Meet the team

We are all part of the local community. All the staff live locally and thus care can be provided at all times – not just when the doctor is visiting from elsewhere for a few days every week or fortnight.

When we deal with your eye problems, you can expect to be treated with the same degree of care and commitment as if you were a member of our family.

Dr John-Paul Blanc

Dr John-Paul Blanc attended the University of Auckland Medical School where he graduated in the top 5 students of his class and was awarded the Communication Skills Prize. He completed his opthalmology training in Christchurch, Dunedin and Auckland in New Zealand, passing the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologist examinations in Sydney.

He did two years of fellowship training general ophthalmology and eyelid surgery in the United Kingdom before spending a year sub-specializing in eyelid and orbital surgery at the University of Montreal in Canada. During this time he was awarded a scholarship for excellence as a fellow and he was offered a permanent position as an Attending Physician.

John-Paul has published several papers in international peer-reviewed journals and has presented at several international conferences. He maintains a close relationship with his colleagues around the world to stay up-to-date with the latest research and surgical techniques.

He specializes in general ophthalmology including:

cataract surgery
glaucoma
age-related macular degeneration (ARMD)
Oculoplastic surgery – eyelid surgery including ectropion, entropion, blepharoplasty/lid reduction, lacrimal surgery – treatment of watery eyes
skin cancers around the eyes

John-Paul is fully registered with the Queensland Medical Board with no restrictions. He has a position as a Senior Lecturer in the Rural Clinical Division of the University of Queensland. He is also a full member of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists. He has Specialist registration in the United Kingdom.

Dr Zanne Louw

Dr Zanne Louw was educated in South Africa. In her final year of school she was awarded the Bronze Medal in the English Olympiad and was chosen to represent South Africa at the International Youth Science Fortnight in London.

She was awarded an academic bursary to study medicine and completed her basic medical training at Stellen bosch University near Cape Town with a distinction in Obstetrics and Gynaecology. After completing her internship in Durban, she spent the next six years in general medicine, working both in far remote and regional hospitals, treating patients with a variety of diseases and trauma and developing a love for delicate surgery.

In 1990 she returned to Durban to train as a specialist ophthalmologist at the University of Natal, where she obtained her Fellowship of the College of Surgeons in 1994. After some time consulting as a specialist and teaching trainee specialists, she left hospital practice for private practice.

In 1997 she and her family immigrated to Australia, where she was fortunate to be able to divide her time between her young family and a part-time position in the Eye Clinic at Maryborough and Hervey Bay Hospitals. During this time she continued her studies and was awarded Fellowship of the Royal Australia and New Zealand College of Ophthalmologists in 2008.

Dr Louw is a general ophthalmologist with expertise in the treatment of medical and surgical conditions affecting the eyes.

Dr Justin Friebel

Dr Justin Friebel practices in Melbourne where his sub-specialty interests are cataract surgery, eyelid and lacrimal surgery.

He is a consultant ophthalmologist at both the Alfred Hospital and the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital in the Orbital, Plastics and Lacrimal Clinic.

Dr Friebel completed his postgraduate ophthalmic training at the Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital after a surgical residency at the Alfred Hospital. Following a fellowship in general ophthalmology at the Royal United Hospital in Bath, UK, his interest in oculoplastics led him to plastics fellowships at the Gloucestershire NHS Trust Hospitals, The Western Eye Hospital in London and at the McGill University Hospital in Montreal, Canada.

He is a lecturer in the Department of Surgery, Monash University Medical School Faculty and a member of the Australian and New Zealand College Society of Ophthalmic Plastic Surgeons.