Credentials and Qualifications

For your convenience, we have highlighted and aggregated the professional credentials and qualifications of the Baylor Eye Care surgeons below. We have also included a brief bio for each of these Baylor Eye Care surgeons that follows this summary.

• Dr. Douglas D. Koch, M.D.
• Dr. M. Bowes Hamill, M.D.
• Dr. Stephen C. Pflugfelder, M.D. 
• Dr. Mitchell P. Weikert, M.D.
• Dr. Sumitra Khandelwal, M.D.

Experience

Collectively, these Baylor Eye Care laser vision correction, refractive and cataract surgeons have the following experience:

• Baylor Eye Care physicians provide ophthalmic services to the NFL Houston Texans team’s players
• Over 65 total years experience in laser vision surgery, including LASIK and PRK
• Over 90 total years experience in refractive surgery (laser vision, lens implants and RK)
• Over 100 years experience in cataract surgery (including cataract surgery with lens implants)
• Performed over 10,000 LASIK and laser vision procedures
• Performed over 25,000 cataract surgery procedures (including cataract surgery with lens implants)
• Principal Investigators for 13 FDA clinical investigative studies for laser manufacturers, and manufacturers of other ophthalmic devices like lens implants
  • Includes the initial studies for FDA approval of the laser for phototherapeutic keratectomy and wavefront-guided LASIK
• Co-Investigators for 15 other FDA clinical studies
• Refractive and Cataract Surgery Expert Witness Services: Collectively these Baylor Eye Center surgeons have over 40 years experience providing expert case review and expert witness services on behalf of plaintiffs and defendants, including case review and expert testimony for cases involving the following refractive and cataract eye surgery procedures:
  • Expert witness testimony: served on over 60 cases
  • Refractive and Cataract Surgery Case review: over 90 cases

Premier Patient Care

The Baylor Eye Center offers complete vision correction treatments options, including:

• “All-Laser” LASIK (bladeless) using the IntraLase laser
• Custom LASIK and PRK
• Use of iLASIK Procedure- WaveScan Technology, IntraLase, and Visx Advanced CustomVue treatments
• Offers complete refractive surgery care
  • LASIK and PRK
  • Intraocular lens implant surgery (IOL) including Refractive Lens Exchange (RLE) (also known as Refractive Lensectomy and Clear Lensectomy (CLE)) using monofocal lenses, multifocal lenses, accommodating lenses, and toric lenses
  • Corneal Transplants, including DSEK
  • Other vision correction surgery: Visian EVO -ICL phakic implants and Astigmatic Incisions (including LRIs)
  • Phototherapeutic keratectomy (PTK) to treat corneal scars, dystrophies, and other abnormalities
  • Cornea and External Disease expertise: diagnosis and treatment
• Cataract Surgery (including cataract surgery with lens implants) with special emphasis on complex cases and techniques to minimize need for glasses following surgery.
• Management of complications of surgery for new patients who had problems and complications from LASIK surgery or another vision correction operation or cataract surgery performed by another eye doctor.
• Considered the “doctors’ doctors”: Many eye surgeons, optometrists, opticians, employees of companies that specialize in vision correction surgery devices or products, or as well as their family members have had their LASIK or another vision correction procedure or cataract surgery performed by a Baylor Eye Center surgeon.

Professional Credentials

Collectively, the surgeons at Baylor Eye Center have the following experience and professional credentials:

• Current Faculty Appointments: Department of Ophthalmology, Alkek Eye Center, Baylor College of Medicine
• Hospital Staff Appointments (at least one of the Baylor Vision surgeons has privileges at the following hospitals):
  • The Methodist Hospital Houston
  • Texas Children’s Hospital
  • Michael E. DeBakey Veteran’s Hospital
  • Ben Taub General Hospital
  • Houston Hospital for Specialized Surgery
  • St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital in Medical Center
• Train other surgeons in the use of lasers and other devices used in vision correction and cataract surgery; official instructors in the use of the AMO VISX CustomVue STAR excimer laser
• Professional Society and Organizations- one or more of the Baylor Eye Center Surgeons
  is a member of the following professional societies:
  • American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO)
    • Refractive Surgery Interest Group
    • Maintenance of Certification Education Committee
  • American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery
  • American Medical Association
  • Society for Contact Lens Research
  • American Medical Association (AMA)
  • Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO)
  • International Society of Refractive Surgery
  • American Ophthalmological Society
  • Houston Ophthalmological Society
  • Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology
  • European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery
  • Texas Ophthalmological Society
  • American Medical Association
  • Harris County Medical Society
  • Texas Medical Association
  • The Cornea Society (formerly the Castroviejo Society)
  • Ocular Microbiology and Immunology Group
  • International Intraocular Implant Club
  • Pan American Association of Ophthalmology
• Certified by American Board of Ophthalmology (ABO)
• Editorial Positions, Board Members, Referees held by the Baylor Vision doctors:
  • Journal of Cataract and Refractive Surgery
  • Journal of Refractive Surgery
  • Archives of Ophthalmology
  • Ophthalmology Times
  • Ophthalmology
  • American Journal of Ophthalmology
  • Cornea
  • Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science
  • Visual Science and the Ocular Surface
  • Archives of Ophthalmology
• Over 300 total peer-reviewed scientific journal articles published
• Over 110 textbook chapters and 10 textbooks published
• Over 350 lectures on research topics at major eye meetings
• Served on over 250 vision correction and other related panels
  on eye care at major ophthalmology meetings
• Taught over 300 courses at major eye meetings

Additional Career Highlight

• Baylor Vision was featured in the PBS documentary "20/10 by 2010" hosted by Walter Cronkite

Surgeon Bio

Dr. Douglas D. Koch, M.D.

Houston LASIK and Cataract Surgeon Dr. Douglas Koch Curriculum Vitae

DOUGLAS D. KOCH, M.D. is a Professor and The Allen, Mosbacher, and Law Chair in Ophthalmology at the Cullen Eye Institute, Baylor College of Medicine. He is the Editor of the Journal of Cataract and Refractive Surgery, Past President of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery, and Past President of the International Intra-Ocular Implant Club. He has authored over 100 articles and book chapters on the topics of cataract and refractive surgery.

Dr. Koch has given several named lectureships, including the Binkhorst and Barraquer Lectures at the American Academy of Ophthalmology Annual Meeting, the Lans Lecture at the International Society of Refractive Surgery Annual Meeting, the Ronald G. Michels Memorial Lecture at Johns Hopkins University, the Jules Stein Lecture at UCLA, and the First Gold Medal Lecture, at the Australian Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery in Queensland, Australia.

Dr. Koch was named as one of the top 10 refractive surgeons in the United States in a recent survey conducted by Ophthalmology Times. He is also named as one of the Nation's leading medical specialists in America's Top Doctors. Dr Koch graduated from Harvard Medical School and completed his residency training a Baylor College of Medicine and fellowship training in London, Los Angeles, and Seattle.

Dr. Koch was honored with the Kelman Lecture at the 2010 meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the highest honor in cataract surgery accorded by the AAO. He will also be the making the Kelman Innovator’s Lecture at the upcoming annual meeting of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons (ASCRS) in 2012, which is their highest honor as well.

Dr. M. Bowes Hamill, M.D.

Houston LASIK and Cataract Surgeon Dr. M. Bowes Hamill Curriculum Vitae

M. BOWES HAMILL, M.D., is an Associate Professor of Ophthalmology at the Cullen Eye Institute, Baylor College of Medicine. He is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and received his MD degree at Baylor College of Medicine. He completed his ophthalmology residency at Baylor with two additional years of fellowship training: the first at Baylor College of Medicine in ocular infectious disease/microbiology and the second in The Wilmer Institute, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland in cornea/anterior segment surgery.

He is former President of the Texas Ophthalmological Association and Chairman of the American Academy of Ophthalmology Eye Health & Public Information Task Force. He is also active in International Ophthalmology both independently and with Orbis. His research interest includes corneal transplantation, refractive surgery, and anterior segment surgical techniques. In recent years, he has been named as one of Houston’s Best Doctors by Inside Houston magazine.

Dr. Stephen C. Pfugfelder, M.D.

Houston LASIK and Cataract Surgeon Dr. Stephen C. Pflugfelder Curriculum Vitae

STEPHEN C. PFLUGFELDER, M.D. graduated from Colgate University summa cum laude and SUNY Upstate Medical University Syracuse where he was elected to Alpha Omega Alpha. He performed his Ophthalmology residency at Baylor College of Medicine and served as Chief Resident. He performed a Cornea and Refractive Surgery fellowship at the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute of the University of Miami School of Medicine. He was appointed to the faculty of the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute in 1985 and was promoted to Professor in 1998. He joined the faculty of the Cullen Eye Institute of Baylor College of Medicine as a Professor and Director of the Ocular Surface Center in July 2000.

He was awarded the James and Margaret Elkins Chair in Ophthalmology at the Baylor College of Medicine in 2001. He has published over 150 peer-reviewed articles and over 45 book chapters and monographs, primarily in the field of cornea diseases and surgery. He served as a co-editor for “Dry Eye and Ocular Surface Disorders” a comprehensive textbook on the subject that was published in 2004. He has been listed as one of the “Best Doctors in America” since 1993. He received the American Academy of Ophthalmology Senior Achievement Award in 2000 and a Research to Prevent Blindness Senior Investigator Award in 2002. He served as the Chairman of the American Academy of Ophthalmology Lifelong Education for Ophthalmologists Committee and the American Academy of Ophthalmology Preferred Practice Pattern Committee on Corneal and Ocular Surface diseases. He is on the Editorial Boards of the journals American Journal of Ophthalmology, Cornea, Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science and The Ocular Surface. His research interests include ocular surface and corneal disease and corneal bioengineering.

Dr. Mitchell P. Weikert, M.D., M.S.

Houston LASIK and Cataract Surgeon Dr. Mitchell P. Weilkert Curriculum Vitae

Mitchell P. Weikert, M.D., M.S., received his medical degree with honors from Baylor College of Medicine. During his ophthalmology residency, completed at Baylor and the Cullen Eye Institute, he received the Everett L. Goar Award for Best Resident Research and served as Chief Resident during his third year of training.

He completed a fellowship in cornea, external disease, cataract and refractive surgery at the University of Utah School of Medicine’s John A. Moran Eye Center and then had appointments at several Salt Lake City hospitals. Prior to pursuing a career in medicine, Dr. Weikert received degrees in both electrical and bio-medical engineering. Dr. Weikert joined the faculty of the Department of Ophthalmology at Baylor College of Medicine in July 2003.

Dr. Weikert's areas of research interest include ophthalmic applications of wavefront technology, ocular surface rehabilitation and biomedical optics. He has also authored several book chapters, research articles and abstracts in ophthalmic literature. Dr. Weikert is an active lecturer in his specialization of cornea, external disease, cataract and refractive surgery and is a current member of several professional organizations, including the American Academy of Ophthalmology, where he serves as chair of the Online Education Committee.

Dr. Sumitra Khandelwal, M.D.

Dr. Sumitra Khandelwal currently holds the position of Professor of Ophthalmology at Baylor College of Medicine's Cullen Eye Institute. With a strong academic foundation, she earned her MD from the University of Texas at Houston and completed her residency at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, specializing in Ophthalmology. Further enhancing her expertise, she pursued a Clinical Fellowship at Minnesota Eye Consultants in Minneapolis, Minnesota, focusing on Cornea, Cataract, and Refractive Surgery.

As a distinguished ophthalmologist, Dr. Khandelwal's career is marked by her surgical proficiency, which includes LASIK and other laser vision correction surgeries, cataract surgery, lens implants, and the treatment of Keratoconus. She maintains a steadfast clinical focus on cornea, cataract, and refractive surgery, serving as the Chair of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery Complex Cataract Surgery Committee and the Cedars Aspens Education Committee. Additionally, she actively contributes her expertise to the American Academy of Ophthalmology as a member of the cataract committee for their annual meeting.

Dr. Khandelwal's dedication to advancing eye care is further exemplified by her role as the Medical Director for the Lions Eye Bank of Texas. In the realm of academic scholarship, she serves as an Associate Editor of "Cornea Cross-Linking, 2nd edition," a comprehensive guide to treatment options for Keratoconus and ectasia after LASIK. Her commitment to knowledge dissemination extends to numerous publications and presentations at national meetings, where she shares invaluable insights on optimizing outcomes in cornea and cataract surgery. Dr. Sumitra Khandelwal is a respected authority in the field of ophthalmology, known for her exceptional patient care, surgical excellence, and educational leadership.