Refractive Surgeon

Dr Schallhorn graduated from the University of Uniformed Services (USU) School of Health Sciences with a degree in medicine in 1988, completed his internship in 1989, served as a general medical officer in 1990, completed his residency program in 1993, and certified by the American Board of Ophthalmology in 1995.

Dr Schallhorn performing LASIK at Naval Medical Center San Diego.

Captain Steve Schallhorn served as the Director of Cornea Service and Refractive Surgery at Naval Medical Center San Diego (“Balboa Hospital”) and the Refractive Surgery Program Manager for the United States Navy. He conceived of and initiated the first refractive surgery programs for the US armed forces to study the visual recovery and performance characteristics of PRK and LASIK before excimer lasers were FDA approved. He is a member of the AMA, American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons (ASCRS), American Board of Ophthalmology (ABO), and fellow of the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO). He is a scientific reviewer for the ophthalmology peer review journals Ophthalmology, Journal of Cataract and Refractive Surgery, Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, and Journal of Refractive Surgery.

Dr Schallhorn serves his profession as chairman of AAO Refracive 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).

As an acknowledged by his peers as an expert in refractive surgery, Dr Schallhorn receives numerous requests to conduct nationwide training courses, and routinely provides consultation regarding refractive surgery to various organizations, including his role as:

Author of 16 peer-reviewed papers and 3 book chapters
Visiting professor of medicine at Harvard, USC, UCSF, Baylor, and others
Consultant to 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)
Advisor for refractive surgery to Australia, Canada, France, Great Britain, Greece, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, Taiwan, Turkey, and the US Air Force, Army, and Coast Guard
ASCRS representative to the annual meetings in Russia and Singapore
AAO representative to the annual meeting in the Philippines