Stephen G. Slade, MD, FACS

Stephen Glenn Slade is a native Houstonian and is in private practice in Houston, Texas. He attended Tulane University and the University of Texas in Austin graduating Summa Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa with a double major. He attended The University of Texas Medical School with a final, elective year spent at Guy’s Hospital, London. He completed a residency at the LSU Eye Center in New Orleans and fellowships in corneal surgery at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and in New York, New York on Project ORBIS. Dr. Slade is a Fellow of the American Academy of Ophthalmology and the American College of Surgeons. He is an active teacher of surgical techniques and has taught and certified over 8,000 surgeons LASIK and lamellar refractive surgery. Dr. Slade’s experience with lamellar refractive surgery began in 1980 with epikeratophakia, followed in 1984 with myopic keratomileusis, then LASIK.

In 1991, along with Stephen Brint MD, he performed the first LASIK in the United States. Later he performed the first Custom LASIK ablation based on topography in the United States.  Dr. Slade has remained on the cutting edge, having the nation’s first and longest experience with Laser Cataract Surgery, LASIK, Femtosecond Laser Lasik and accommodating intraocular lenses for cataract surgery (Crystalens). Dr. Slade was the lead investigator and presented the data to the FDA for panel approval for both the Crystalens and the implantable contact lens, ICL. As part of the crystalens trial, Dr. Slade implanted the first intraocular lens for presbyopia in North America. Dr. Slade is considered a “surgeon’s surgeon”. Over 450 of his fellow eye surgeons have chosen him to for their own eye surgery. He is an active researcher and the U.S. medical monitor for several new technologies including keratophakia or corneal inlays, presbyopia corneal corrections, laser based cataract surgery and excimer topography based LASIK clinical trials.

He has received numerous awards including 16 named lectures, Refractive Surgeon of the Year, two China Service Medals and the Summit Technologies Pioneer of Refractive Surgery Award. The American Academy of Ophthalmology and International Society of Refractive Surgery selected Dr. Slade for the 2007 Barraquer Award and Lecture, the top award in Refractive Surgery. Dr. Slade’s peers have selected him for inclusion in “Top Fifty Opinion Leaders”, “Top Texas Doctors”, “Best Doctors” and  “Best Doctors in America”. Further, he has received the Honor Award and Senior Honor Award of the American Academy of Ophthalmology.  He is a regular presenter at medical meetings and has received several “Best Speaker” awards and has twice won First Place at the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery Film Festival.  He is on several Editorial Boards including the Journal of Refractive Surgery. Dr. Slade has produced many articles, book chapters, holds five patents or patents pending in the field and has authored five textbooks on refractive surgery. He has been featured in numerous news segments aired on CBS, ABC, NBC, UPI International and PBS as well as numerous national affiliate stations. Dr. Slade has been quoted in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and Newsweek as well as numerous local press stories. Dr. Slade was the featured surgeon on the Emmy Award winning PBS documentary “20/10 by 2010?” narrated by Walter Cronkite.