Congratulations to Dr. Peter Hersh for receiving a Senior Achievement Award from the American Academy of Ophthalmology and for again being selected as a "Best Doctor" by New York Magazine. Dr. Hersh is the only LASIK surgeon in New Jersey to be honored by inclusion in America's Top Doctors.

 

Peter S. Hersh, M.D.

A Princeton University graduate, Dr. Hersh received his medical degree from Johns Hopkins. He completed his ophthalmology residency at the Massachusetts Eye & Ear Infirmary, Harvard Medical School, where afterwards he received additional specialized fellowship training in corneal surgery. Dr. Hersh remained on the fulltime faculty at Harvard until 1990.   In 1995 he founded the Cornea and Laser Eye Institute, dedicated to clinical care and research in cornea and refractive surgery. Currently, in addition to directing the Cornea and Laser Eye Institute-Hersh Vision Group, he is a Professor of Clinical Ophthalmology and Director of the Cornea and Refractive Surgery Division at UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School, and Visiting Research Collaborator at Princeton University.

Dr. Hersh’s interests are devoted exclusively to LASIK, custom LASIK, Intralase, LASEK, PRK, CK, Intacs, and other corneal and refractive surgery procedures. At Princeton, he works with a group investigating laser applications to eye surgery, presbyopia, and corneal biomechanics. He has participated in many multicenter FDA clinical trials of excimer laser and other surgical corrections of nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism.  Most prominently, he was lead author of the clinical study that led to first FDA approval of the excimer laser for the correction of nearsightedness in the United States.  He was one of 2 investigators to present the Conductive Keratoplasty procedure to the FDA device panel. Recently, he was elected to the American Ophthalmological Society, the oldest and most prestigious eye surgery association in the country. This November, he was awarded the Senior Honor Award from the American Academy of Ophthalmology, an honor bestowed on fewer than 1% of eye surgeons.

As a result of his extensive clinical and research work, Dr. Hersh has published four textbooks and more than 100 research articles and book chapters. His most recent texts include Excimer Laser Surgery for Corneal Disorders and Refractive Surgery. The second edition of his textbook Ophthalmic Surgical Procedures, first published in 1988, will be released in 2008. In addition, Dr. Hersh has designed a number of refractive surgery instruments in current use, most recently the Hersh Intralase LASIK Flap Spatula.

Dr. Hersh has trained over a thousand eye surgeons in excimer laser refractive surgery techniques, and is past recipient of the Teacher of the Year award bestowed by the Harvard Medical School Department of Ophthalmology. His extensive lecture schedule has taken him throughout the United States and to countries such as France, the Netherlands, China, Taiwan, India, Vietnam, Brazil, Chile, Venezuela, Portugal, Switzerland, Italy, Canada, and Korea. Moreover, he is actively involved in a number of international projects to bring education and eye care to developing countries.

Dr. Hersh has been selected for Best Doctors in America for over 10 years running, and he is the only LASIK and corneal surgery specialist to be listed in New York Magazine, New Jersey Monthly, and New Jersey Life as one of the top doctors in the New York metropolitan area. He and his work have also been featured by the Today Show, PBS, America Tonight, Fox News, People Magazine, the New York Times, the Bergen Record, the Newark Star Ledger, and other national media.

Dr. Hersh is featured in a health series on CNN.com
click here

Current Positions:
  • Director, The Cornea and Laser Eye Institute - Hersh Vision Group
  • Professor of Ophthalmology, Director of Cornea and Refractive Surgery, UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School
  • Visiting Research Collaborator, Princeton University, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Experience:

  • Has performed over 12,000 excimer laser LASIK, LASEK, and PRK procedures
  • Over 15 years as a principal investigator for FDA studies of the excimer laser and other techniques
  • Lead author of clinical study securing first U.S. FDA approval of laser for the correction of nearsightedness
  • Extensive training and experience in all aspects of corneal and refractive surgery including LASIK, custom LASIK, Intralase, LASEK, PRK, CK, Intacs, PTK, and PKP
  • Research in excimer laser clinical studies, computerized corneal mapping, and custom wavefront optical analysis
  • Investigator of new femtosecond laser technology for refractive surgery
  • Medical monitor of nationwide excimer laser study
  • Teaches and lectures locally, nationally, and internationally

Published Works:

Textbooks:

Papers/Book Contributions:  More than 100 research articles and book chapters

Memberships and Certifications:

  • Board Certified, American Board of Ophthalmology
  • Fellow, American Academy of Ophthalmology
  • Elected Member, American Ophthalmological Society
  • Fellow, American College of Surgeons
  • Board of Governors, New Jersey Academy of Ophthalmology
  • International Society of Refractive Surgery
  • Cornea Society, Fellow
  • American Society for Cataract and Refractive Surgery
  • Research Director, New Jersey Eye Bank

Honors and Awards:

  • Princeton University, Phi Beta Kappa
  • Massachusetts Eye & Ear Infirmary, Harvard Medical School, Teacher of the Year
  • New Jersey Monthly, Best Doctors in New Jersey
  • New Jersey Life, Best Doctors in New Jersey
  • New York Magazine, Best Doctors in New York
  • Named to Best Doctors in America
  • American Academy of Ophthalmology, Honor Award
  • Summit Technology, Inc., Pioneer in Refractive Surgery Award
  • American Ophthalmological Society, Fellow
  • American Academy of Ophthalmology, Senior Honor and Achievement Award

Major In Depth Articles:

Selected Bibliography: Click here for other of Dr. Hersh's original research studies