Eyeworld

EW IN OTHER NEWS 97 Stephen Coleman, MD, finds time to take on roles as both a laser surgeon and tennis tournament sponsor S ince moving to New Mexico in 1995, Stephen Coleman, MD, Coleman Vision, Albuquerque, N.M., has focused solely on laser vision correction. With the exception of a handful of cataract procedures early in his career, Dr. Coleman's practice is dedicated to LASIK, and his main interests revolve around laser and wavefront- guided custom technology. His loca- tion in Albuquerque has put him in a unique position to be involved in the field, with the software largely developed in this area. However, ophthalmology is not the only field Dr. Coleman focus- es on. He is also the sponsor of a professional women's tennis tourna- ment that takes place in Albuquer- que every September, the Coleman Vision Tennis Championships. This year's tournament will be held from September 14–21. Getting into ophthalmology When Dr. Coleman attended medi- cal school, he did not initially know that he wanted to go into ophthal- mology. "I did my internship in New York City, then I had a com- mitment to go on active duty in the Army because I had a scholarship while at Georgetown," he said. This resulted in an active duty assignment for 4 years in Germany with an Apache helicopter brigade, which was ultimately what directed him into the ophthalmology field. "I worked on a contact lens program for the ophthalmologic consultant to the Surgeon General, and they sent me to Washington for 6 weeks," he said. "I worked in the clinic with him learning about some of the visual issues that the Apache pilots were facing." Apache pilots fly many missions at night in sophisti- cated aircraft, which brought up a variety of vision issues. After returning to the U.S. to continue his training in ophthal- mology, Dr. Coleman quickly real- ized he was interested in laser vision correction more than any other type of ophthalmic surgery. Dr. Coleman said that after see- ing his first excimer laser procedure, he fell in love with it. A chance meeting with Stephen Trokel, MD, whom Dr. Coleman said is often referred to as the "father of laser vision correction," furthered his interest in laser vision correc- tion. Dr. Trokel mentioned that high altitude locations would be the place that laser technology would really take off, due to issues related to relative hypoxia and contact lens use. This fueled Dr. Coleman's move to Albuquerque, where both laser surgery and his practice immediately became popular. "The Army got me interested in ophthalmology, and at the advice of Steve Trokel, I came to New Mexico," he said. Tennis interest Dr. Coleman's interest in tennis started during his childhood and continues to this day. "I grew up across the street from 7 public tennis courts," he said. Tennis was a sport that all of his family and friends played as well, and Dr. Coleman said that he spent the majority of the summer months on the courts. Dr. Coleman played Division I college tennis and now plays with his family at the court at his house. Sponsoring a tournament It was in 1998 that Dr. Coleman first sponsored the Coleman Vision Tennis Championships, and he is now in his 17th year as sponsor. Originally, the tournament was a stop on the Virginia Slims tour. This was a time when the women's professional tennis tour was not what it is today, he said. However, Gladys Heldman, who lived in Santa Fe and founded World Tennis magazine, took it upon herself to make Albuquerque a stop on the women's professional tour, which at the time was sponsored by Virginia Slims. When people began to stop smoking, Dr. Coleman said, the Virginia Slims tour went from being very popular nationwide to slowly fading out of existence. by Ellen Stodola EyeWorld Staff Writer Ophthalmologist balances laser surgery practice and tennis September 2014 continued on page 98 Clinics are held during Dr. Coleman's tennis tournament each year. Hundreds of elementary school kids come out to participate and get the chance to ask questions and play with the pros.

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