Steven C. Schallhorn
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Steven C. Schallhorn, MD, recently retired United States Navy Captain, is the former Director of Cornea Service and Refractive Surgery at the Naval Medical Center San Diego and the Refractive Surgery Program Manager for the United States Navy. Dr. Schallhorn created and initiated the first refractive surgery programs for the US Armed Forces that studied the visual recovery and performance characteristic of PRK and LASIK before Excimer lasers were FDA approved. Dr. Schallhorn is now in a private practice in San Diego.
A graduated of the University Of Uniformed Services School Of Health Sciences with a medical degree in 1988, Dr. Schallhorn served as a medical officer in 1990 for the US Navy after completing his internship. He is certified by the American Board of Ophthalmology.
Dr. Schallhorn was the first surgeon in the US Department of Defense to perform LASIK and PRK procedures and implant phakic intraocular lenses. His many honors include the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Award for Excellence in Military Medicine, the Lans Distinguished Refractive Surgeon award presented by the International Society of Refractive Surgeons and the American Academy of Ophthalmology, October 2004 and the Navy Legion of Merit medal.
An avid researcher, Dr. Schallhorn served as a clinical investigator on numerous Food & Drug Administration (FDA) clinical trials over the past 25-years. He has presented more than 200 clinical papers and has made countless presentations throughout America, Europe and Asia.
Dr. Schallhorn is recognized by his peers as an expert in refractive surgery and in anterior segment surgery and is one of only a small group of Excimer laser instructors in the US. He receives numerous requests to instruct at optical training courses nationwide. He is a visiting professor of medicine at Harvard, USC, UCSF, Baylor and other universities.
Dr. Schallhorn serves as a consultant to National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). He is an advisor for refractive surgery to Australia, Canada, France, Great Britain, Greece, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, Taiwan and Turkey. He also has worked with all five branches of the US Armed Forces including the US Air Force, Army, and Coast Guard.
He has served as an American Society for Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS) representative at the annual meetings in Russia and Singapore and as the American Academy of Ophthalmology representative at their meetings in the Philippines. He has chaired the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) Refractive Ophthalmic Technology Assessment committee and the AAO Refractive Surgery knowledge base committee, executive steering committee member of the AAO Refractive Surgery Interest Group, contributor to the AAO basic science curriculum in Refractive Surgery, and Executive Committee member of the International Society of Refractive Surgery (ISRS).
Before entering medical school, Dr Schallhorn had a successful career as a Naval Aviator and TOPGUN instructor in the US Navy. During that time he instituted and directed a multi-year project that resulted in enhanced combat survivability of aircrew through the Naval Aerospace Medical Research Laboratory (NAMRL). While he was a TOPGUN instructor at Miramar, screenwriter Jack Epps, Jr. interviewed him as the basis for the move “Top Gun.” Though the movie is a fictitious portrayal of Naval Aviation, many of the events in the movie were based on stories relayed by Dr. Schallhorn.
Dr Schallhorn is the recipient of numerous military and academic awards and honors, including:
• Selection for Alpha Omega Alpha medical honors society
• Honors medical school graduate (ranked in the top 5% of his class)
• Designated “Fellow of the Year” at Doheny Eye Institute (1995/96) during the period of his 2-year fellowship training in Cornea and External Disease.
• The Joint Chiefs of Staff Award for Excellence in Military Medicine (1997) presented by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (General John M. Shalikashvili) and American patriot Zachary Fisher - the award included a $50,000 research grant.
• The Navy Legion of Merit, the highest non-combat medal in the military, awarded for performance of meritorious service to the United States for his work in refractive surgery
• Distinguished Lans Refractive Surgery Award (2004) by the International Society of Refractive Surgery (ISRS), a 3,500-member worldwide medical research organization of leading eye care experts in vision correction surgery.
• Selected by his peers to be included as one of the Best Doctors in America 2005- 2006.
• Voted one of the "TOP 50 Opinion Leaders" for Outstanding Contribution and Leadership in the Fields of Cataract and Refractive Surgery in 2006.
• Selected to give the prestigious keynote address, the Binkhorst Lecture, at the 2007 annual meeting of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons.
Society Memberships • Alpha Omega Alpha
• Physics Honors Society
• American Medical Association
• Association of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons
• American Board of Ophthalmology
• American Academy of Ophthalmology – ‘Fellow’
• American Academy of Ophthalmology, Refractive Surgery Interest Group – ‘Executive Committee Member’
• American Academy of Ophthalmology, Refractive Surgery Ophthalmic Technology Assessment Committee – ‘Chairman’
• American Academy of Ophthalmology, Knowledge Assessment Committee Refractive Surgery – ‘Chairman’
Achievements, Awards and Honours
• Physics scholar, 1973-1976, top physics student at Colorado State University.
• Designated a Naval Aviator with the highest grade recorded in training squadron.
• Qualified as F-14A, A-4 and F-5 aircraft test pilot with over 2,000 flight hours.
• Winner of the 1981 annual F-14 fighter derby with the highest grade ever recorded in a scored air-to-air combat exercise.
• Instrumental in winning the coveted "Mutha" and safety award for Fighter Squadron Two, 1981-1982.
• Selected as one of the ten best carrier pilots on-board USS Ranger with over 300 arrested landings including over 100 night landings.
• Selected among hundreds of highly qualified naval officers to serve as combat instructor at the Navy Fighter Weapons School (TOPGUN).
• A top lieutenant in competitive fitness reports at TOPGUN among highly screened peers while serving as training and safety officer.
• Selected from below promotion zone to the rank of Commander, USN.
• Instituted and directed the ‘visibility of air-to-air missiles’ project through the Naval Aerospace Medical Research Laboratory (NAMRL). This multi-year effort resulted in enhanced combat survivability of aircrew.
• Selected in junior year of medical school for Alpha Omega Alpha honors society.
• Honors medical school graduate ranking in the top 5% of the class.
• Selected as ‘fellow of the year’ (1995/6) at the Doheny Eye Institute, University of Southern California.
• Instituted a comprehensive review of medical standards for operators of Landing Craft Air Cushion Vehicles (LCAC). Performance standards were established, cognizant medical oversight was instituted (NAOMI), and the SEAOPS manual was revised as a result.
• Associate investigator in the performance enhancement project for undersea warfare specialists with the Naval Health Research Center.
• Scientific reviewer for ophthalmology peer review journals; Ophthalmology, Journal of Cataract and Refractive Surgery, Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences.
• Principle investigator in Navy research on photorefractive keratectomy and LASIK including protocols ‘Glare Disability after Photorefractive Keratectomy’, ‘Glare Disability after Photorefractive Keratectomy – VISX’, ‘Initial Evaluation of a Night Driving Simulator after Refractive Surgery’, ‘Visual Recovery after Photorefractive Keratectomy’, ‘Evaluation of Hyperopic Photorefractive Keratectomy’, ‘Visual Performance after PRK’, ‘Contrast Sensitivity and Crew Interaction Skills; Normative Data in Student Naval Aviators’, ‘Initial Evaluation of PRK in the US Army’, ‘Night Vision Goggle Performance after PRK’, ‘Initial Evaluation of LASIK in the USN’, ‘Refractive changes during prolonged exposure to altitude following refractive surgery’, ‘Evaluation of Flight Performance in Student Naval Aviators and Flight Officers after Refractive Surgery’, ‘Corneal Reepithelialization After PRK’, ‘Comparison of Tropicamide and Cyclopentolate for Cycloplegic Refractions in Adults’, ‘National Eye Institute Refractive Error Questionnaire (NEI-RECQ) Development, Phase II’, ‘Evaluation of the Structural Integrity of the Cornea after Laser In-Situ Keratomileusis (LASIK)’, ‘Prospective comparison of excimer lasers systems to perform LASIK’, ‘Refractive Accuracy of the VISX Visual Analysis System’, ‘Wavefront guided PRK compared to Wavefront guided LASIK, VISX’, ‘Wavefront guided PRK compared to wavefront guided LASIK, Alcon.’
• Acknowledged expert in anterior segment surgery. Provided tertiary level care for active duty forces in the western hemisphere including penetrating keratoplasty, anterior segment reconstruction, and complicated cataract procedures. Many of these procedures involved repair of complex penetrating wounds. Highly sought by ophthalmology residents for teaching.
• First surgeon in US Department of Defence to perform PRK, LASIK, and implant phakic intraocular lenses.
• Acknowledged expert in refractive surgery. One of only a small group of excimer laser instructors in the US. Numerous requests to conduct nationwide training courses. Routinely receives consultation requests regarding refractive surgery from governmental and civilian organizations (NATO/Canadian/Australian military medical organizations, police and fire departments, major airlines, universities, etc).
• Established and directed the first military excimer laser and refractive surgery center at the Naval Medical Center, San Diego, CA until his retirement.
• Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Award for Excellence in Military Medicine ‘Best doctor in the military’, 1997. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (General Shalikashvili) and Zachary Fisher presented the award on 12 August, 1997. It included a $50,000 research grant.
• Lans Distinguished Refractive Surgeon award presented by the International Society of Refractive Surgeons and the American Academy of Ophthalmology, October 2004 in New Orleans, Louisiana.
• Selected as one of six executive steering committee members of the American Academy of Ophthalmology Refractive Surgery Interest Group.
• Navy Legion of Merit, Commendation, Achievement, Humanitarian, and Expeditionary medals.
