Dr. Buhrmann, with over 14,000 cataract and glaucoma surgeries to his credit, is a trailblazer in microsurgical innovations in Ottawa. He has a deep commitment to blindness prevention, as evidenced by his international work and leadership roles in public health initiatives.
Cataract and Glaucoma Expert
Dr. Buhrmann has performed over 14,000 cataract and glaucoma surgeries. He has been at the forefront of introducing microsurgical innovations to the Ottawa area including being first to use several types of intraocular lenses and the Xen implant for minimally invasive glaucoma surgery (MIGS).
Dr. Buhrmann is passionate about training ophthalmic surgeons. He is the founding director of the Ophthalmic Surgical Simulation Centre at the Ottawa Eye Institute and is an award-winning and sought-after surgical teacher.
Blindness prevention is of special interest to Dr. Buhrmann. Early in his career, he spent two years working in various countries in Africa. In 2002, he founded the Canadian Association for Public Health and Global Ophthalmology where he continues to serve on the executive team.
Dr. Buhrmann was the lead author of the first Canadian Vision Health Strategy in 2007. He is a long serving member of the Program Planning Committee for the Canadian Ophthalmological Society annual conference and has published numerous peer-reviewed articles and completed several book chapters.
Dr. Buhrmann received his medical school and ophthalmology training at McGill University where he graduated as a University Scholar as one of the top 10 in his medical school class. He completed a fellowship in glaucoma at the Wilmer Eye Institute at Johns Hopkins University where he also obtained a Master of Public Health and a PhD in clinical epidemiology.
Education
McGill University
John Hopkins University
Personal Achievements
- In 2002, he established the Canadian Association for Public Health and Global Ophthalmology.
- He served as the project director for both the Kongwa Eye Project and the Kongwa Investigation of Mortality and Sight in central Tanzania.
- In 2007, Dr. Buhrmann took the lead as the author of the inaugural Foundations for a Canadian Vision Health Strategy document.
- He is the founding director of the Ophthalmic Surgical Simulation Centre at the Ottawa Eye Institute and the recipient of the Innovation in Medical Education Award from the University of Ottawa.
- Dr Buhrmann is the winner of multiple resident surgical teaching awards and a sought-after mentor for surgical skills transfer courses nationally and internationally.
- He is the winner of the 2018 Dancing with the Docs Ottawa as a fundraiser for the advancement of glaucoma care in the Ottawa community.
Get to know Dr. Ralf Buhrmann
“Trust is such an important thing in what I do. In fact, it’s something I tell my patients after I’ve seen them in consultation for cataract surgery, that it’s truly a privilege to be trusted with something as precious as their gift of sight and I will do my utmost to restore it.”
– Dr. Ralf Buhrmann
