Ronald Krueger, M.D., the McGaw Professor and chairman of the UNMC Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences and director of the Truhlsen Eye Institute, has received the 2019 Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Society of Refractive Surgery. The award was presented recently during the Annual American Academy of Ophthalmology Conference in San Francisco.
The award honors members whose significant contributions have advanced refractive surgery and those recognized internationally during their career. Last year, the organization honored him with its Barraquer Award and Lecture, the most prestigious award and lecture in the field of refractive surgery.
“I am very appreciative for the recognition given to me by my peers for my hard work and dedication to the field of refractive surgery,” Dr. Krueger said. “I have devoted my whole career, 26 years, to refractive surgery as my primary focus.
“As I look to the next chapter in my career as director of the Truhlsen Eye Institute, I will be supporting all areas and subspecialties within ophthalmology while continuing to pursue the latest advances in refractive surgery for our community.”
Dr. Krueger, who joined UNMC last year, was recruited from the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University. He also was medical director of the Department of Refractive Surgery at the Cole Eye Institute of the Cleveland Clinic.
He has performed more than 25,000 vision correction procedures, which reduce or eliminate an individual’s dependency on glasses or contact lenses. Procedures include laser vision corrections, such as LASIK, PRK and SMILE, as well as lens-based procedures such as ICL, lens replacement and cataract surgery. He also manages complex optical disorders of the eye and keratoconus through a variety of medical and surgical treatments.
In 1985, Dr. Krueger is credited with documenting the first physical description of the effects of the excimer lasers on corneal tissue, which ultimately led to the growth and development of modern day LASIK and laser vision correction.
In the late 1990s, his role in characterizing optical aberrations associated with early laser vision correction procedures, helped to introduce customization techniques to perfect the outcome and quality of vision these procedures could achieve. At the same time, his early pioneering work with ultrashort pulse lasers, such as the femtosecond laser, enhanced the safety of these procedures. Later, in the mid-2000s, he pioneered the use the femtosecond laser in the crystalline lens and for laser-assisted cataract surgery.
Congrats to Dr. Krueger. It will be exciting to see all the great things that come out of the Truhlsen Eye Institute under your direction!