excision with limbal stem cell transplantation, and intravitreal injection. He has accumulated extensive experience in treating myopia in children and adolescents with orthokeratology (OK lenses), medical refraction and spectacle fitting and physiotherapy, and the integrated Chinese–Western medicine treatment of fundus disease (in particular macular disease, retinal vein occlusion and diabetic retinopathy).
• Li Haoxian — Attending Physician (Department of Ophthalmology). He graduated from Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine. He has extensive experience in the integrated Chinese–Western medicine treatment of various fundus diseases, including ocular surface disease, dry eye, pterygium, iridocyclitis, age-related cataract, glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration, retinal vein occlusion and diabetic retinopathy; he also has experience in routine spectacle fitting and the diagnosis and treatment of myopia, hyperopia, astigmatism and amblyopia. He is proficient in fundus fluorescein angiography, pterygium excision, eyelid tumour excision, entropion correction, intravitreal injection, retinal laser photocoagulation and YAG laser treatment.
• Li Kaiyuan — Physician, Master of Medicine (Department of Ophthalmology). He graduated from Wuhan University and has been engaged in ophthalmic clinical work for many years. He has accumulated experience in the diagnosis and treatment of ophthalmic conditions such as diabetic retinopathy, age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma, dry eye and conjunctivitis, and routinely performs intravitreal injection, meibomian gland cyst curettage and pterygium excision.
• Note: the official department page lists nine physicians (Ben Yanjie, Wang Zhenfang, Xu Xiaoping, Huang Shengsong, Huang Xinhua, Xu Jiangang, Liu Guangxin, Li Haoxian and Li Kaiyuan); the information above is drawn from the hospital's official physician profile pages. Specific staffing arrangements and consultation times are subject to the hospital's daily listings.

Conditions Treated

• Eyelid, lacrimal and orbital diseases: ptosis, eyelid tumours, dacryocystitis, orbital tumours, etc.
• Conjunctival, corneal and scleral diseases: acute and chronic inflammation, pterygium, corneal disease.
• Glaucoma and cataract: including all types of glaucoma and cataract.
• Uveal, retinal and vitreous diseases.
• Refractive errors, strabismus and amblyopia: myopia, hyperopia, astigmatism, amblyopia.
• Severe ocular trauma and occupational eye disease.
• Medical and aesthetic plastic surgery: strabismus, ptosis, double eyelid surgery, blepharoplasty (eye-bag removal), removal of periorbital wrinkles, eyelid xanthelasma, etc.
• Fundus haemorrhage: caused by diabetes, hypertension, kidney disease and systemic disease.
• Macular disease: integrated Chinese–Western medicine treatment of macular disease.

Hospital Information

• Name: Guangdong Clifford Hospital (Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine Clifford Hospital; Jinan University Affiliated Clifford Hospital)
• Positioning: China's first large general Grade 3A hospital to pass international JCI accreditation; designated institution under the "Hong Kong/Macao Medicine and Device Connect" scheme
• Address: No. 1 & 3 Hongfu Road, Panyu District, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
• Tel: (020) 84518222 | (020) 84518999
• Website: www.clifford-hospital.org
• International Department: Email [email protected] | Overseas hotline +86 400 900 3823 | WhatsApp +86 188 1411 5985

For a quick overview of the department, see the Guangdong Clifford Hospital Ophthalmology department page.

Ready to explore eye care at Guangdong Clifford Hospital? Contact Medora for a free, personalized consultation. We'll review your condition, connect you with the right eye specialist, and coordinate your entire care journey — from appointment booking and medical record translation to post-treatment follow-up.