Dr. Gary Kawesch
Dr. Gary Kawesch is a leading expert in the field, and has performed over 35,000 refractive procedures. He is the Laser Visio Correction spec for professional athletes throughout the Bay Area.
PRACTICE EXPERIENCE
07/92 - Present: Owner, Medical Director, and surgical ophthalmologist at the Laser Eye Center of Silicon Valley, San Jose, California, and the Laser Eye Center of the East Bay, Pleasanton, California.
Board Certification
American Board of Ophthalmology - 1994
Fellowship
Fellow, Cornea & Refractive Surgery – Hermann Eye Center University of Texas Medical Center
Ophthalmology Residency
Jules Stein Eye Institute, University of California at Los Angeles. Completed residency in ophthalmology in June of 1992.
Internship
Huntington Memorial Hospital, Pasadena, California.
Served a medical internship from July 1, 1988 to June 23, 1989.
Medical School
University of California, Los Angeles, School of Medicine. Graduated with a Doctor of Medicine degree in June, 1988.
Honors include Alpha Omega Alpha, Lazar Medical Scholarship, California Community Fund Scholarship, Thornton Medical Scholarship, UCLA Alumni Association Scholarship, and the Adams-Baxter-Dongray Scholarship. Grade point average, 3.85/4.0.
Professional Associations
Dr. Kawesch is licensed to practice medicine in the state of California. He is a member of the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO), the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS), and the International Society of Refractive Surgery (ISRS).
Professional Qualifications
- Performed over 35,000 refractive surgical procedures over the last 14 years
- Expert in the field of vision correction surgery
- Board certified ophthalmologist
- Laser vision correction surgeon for the Oakland Raiders
- Laser vision correction surgeon for the San Jose Sharks
- Author of numerous scientific articles in the field of ophthalmology
- Teacher of latest techniques in refractive surgery to local eye surgeons
- Frequent source of information for local media (TV, radio, newspaper)
- Expert witness for medico-legal issues in ophthalmology
- Chair, NORCAP Review and Advisory Committee (review malpractice insurance issues for major insurance company)
- Textbook reviewer, EyeWorld magazine
- Voted one of San Jose’s Top Doctors by San Jose Magazine
- Inventor and US Patent holder of a new device and method for measuring an individual’s vision
- Textbook reviewer for Eyeworld magazine
- Online consultation expert in refractive surgery for Ocular Surgery News
- Reviewer of manuscripts for Journal of Refractive and Corneal Surgery
- LASIK investigator for FDA clinical studies using the VisX Star laser
- LASIK investigator for FDA clinical studies using the Nidek EC5000 lase
FORMAL TRAINING IN REFRACTIVE SURGERY
- 7/92: Chiron's Radial Keratotomy Course, San Francisco
Faculty: J. Charles Casebeer, MD
- 8/93: Storz's Advanced Radial Keratotomy Course, St. Louis
Faculty: Miles Friedlander, MD
- 9/93: Chiron's Automated Lamellar Keratoplasty Course, San Francisco
Faculty: Stephen Slade, MD, J. Charles Casebeer, MD
- 6/94: Chiron's Automated Lamellar Keratoplasty Mini-Fellowship, Houston, TX
Faculty: Stephen Slade, MD
- 7/94: Chiron's Automated Lamellar Keratoplasty Second International User Group Meeting, Chicago, IL
Faculty: Stephen Slade, MD, Richard Lindstrom, MD, Charles Casebeer, MD
- 7/94: Chiron's Advanced Refractive Surgery Course, Chicago, IL
Faculty: Richard Lindstrom, MD
- 11/95: UCLA's Excimer Laser Didactic Course, Los Angeles, CA
Faculty: Robert Maloney, MD
- 11/95: Summit Excimer Laser Wet Lab, Vision Surgery and Laser Center, La Jolla, CA
Faculty: Michael Gordon, MD
- 6/96: VisX Excimer Laser Didactic Course, San Jose, CA
Faculty: Steve Trokel, MD
- 6/96: VisX Excimer Laser Wet Lab, San Jose, CA
Faculty: Steve Trokel, MD
- 2/02: Alcon LADARVison 4000 Didactic & Wet Lab, San Jose, CA
- 2/03: Alcon LADARWave Custom Cornea Didactic & Wet Lab, San Jose, CA
MEETINGS, LECTURES & PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES
- 4/03: Annual Meeting of the [[American Society of Cataract and Refractive
Surgery]], San Francisco, CA
- 2/03: 4th International Congress of Wavefront Sensing and Aberration-Free
Refractive Correction, San Francisco, CA
- 10/02: Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, Orlando, FL
- 4/02: Annual Meeting of the [[American Society of Cataract and Refractive
Surgery]], Philadelphia, PA
- 10/01: Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, New Orleans, LA
- 10/01: Delivered Lecture: Refractive Surgery in the Year 2001 - What Primary Care Physicians Need to Know, Laser Eye Center of Silicon Valley, San Jose.
- 10/01: Delivered Lecture: Refractive Surgery Comanagement in the Year 2001. Continuing education course for optometrists, Laser Eye Center of Silicon Valley, San Jose
- 9/01: Keynote Lecture: Refractive Surgery in the Year 2001. San Jose Kiwanis Club Meeting, San Jose CA
- 8/01: Delivered Lecture: Refractive Surgery Comanagement in the Year 2001. Continuing education course for optometrists, Laser Eye Center of Silicon Valley, San Jose
- 10/2000: Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, Dallas, TX
- 10/99 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, Orlando, FL
- 11/98: Delivered Lecture: LASIK for High Myopia using the Visx Star Laser. Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, New Orleans, LA
- 10/98: Named CRS Clinical Investigator for FDA clinical trials treating myopia and astigmatism using the Nidek EC-5000 excimer laser, with the LASIK procedure
- 4/98: Delivered Lecture: LASIK for High Myopia and Astigmatism. American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery, Annual Meeting, San Diego
- 1/98: Delivered Lecture: Refractive Surgery Comanagement 1998. Continuing Education course for optometrists, Laser Eye Center of Silicon Valley, San Jose
- 10/97: Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, San Francisco, CA
- 10/97: Annual Meeting of the International Society of Refractive Surgery, San Francisco, CA
- 10/97: Granted Investigational IDE by the FDA for clinical trials for treating hyperopia with the excimer laser, using the LASIK procedure
- 8/97: Granted Investigational IDE by the FDA for clinical trials for treating hyperopia with the excimer laser, using the PRK procedure
- 7/97: Delivered Lecture: Refractive Surgery Comanagement. Continuing Education course for optometrists, Laser Eye Center of Silicon Valley, San Jose
- 11/96: Named Investigator for the International CRS - LASIK clinical trials for low myopia
- 10/96: Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, Chicago
- 10/96: Annual Meeting of the International Society of Refractive Surgery, Chicago
- 5/96: Delivered Lecture: Refractive Surgery in the 1990s. Continuing Education Course for optometrists, Laser Eye Center of the Silicon Valley, San Jose
- 10/95: Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, Atlanta
- 10/95: Subspecialty Day 1995. Refractive Surgery 1995: Reshaping the Future, American Academy of Ophthalmology, Atlanta
- 10/95: Laser Skin Resurfacing Course using the Coherent Ultrapulse Laser, Atlanta. Faculty: Norman Schorr, MD
- 10/95: Annual Meeting of the International Society of Refractive Surgery, Atlanta
- 4/95: Annual Meeting of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery, San Diego
- 1/95: Tufts University School of Medicine Hawaii '96 Meeting, Wailea, Hawaii
- 10/93: Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, Chicago
- 10/93: American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery Pre-Academy of Ophthalmology meeting, Chicago
- 10/92: Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, Dallas
- 10/92: American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery Pre-Academy of Ophthalmology
RESEARCH EXPERIENCE
- 1997-1998: Principal Investigator, private FDA IDE study. “Application of the VISX Excimer Laser System to Perform PRK for the Correction of Hyperopia.” Study Sponsor: W. Andrew Maxwell, MD Ph.D
- 1997-1999: Sub-investigator, CRS-USA, Inc. FDA IDE study. “Treatment of Hyperopia and Hyperopic Astigmatism with the Nidek EC-5000 Excimer Laser.” Study Sponsor: CRS USA, Inc.
- 1997-1998: Principal Investigator, private FDA IDE study. “Photorefractive Keratectomy (PRK) and Laser Assisted In-Situ Keratomileusis (LASIK) Treatment for the Correction of Hyperopia (+1.00 to +4.00 D) with astigmatism
