About Our Doctors
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Yaron S. Rabinowitz, M.D.
Yaron S. Rabinowitz, M.D.
Yaron S. Rabinowitz M.D. is an internationally recognized Los Angeles LASIK and cornea surgeon. He is has had two years of fellowship training after completing his eye residency: at the Wilmer Eye Institute at Johns Hopkins University and the Doheny Eye Institute at the University of Southern California.
He has been at the forefront of Laser Vision correction since its inception at his state of the art LASIK LA facility. He was one of the first doctors in the Los Angeles area to perform customized bladeless LASIK at his facility which was the first laser center in the Los Angeles area to own an Intralase Laser offering both iLASIK and Allegretto wavefront optimized treatments. He was the first doctor in Los Angeles to perform Cornea Transplants with a laser and has more experience with this procedure than any other Los Angeles doctor.
From 1996 to 2001, he was the Chairman of the Division of Ophthalmology at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center a position he relinquished to focus on his research. He is currently the Director of Eye Research at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and a Clinical Professor of Ophthalmology at U.C.L.A. School of Medicine. He has been a recipient of a grant from the National Eye Institutes of Health for the past 16 years for his groundbreaking research on keratoconus and the shape of the eye.
He has received numerous awards including the American Academy of Ophthalmololgy Honor Award, the International Society of Refractive Surgery Kritizinger Award for excellence in research, the Jules Stein Eye Institute research Award, the VISX star Award and has been an honoured guest of the French Eye Society. He has been rated by his peers as one of the leading doctors in Los Angeles as noted in LA Magazine’s "Superdoctors” survey.
Dr. Rabinowitz is the author of a book on corneal topography(studies of the shape of the eye for laser surgery), the inventor of a computer program used worldwide for screening prior to laser surgery and the Author of over 80 peer reviewed articles and book chapters. He has given over 130 lectures in over a dozen countries (follow this link to review a detailed CV). He has performed thousands of laser eye surgeries including over 50 doctors many of whom are cornea specialists, ophthalmologists and doctors of optometry.
An avid reader, traveller and tennis player, he is married and lives with his wife Nancy, and three children Leah, Alec and Sara in Marina del Rey, California
Email contact: rabinowitzy@cshs.org
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Yuri S. Oleynikov, M.D, PhD
Yuri S. Oleynikov, MD, PhD, is a sub specialist ophthalmologist specializing in Cornea, Refractive (LASIK and PRK) and Cataract Surgery who recently joined Dr.Yaron Rabinowitz at Cornea Genetic Institute at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
Dr.Oleynikov joins us from Cornea, Refractive and Uveitis Division at Jules Stein Eye Institute at UCLA. At JSEI he performed new keratorefractive surgical procedures and conducted research as an Associate Refractive Surgeon in the Laser Refractive Center at UCLA. Dr. Oleynikov attended to patients with corneal and external ocular disease and cataracts in the
Institute’s University Ophthalmology Associates practice where he performed cataract surgery, whole cornea and DSEK transplant surgery and advanced artificial cornea implantations.
Dr. Oleynikov joined the Jules Stein Eye Institute in July 2006 after completing his training at Columbia University, New York, where he was a recipient of the first B.D.Srinivasan Research Award.
His research focused on fundamental mechanisms of angiogenesis in a developing eye.
Dr. Oleynikov is actively involved in ophthalmic research. He has authored multiple journal articles and presented at national and international ophthalmology and molecular biology meetings. Dr. Oleynikov’s research at this time is focused on safety and predictability of keratorefractive surgery. His clinical interests include wavefront technology, phakic intraocular lenses, keratorefractive surgery, corneal transplant surgery, and cataract surgery. He is also an active member of the American Academy of Ophthalmology and American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery.Education
- PhD in Molecular Cell Biology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, NY.
- Doctor of Medicine with Distinction in Biomedical Research, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, NY
- Internship in Internal Medicine, Beth Israel Hospital, New York, NY
- Residency in Ophthalmology, Edward Harkness Eye Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY.
- Cornea and Refractive Surgery Fellowship, Jules Stein Eye Institute, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA
E-mail Contact: yurioleynikov@gmail.com
Ronald N. Gaster, M.D., F.A.C.S.
Ronald N. Gaster, M.D., F.A.C.S.
Ronald N. Gaster, M.D., F.A.C.S., is a nationally recognized, board certified corneal, cataract and refractive surgeon. He has been recognized by his peers as being in the top 1% of LASIK, cataract and refractive eye surgeons in the U.S. and is included in the 2011 Woodward and White’s Best Doctors in America, an honor he has received yearly since 1996. Dr. Gaster was also included in the 2008 California SuperDoctors, Orange County Medical Association’s 2011 Physicians of Excellence and 2011 Top Doctors of Orange County. Dr. Gaster is a Professor of Ophthalmology at the Gavin Herbert Eye Institute at the University of California, Irvine, and has lectured and published extensively on current innovations in corneal and cataract microsurgery. He now sees patients in Beverly Hills and Orange County.
Dr. Gaster has been an innovator and leader in Laser Vision Correction surgery, having been a Principal Investigator at the Beckman Laser Institute on the Excimer Laser, which is used for LASIK and PRK today. He helped bring LASIK to China in 1996, training many Chinese ophthalmologists in this surgery. He has continued to carry out research on Femtosecond Laser corneal transplantation, being one of the first to perform these procedures in the U.S. Furthermore, Dr. Gaster is currently on the cutting edge of new developments in eye disease and surgery, including crosslinking (CXL) and Intacs, and is accepting patients in a clinical trial with an IDE from the FDA to compare the effectiveness of corneal cross linking (CXL) alone to Intacs followed by corneal cross-linking (CXL) for progressive keratoconus or post-LASIK ectasia. If you suffer from either of these conditions, you may make an appointment for a consultation by calling toll free (855) EYEDOC-1 or (310) 248-7474.
Dr. Gaster is using the new Femtosecond Laser for corneal transplantation, DALK and LASIK surgery. Recently, the Femtosecond Laser was approved for cataract surgery as well. DSEK is another exciting innovation in corneal transplant surgery, which is performed by Dr. Gaster. He uses an innovative delicate technique for this microsurgery, which he has successfully taught to many corneal surgeons throughout the U.S.
Dr. Gaster also performs small incision cataract surgery, using premium lenses (IOL’s) such as the Crystalens, ReSTOR and Tecnis Multifocal intraocular lenses, where appropriate. He also uses Toric lenses for astigmatism or performs Astigmatic Keratotomy, if necessary, at the time of cataract surgery. He has taught a course on the Surgical Treatment of Astigmatism at the American Academy of Ophthalmology annual meeting for more than 15 years.
In addition, Dr. Gaster performs sutureless pterygium surgery using amniotic membrane grafts or transplants or conjunctival autografts with fibrin tissue glue, obviating the need for sutures. These techniques result in less pain postoperatively and a lower recurrence rate. Dry eyes, or keratitis sicca, can be a debilitating condition, especially in more mature patients. Dr. Gaster uses an innovative non-surgical treatment performed at the slit lamp in the office that assists the tear ducts to function normally and thus reduces the symptoms of dry eyes.
Dr. Gaster was previously the Acting Chairman of the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of California, Irvine, and has trained over a hundred residents and dozens of corneal fellows on corneal transplant, cataract, refractive surgery and LASIK and other microsurgical procedures. He was voted Outstanding Teacher of the Year by his residents in 1999, 2002 and 2007, an honor that he treasures.
Dr. Gaster graduated from Cornell University, where he lettered on the tennis team, and went on to the U.C.L.A. School of Medicine where he received his M.D. degree. He completed his internship and one year of a surgical residency at the University of California, San Diego, before completing his Ophthalmology residency at The University of Chicago, where he was the Chief Resident during his senior year. He then completed his Corneal and Refractive Surgery Fellowship with Dr. Richard Troutman at the Manhattan Eye, Ear and Throat Hospital in New York City, where he was awarded the prestigious Heed Ophthalmic Foundation Fellowship for the year. He also trained at the Instituto Barraquer de America in Bogota, Colombia, with the world-famous Dr. Jose Barraquer, and helped teach the first course on Refractive Surgery in the U.S. Dr. Gaster then was recruited to the University of California, Irvine, Department of Ophthalmology and was the first academic corneal specialist in Orange County.
Dr. Gaster has taught ophthalmic microsurgery courses at the annual American Academy of Ophthalmology meeting for many years and has been awarded the American Academy of Ophthalmology Honor Award and the American Academy of Ophthalmology Achievement Award. He is the co-medical Director of the Doheny Eye and Tissue Bank, on the Board of Directors of the California Academy of Eye Physicians and Surgeons, and formerly was the President of the Orange County Society of Ophthalmology and was a member of the Medical Board of California on the Medical Quality Review Committee. Dr. Gaster has more than 60 original publications in peer-reviewed medical journals and medical textbook chapters. (See Dr. Gaster’s complete C.V.) His latest poster research on corneal cross-linking was presented at ARVO (Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, the premier eye research organization) this year in Florida, and he presented a paper on corneal cross-linking (CXL) at the pre-ARVO meeting. He lectured for the Discovery Eye Foundation on June 26, 2010, at U.C.I. in Orange County, and his presentation can be heard by going to the website of the National Keratoconus Foundation at nkcf.org and clicking on the cross-linking tab and then OCVS CXL Session.
Dr. Gaster also enjoys working on medical missions and has taught many ophthalmologists in South America, Africa and Asia the techniques for corneal and cataract microsurgery. He has traveled with ORBIS, the flying eye hospital, and performed surgery on the airplane while he lectured to the ophthalmologists in the education theater of the airplane.Leisure:
For leisure, Dr. Gaster enjoys time with his family, playing tennis competitively, snow skiing, water skiing, wake boarding, playing golf (poorly), and weight training. He is a double-black diamond skier who has helicopter skied in the Canadian Rockies and been awarded recognition for skiing 1.5 million vertical feet. Recently, he took a photographic safari in Africa and enjoys theater, music, chess, and humanitarian causes.
Education:
Undergraduate: Cornell University
Medical School: U.C.L.A. School of MedicineTraining:
Internship: U.C. San Diego, Surgery
Residency: The University of Chicago, Ophthalmology Instituto Barraquer de America, Colombia
Fellowship: Microsurgery of the Anterior Segment, Corneal and Refractive Surgery, Manhattan Eye, Ear and Throat Hospital
Certifications:
Diplomate, American Board of Ophthalmology
Fellow, American College of Surgeons
Fellow, American Academy of Ophthalmology
Professional Affiliations:
American Academy of Ophthalmology
American College of Surgeons
American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons
California Academy of Eye Physicians and Surgeons, Board of Directors
Orange County Society of Ophthalmology, past President
Email Contact:
Dr. Rabinowitz has decades of experience with cornea transplants and is also a highly sought after LA LASIK surgeon. He is also highly regarded as a leading Santa Clarita IntraLase specialist, in addition to helping cataract surgery-patients and those individuals seeking laser eye surgery in Lancaster.