THE LONG VIEW

Dr CLAUDINE PANG has expanded her field of interest from ophthalmology to aesthetics. Now, she's looking to start a conversation on a trending topic - the science of longevity.

- LYNETTE KOH

Dr Claudine Pang might be one of Singapore's most experienced cataract and vitreoretinal surgeons, but on the day we meet her, she has another, emerging field on her mind: The science of longevity.

Over lunch and a cappuccino at a café at Paragon, where her clinic Asia Retina Eye Surgery Centre is located, the doctor muses, "In Western medicine, we treat diseases, but with longevity, it's about trying to slow down cellular ageing. With science now, we're able to prolong life. But longevity is about having more healthy years towards the end of life, so that you don't develop comorbidities. It's about ageing in a healthy way."

It might seem like a bit of a stretch for an ophthalmologist, even one as accomplished as Claudine: In over 20 years in practice, she has carried out thousands of cataract and retinal surgeries. She was also the first woman in the world to be awarded the highly coveted William H. Ross Surgical Vitreoretinal Fellowship at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. According to Claudine, however, the eyes aren't just the windows to the soul - they can be the windows to our overall health as well.

She explains, "The eyes are very connected to the rest of the body. For example, when I look at someone's eyes, I can tell if they have, say, conditions such as hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, anaemia, or high cholesterol. You can tell a lot of these things from the eyes, so we need to understand the whole body as well."

FIRST MOVER

Not that Claudine has ever limited herself to focusing on just the field of ophthalmology. Last year, she opened her second clinic, Asia Wellness Medical Centre, also at Paragon.

The clinic focuses on aesthetics and wellness. Speaking to Prestige last year, she had shared that she "had taken the time to upgrade myself with the relevant qualifications" when things slowed down at her eye clinic during the pandemic.