Stephen Updegraff

Stephen Updegraff, M.D., FACS (born January 31, 1962, in St. Petersburg, Florida) is an American refractive surgeon best known for his early involvement in, and contributions to, LASIK. He is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, a board-certified member of the American Board of Ophthalmology, a founding member of the American College of Ophthalmic Surgeons, and a member of the International Society of Refractive Surgery, the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery, and the Pine Ridge Eye Study Society. Updegraff currently serves as the medical director of Updegraff Vision in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Early life

Updegraff was born in St. Petersburg, Florida. Updegraff was a descendant of the Dutch and German Op den Graeff family. He was a direct descendant of Herman op den Graeff, mennonite leader of Krefeld, and his grandson Abraham op den Graeff, one of the founders of Germantown and in 1688 signer of the first protest against slavery in colonial America.

Stephen Updegraff graduated from The McCallie School in Chattanooga, Tennessee. He was exposed to the medical treatment of eyes at an early age by his father, ophthalmologist Ambrose Updegraff, M.D., whom he accompanied on hospital rounds to visit patients who had undergone eye surgeries.

Education Updegraff received his bachelor's degree in biology from Eckerd College in 1984, and his M.D. from the Penn State College of Medicine in 1989.

Career Updegraff completed a six-month internship and his ophthalmic residency at the Louisiana State University Eye Center in New Orleans, where he performed research on excimer lasers, focusing specifically on procedures such as keratomileusis. During a fellowship at the University of Texas-Houston's Hermann Eye Center, Updegraff worked for Stephen G. Slade, M.D., then one of only two surgeons in the United States performing keratomileusis, and was a member of the team chaired by Slade and Luis A. Ruiz, M.D., that developed LASIK. Updegraff currently has seven patents on technologies for LASIK and microsurgery of the eye, and he frequently lectures and publishes on issues and advancements in refractive surgery.

Patents Apparatus and method for mechanically dilating the pupil of an eye (1994) Method of radial keratotomy employing a vibrating cutting blade (1995) Corneal surface marker and marking method for reducing irregular astigmatism during lamellar (LASIK) corneal surgery (1997) Corneal surface marker and marking method for improving laser centration (1998) Corneal irrigation cannula and method of using (1998) Corneal flap/cap elevator (1998) Corneal irrigation cannula (1998)

Awards and achievements 1995-97 Advisory Panel, Ethicon Surgery 2003-05 Board of Trustees Member, Prevent Blindness 2010-12 Best Doctors in America list