Specialist in Ophthalmology and Ophthalmic Surgery · Clinic Director & Owner
PD Dr. med. Andrea von Rückmann
Specialist in Ophthalmology and Ophthalmic Surgery · Clinic Director & Owner
Andrea von Rückmann leads Sehklinik with great dedication and is one of the recognised experts in modern ophthalmology. Her clinical focus is minimally invasive cataract surgery together with plastic-reconstructive and aesthetic eyelid surgery. She deepened her surgical expertise in close collaboration with Prof. Richard Collin at the renowned Moorfields Eye Hospital London, a university eye hospital of international standing.
15'000+
cataract operations
4'000+
eyelid operations
30+
years of surgical experience
2004
founded Sehklinik
Ophthalmologists with specialist training usually hold one subspecialty — a fellowship of one to two years after board certification. Andrea von Rückmann trained in three subspecialties, under three teachers who each helped shape their own field:
Prof. Alan Bird, Moorfields Eye Hospital, London. Founder of modern macular diagnostics and scientific lead of the development of fundus autofluorescence in 1995.
Diseases of the central retina: diagnostics, intravitreal therapy, clinical research.
More on thisProf. Karl-Wilhelm Jacobi, Universitäts-Augenklinik Giessen (Giessen University Eye Hospital). Co-founder of the German Society for Intraocular Lens Implantation (DGII), director of the Giessen university eye hospital 1976–2001.
Phacoemulsification, multifocal lenses, complex cases (pseudoexfoliation, mature cataracts).
More on thisProf. Richard Collin, Moorfields Eye Hospital, London. Founding president of the British Oculoplastic Surgery Society, author of the international standard textbook Manual of Systematic Eyelid Surgery.
Eyelid tumours, ptosis, entropion and ectropion, tear ducts, upper and lower eyelid surgery, brow correction.
More on thisIn 1995, at Moorfields Eye Hospital London — in Fred Fitzke's laboratory, under the scientific direction of Alan Bird — Andrea von Rückmann developed a new diagnostic method as first author: fundus autofluorescence.
The method revolutionised the diagnosis of macular disease and has since been used in more than 2'000 scientific studies worldwide. Today it is a diagnostic standard in specialised eye centres: new therapies against dry macular degeneration must prove their effect with this method — the American regulator FDA formally recognised it as a measurement instrument in 2023. Current gene therapies, the newest class of treatments in ophthalmology, measure their success with it.
A discovery from 1995 — still the measure of every advance in ophthalmology. That is the standard by which Andrea von Rückmann practises medicine. In research. In surgery. And in every conversation with her patients.
1993–1995
Moorfields Eye Hospital, London
Fellowship in medical retina under Prof. Alan Bird (funded by the German Research Foundation, DFG). Development of fundus autofluorescence. Start of training in plastic-reconstructive eyelid surgery under Prof. Richard Collin.
1996–1999
Universitäts-Augenklinik Giessen (Giessen University Eye Hospital)
Senior physician under Prof. K.W. Jacobi. Three years of surgical specialisation in lens surgery at one of the historically most important centres of intraocular lens implantation in Europe.
2000–2002
Moorfields Eye Hospital, London
Senior fellowship. Full surgical training in plastic-reconstructive and aesthetic eyelid surgery under Prof. Collin; further specialisation in medical retina and lens surgery.
since 2004
Sehklinik, Zurich
Founder and clinic director. Appointed Privatdozentin (senior lecturer qualification) in 2001, following her Habilitation.
After 15 years in research, Andrea von Rückmann wanted something science alone cannot give: a direct effect on people's lives. Immediate. Concrete. Measurable. She chose the clinic — and took the research with her: the attitude that makes a discovery possible — precision without shortcuts, an unyielding personal standard — applies in the operating theatre exactly as it does in the laboratory. She did not adopt cataract surgery as she found it; she kept developing it with the same method with which she developed fundus autofluorescence.
The result is documented: her complication rate in cataract surgery is 1:367. For comparison, from the published literature: the EUREQUO registry (2.85 million operations) 1:91; a British study (48'377 cases, experienced surgeons) 1:56; the lowest published rate (a private practice in Hawaii, routine procedures) 1:167. Her statistic includes the full spectrum — mature cataracts, pseudoexfoliation, patients who arrive practically blind and see again afterwards.
The eyelid is not a patch of skin. It is a precision organ — and plastic-reconstructive eyelid surgery is a subspecialty of ophthalmology in its own right, not a subdivision of general plastic surgery. Andrea von Rückmann learned it over four years directly under Prof. Richard Collin at Moorfields Eye Hospital — founding president of the British Oculoplastic Surgery Society, past president of the European Society of Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, author of the international standard textbook. Typical international fellowships in oculoplastics last one to two years; four years at Collin's side mean the full spectrum: tumour reconstruction, ptosis surgery, entropion and ectropion, lacrimal surgery — and the aesthetic procedures in the tradition of those who always measure their indication against the functional standard.
The difference that matters to patients: eyelid surgery by an ophthalmic surgeon whose own subspecialty is plastic-reconstructive eyelid surgery is not the same as eyelid surgery by a plastic surgeon who also operates on eyelids. One begins at the eye. The other ends there.
| Period | Position |
|---|---|
| since 2004 | Founder, clinic director & owner, Die SehKlinik AG, Zurich — 3 sites, 2 day clinics (Zurich, Wetzikon), Meilen practice. Attending surgeon, Klinik Hirslanden 2004–2025. |
| 2002–2004 | Deputy chief physician, Augenklinik Teufen (Teufen Eye Clinic) |
| 2000–2002 | Senior fellowship, Moorfields Eye Hospital, London — plastic-reconstructive and aesthetic eyelid surgery under Prof. Richard Collin; further specialisation in medical retina and lens surgery (DFG-funded) |
| 2001 | Appointed Privatdozentin (following Habilitation, 2000) |
| 1996–1999 | Senior physician, ophthalmology & ophthalmic surgery, Justus-Liebig-Universität Giessen (Justus Liebig University Giessen), under Prof. K.W. Jacobi — surgical specialisation in lens surgery |
| 1993–1995 | Fellowship, Moorfields Eye Hospital / University College London, Institute of Ophthalmology — medical retina under Prof. Alan Bird; research on fundus autofluorescence |
| 1991–1992 | Resident physician in ophthalmology, Justus-Liebig-Universität Giessen (Justus Liebig University Giessen) |
| 1985–1991 | Medicine, with state examination (Staatsexamen), Goethe-Universität Frankfurt (Goethe University Frankfurt) |
These papers are among the most-cited foundational references of modern fundus diagnostics and appear in the field's standard textbooks, including Albert & Jakobiec's Principles and Practice of Ophthalmology.
As of August 2026Publications on PubMed
Clinical · Surgical · Scientific · Entrepreneurial · Human — at Sehklinik you learn all five from someone who lives them every day.
“I am happy to see patients who want to know what is going on with their eyes — not only what can be done about it.”
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