Dr. James S. Lewis

Member of the Wills Eye Surgical Network since 1996.

Dr. James Lewis is a graduate of Princeton University and Thomas Jefferson Medical College where he won awards in Ophthalmology and Research. He served as chief resident during his third year at Duke University Eye Center where he was offered a faculty position. Instead he travelled to South Australia for subspecialty training in Corneal and Refractive Surgery. He returned in 1990 and became Director of Cornea and Anterior Segment Surgery at Hahnemann University, in Philadelphia. He also served as Corneal Consultant to the Pennsylvania College of Optometry.

Dr. Lewis published the landmark article on Intraocular Lens Insertion without capsular support and has lectured and published extensively on this topic. He also developed instruments for suture management in corneal transplantation.

In 2004 Dr. Lewis became the Director of Cornea, Cataract, and Refracive Surgery for what is now Salus University. He teaches LASIK, Corneal Surgery, and Cataract diagnosis and management to hundreds of eye doctors each year.  With Nicholas Gidosh, OD, he supports the prestigious Cornea and Contact Lens Residency at the Pennsylvania College of Optometry training the top Optometry students in the country.  In 2014, the College dedicated a module in their new building as the James S. Lewis, MD Subspecialty Clinic.

Dr. Lewis has participated in FDA clinical trials for Avedro, Alcon, Ivantis, AMO, Morcher, Moria, and Staar. He is the first surgeon in the Delaware Valley to implant Staar’s Visian ICL (Intraocular Contact Lens) and is one of 7 surgeons in the country selected for Staar’s Collamer Accommodation Study Team. He is also the primary surgeon in MyVision, a philanthropic effort to bring the EVO Visian to underserved communities.

Dr. Lewis was the first LASIK surgeon to investigate the Moria SBK microkeratome. His findings led to the approval and release of this device. He lectures on microkeratome flap creation at the American Academy of Ophthalmology, America Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons, American-European Congress of Ophthalmic Surgeons, The World Ophthalmology Congress, and the European Society for Cataract and Refractive Surgeons.

Finally, Dr. Lewis contributes extensively to Eyetube, an Eye Doctor Only Video Sharing website for teaching surgical techniques and disease management.  He also contributes to Dr. Robert Osher’s Video Journal of Ophthalmology (VJO).

Offices

Education

Professional Experience

Director of Cataract, LASIK and Corneal Surgery
Pennsylvania College of Optometry,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19141
2004 – Present.

Private Practice Ophthalmology, Refractive Surgery,
Cornea and External Disease, Cataract and Intraocular Lenses,
1990 – Present.

Director of Cornea and External Disease and
Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology,
Hahnemann University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
1987 – 1990.

Director of Ophthalmic Cornea and External Disease,
Pennsylvania College of Optometry,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
1987 – 1991.

Peer Reviewed Papers

Profile of Mechanically Created Sub-100 µm Corneal Flaps.
2009 ASCRS Symposium, Moscone Convention Center, San Francisco, CA, April 3-8, 2009

Sulcus Fixation without Flaps, Ophthalmology. 1993;100:1346-1350.

Corneal Argyrosis Associated with Silver Soldering,
MW Scroggs and AD Proia. Cornea. 1992; 11(3): 264-9.

Ab Externo Sulcus Fixation, Ophthalmic Surgery. 1991;22:692-695.

Chapters

Laser Refractive Cataract Surgery Science, Medicine, and Industry Stephen Slade MD, FACS from Bryn Mawr Communication (published October 2, 2012) – two chapters.

New Techniques and Instruments for Lens Implantation.
Current Opinions in Ophthalmology 1995, 6;1:46-52
with I. Howard Fine, MD. (update published in 1997).

Courses

Course: Dropless Cataract Surgery. ASCRS•ASOA Symposium & Congress 2015, San Diego April 17,-21 2015

Course: Captain Video: (with Stephen Slade, MD) Master High Definition Video at the Surgical Microscope. ASCRS Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL April 21, 2012

Course: Captain Video: (with Stephen Slade, MD) Mastering the Art and Science of Slit-lamp and Operating Microscope Video.. ASCRS Annual Meeting, April 29, 2011

Comparison of the Texture of Bowman Membrain in LASEK, PRK and Epi-LASIK.
2009 ASCRS Symposium, Moscone Convention Center, San Francisco, CA, April 3-8, 2009

Cirugia refractiva de superficie con Epi-K.
Sub-Bowman Keratomileusis con el One Use Plus.
Curso Internacional de Cornea y Cirugia Refractiva, Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, 12-15 Septiembre 2008

Very Thin Flap LASIK Using the Moria One Use Plus 90 Microkeratome, Poster No.: RS-D2-278 Panel No.: 278.
High Definition Video Exploration of Epi-LASIK Surgery and Bowman’s Membraine Using the Moria System, Poster No.: RS-D2-279 Panel No.: 279.
WOC Hong Kong Ophthalmology Congress June 28 – July 2, 2008

SBK Paper: How Thin Is It? The 7th International ASA Congress on Surface Alation & SBK April 26, 2008

Thin-Flap LASIK without a click fee: the Moria One Use-Plus SBK Microkeratome, ASCRS 2008 April 5, 2008

Refractive Surgery using Toric Intraocular Lenses, ASCRS, Philadelphia, 2002.

Sutured Posterior Chamber IOLs, American Academy of Ophthalmology annual meeting, San Diego, CA, May 1998.

Sutured Posterior Chamber IOLs, Annual Ocular Surgery News Symposium of
Cataract & Refractive Surgery, New York, NY, 1995 & 1996.

Sulcus-Fixated PC IOLs in Cataract Surgery and Corneal Transplantation (Without a Scleral Flap),ASCRS Physicians Courses # 1102, San Diego, CA, April 1, 1995.

New Concepts in the Management of Anterior Segment Surgical Complications:
Time Elapsed IOL Decentration; The Role of Capsular Contraction and Capsulorrhexis. ASCRS Physicians Courses, San Diego, CA, April 1, 1995.

New Concepts in the Management of Anterior Segment Surgical Complications:
Suture-Fixation of PC IOLs. ASCRS Physicians Courses, San Diego, CA, April 1, 1995.

Clear Corneal Cataract Surgery with an Absorbable Tangential Suture,
ASCRS Physician’s Program 2-B, San Diego, CA, April 2, 1995.

The Fine, Self-Sealing, Clear Corneal Tunnel Incision,
STAAR Surgical Seaport Symposium, Mystic, CT, July 23 – 24, 1994.

Sulcus Fixation of PC IOLs in Cataract Surgery and Corneal Transplantation Without a Scleral Flap, Wills Eye Conference, Philadelphia, PA, April 21 – 23, 1994.

Transscleral Suture Fixation of PC IOLs in the Absence of Capsular Support–Double Pass–No Flap Technique. New Concepts in the Management of Anterior Segment Surgical Complications, ASCRS, Boston, MA, April 9 – 13,1994.

Second Generation Suture Fixation of PC IOLs. ASCRS, Boston, MA, 1994.

Clear Corneal Cataract Surgery with a Tangential Suture,
ASCRS, Boston, MA, April 9 – 13,1994.

Is There a Role for Foldable IOLs in Patients Without Capsular Support,
New Concepts in the Management of Anterior Segment Surgical Complications?
ASCRS, Boston, MA, April 9 – 13,1994.

What Does Ophthalmology Want? Co-management Conference,
The Better Vision Institute and Vision Exposition, New York, NY, March 10-13, 1994.

Wound Construction and Closure, Great American Ophthalmic Conference and Exposition, Alcon Surgical, July 30 – August 1, 1993.

Transscleral Sulcus Fixation, ASCRS, 1993 and 1992.

Sulcus Fixation without Flaps, American Academy of Ophthalmology,
Dallas, TX, Nov 8-12, 1992.

Intraocular Implant Lens Update -1992, American Academy of Ophthalmology,
Dallas, TX, Nov 8-12, 1992.

Small Incision Non-Phacoemulsification Symposium, Storz Ophthalmics, Inc.,
Philadelphia, PA, September 23, 1989.

Excimer Laser Corneal Contouring and the Triple Procedure, with Jeff Mandel, MD,
Second International Workshop on Laser Corneal Surgery, Boston, MA, Oct 14-15, 1988.

Panel:

Video Surgical Technique and Complications
AIRS 2013 Program – ACOS -Dulaney Winter Meeting February 27th, 2013

Posters:

Macular Edema Following Intravitreal Triamcinolone as an Alternative to Postcataract Anti-inflammatory Drops. American Academy of Ophthalmology 2014, Chicago Illinois October 18-21, 2014

Mathematical Analysis of 150 Degree Femtosecond Reverse Bevel. San Diego, California March 25-30, 2011

Very Thin Flap LASIK using the Moria One Use Plus (OUP) 90 Microkeratome,
High Definition Video Exploration of Epi-LASIK Surgery and Bowman’s Membrane Using the Moria System World Ophthalmology Congress 2008 in Hong Kong, June 28th – July 2nd 2008

Presentations:

How to Record, Store, Edit and Show your Work
ACOS American-European Congress of Ophthalmic Surgery Dulaney Winter Meeting ACOS February 29th, 2012 & February 23rd, 2014

Video Surgical Technique and Complications
AIRS 2013 Program – ACOS -Dulaney Winter Meeting February 27th, 2013 & February 23rd, 2014

nanoFLEX IOL: Achieving Exceptional Vision at Any Distance
2013 Annual Meeting – American Academy of Ophthalmology Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans STAAR Surgical Booth #824 November 17th, 2013

Intraocular Lens Power Labeling: Mathmatical Model*
ASCRS•ASOA Symposium & Congress -San Francisco California April 22nd, 2013
*Best Paper of Session

Unanticipated Stromal Tissue Loss Following Femtosecond Flap Creation. Session Date: 05 September 2010 ESCRS Paris, France 2010

Binocular Near and Intermediate Visual Results with Collamer Single-Piece Aspheric IOL April 11 2010 ASCRS Boston, Massachusetts

Intraocular Surgery-Correcting IOLs, the updated findings of STAAR’s Collamer Accommodation Study Team (CAST). ASCRS Annual Meeting, April 4, 2010

Keep your LASIK in mechanical microkeratome. Presented at ISRS/AAO Refractive Subspecialty Day during AAO meeting, Oct 23, 2009; San Francisco, CA

SBK Paper: How Thin Is It? The 7th International ASA Congress on Surface Alation & SBK April 26, 2008

Curso Internacional de Cornea y Cirugia Refractiva, Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, 12-15 Septiembre 2008

Refractive Surgery using Toric Intraocular Lenses, ASCRS, Philadelphia, 2002.

Sutured Posterior Chamber IOLs, American Academy of Ophthalmology annual meeting, San Diego, CA, May 1998.

Sutured Posterior Chamber IOLs, Annual Ocular Surgery News Symposium of
Cataract & Refractive Surgery, New York, NY, 1995 & 1996.

Clear Corneal Cataract Surgery with an Absorbable Tangential Suture,
ASCRS Physician’s Program 2-B, San Diego, CA, April 2, 1995.

New Concepts in the Management of Anterior Segment Surgical Complications:
Time Elapsed IOL Decentration; The Role of Capsular Contraction and Capsulorrhexis. ASCRS Physicians Courses, San Diego, CA, April 1, 1995.

The Fine, Self-Sealing, Clear Corneal Tunnel Incision,
STAAR Surgical Seaport Symposium, Mystic, CT, July 23 – 24, 1994.

Sulcus Fixation of PC IOLs in Cataract Surgery and Corneal Transplantation Without a Scleral Flap, Wills Eye Conference, Philadelphia, PA, April 21 – 23, 1994.

Transscleral Suture Fixation of PC IOLs in the Absence of Capsular Support–Double Pass–No Flap Technique. New Concepts in the Management of Anterior Segment Surgical Complications, ASCRS, Boston, MA, April 9 – 13,1994.

Second Generation Suture Fixation of PC IOLs. ASCRS, Boston, MA, 1994.

Clear Corneal Cataract Surgery with a Tangential Suture,
ASCRS, Boston, MA, April 9 – 13,1994.

Is There a Role for Foldable IOLs in Patients Without Capsular Support,
New Concepts in the Management of Anterior Segment Surgical Complications?
ASCRS, Boston, MA, April 9 – 13,1994.

Wound Construction and Closure, Great American Ophthalmic Conference and Exposition, Alcon Surgical, July 30 – August 1, 1993.

Sulcus Fixation without Flaps, American Academy of Ophthalmology,
Dallas, TX, Nov 8-12, 1992.

Intraocular Implant Lens Update–1992, American Academy of Ophthalmology,
Dallas, TX, Nov 8-12, 1992.

Small Incision Non-Phacoemulsification Symposium, Storz Ophthalmics, Inc.,
Philadelphia, PA, September 23, 1989.

Excimer Laser Corneal Contouring and the Triple Procedure, with Jeff Mandel, MD,
Second International Workshop on Laser Corneal Surgery, Boston, MA, Oct 14-15, 1988.

Awards

OSN Premier Surgeon 300 Innovators in Refractive Cataract Surgery Ocular Surgery News U.S. Edition, April 25, 2016

Premier Surgeon 2010 PS250 – Top 250 Surgeons May/June 2010

ASCRS Symposium on Cataract, IOL, and Refractive Surgery, 1994,
Best Paper of Session. Second Generation Fixation of Posterior Chamber Intraocular Lenses.

ASCRS Film Festival 1992, Best New Surgical Maneuver (runner-up):
Double Transscleral Sulcus Fixation.

Hymen A. Menduke Prize in Research, 1982.

Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society Jefferson University 1980.

Other Publications

Ocular Surgery News
Blade microkeratome may still have a role in flap creation
Automated blade creates thin, precise and resilient flaps, surgeon says.
James S. Lewis, MD; Marcus Devlin, OD December 25, 2008

Very Thin Flap LASIK using the Moria One Use Plus (OUP) 90 Microkeratome, High Definition Video Exploration of Epi-LASIK Surgery and Bowman’s Membrane Using the Moria System World Ophthalmology Congress 2008 in Hong Kong, June 28th – July 2nd 2008

Absorbable Plugs, Management of LASIK induced dry eye.
Cataract and Refractive Surgery Today, March 2002; 30, 31.

Second Generation Sulcus Fixation, Proceedings of the Annual Ocular Surgery News
Symposium of Cataract & Refractive Surgery, 1995 & 1996.

EYE-TV-OD Volumes 1 and 2: Therapeutics and Co-management, 1995.

How To Be a Video Star, Review of Ophthalmology, June 1995; 84-90.

An Absorbable Tangential Suture to Strengthen the Clear-Corneal Wound,
Maintain Astigmatic Neutrality, Ocular Surgery News, June 15, 1995; 13 (12); 41.

Second Generation Sulcus Fixation,
Journal of Cataract and Refractive Surgery, 1995.

Second Generation Techniques in Sulcus Fixation,
Video Journal of Ophthalmology, 1994.

Tangential Suturing Techniques for Clear Corneal Incision,
Video Journal of Ophthalmology, 1993.

Sulcus Fixation of a Posterior Chamber Implant,
Video Journal of Ophthalmology, 1991.

Sulcus Fixation,
Journal of Cataract and Refractive Surgery, 1991.

Excimer Laser Corneal Contouring and the Triple Procedure,
with GN Foulks and J Mandel, Lasers and Light in Ophthalmology, 1989; 2(4), 259-62.

Surgical Management of Giant Retinal Tears,
Pakistani Journal of Ophthalmology, with Brooks McCuen, MD, 1987.

EPS: Epidemiologic Patient Simulations in Pediatrics,
Elsevier, 1985(computer software).

EPS: An Epidemiologic Patient Simulator,
Symposium of Computer Applications in Medical Care, 1981.

Research

Staar Surgical : STAAR Surgical Forms Team to Study the Use of Collamer Material for Accommodating Intraocular Lenses
http://www.azooptics.com, 2008.

Morcher GmbH Level One FDA Core Investigator, endocapsular ring, 1999.

Chiron Intraoptics Phacotemesis Level One FDA Core Investigator, 1993.

Iolab, SI-20NB, Level Two FDA Core Investigator, 1990.

Devices

Visitec:Manipulating Hook, Keratoplasty Suture Adjuster, 1992, Suture Cutter, 1992.

Alcon: Lewis Pair Pack II Fixation Suture [suture] and
Lewis Sulcus Fixation Using a Double Transscleral Suture, 1991.

Organizations

American College of Ophthalmic Surgery, 2011

International Society of Refractive Surgeons, 1999 – Present.

Better Vision Institute, 1993 – Present.

Co-management Task Force, 1993.

American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons, 1987 – Present.

American Academy of Ophthalmology, 1983 – Present.

Peer Reviewer

Journal for health professionals and researchers in ophthalmology, British Journal of Ophthalmology 2010

American Academy of Ophthalmology. Surgical Education Series, 1997.

American Journal of Ophthalmology. Print and Electronic Media 1993 & 1994.

On-line Surgical Consultant

Cataract Surgery and Intraocular Lens Surgery,
American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons, 1996 – Present.

Cataract and Corneal Surgery, Intraocular Lens Complications,
Ocular Surgery News, Slack, INC, 1995 – Present.

Over the course of his career, the highly regarded Philadelphia LASIK eye surgery specialist Dr. Lewis has treated numerous patients from throughout greater Philadelphia, including Elkins Park, Phoenixville and Bucks County. In addition to being renowned for his LASIK expertise, Dr. Lewis enjoys a reputation as a leading Philadelphia Epi-LASIK specialist. For patients who desire to achieve freedom from glasses but cannot undergo laser eye surgery, he offers Visian ICLs in Philadelphia.