Professor Dan Reinstein on training, discovery and his career
For more than three decades, he has dedicated himself solely to Laser Eye Surgery – one of the few Ophthalmic Surgeons in the UK to do so.
Prof Reinstein graduated from Cambridge University, and his postgraduate qualifications include an MA, MB BChir and MD. He is a board-certified ophthalmologist in the USA and Canada, and holds professorships in New York and Paris. His specialist training includes:
- 1991: Research Fellowship in Ophthalmic Epidemiology (Institute of Ophthalmology, London).
- 1994: Fellowship in Ophthalmology (The Weill Medical College, Cornell University, New York).
- 1996: Residency in Ophthalmology (Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York).
- 1997: Refractive Surgical Fellowship under laser eye surgeons Zaldivar, Arbelaez, Chacon, and Barraquer.
- 1999: Fellowship in Cornea, External Disease and Refractive Surgery (University of British Columbia, Canada).
Watch (a much younger) Professor Reinstein explaining the 18-year training process that led to him establishing the London Vision Clinic in 2002 and the building of an international reputation as a uniquely experienced and pioneering laser eye surgery expert.
The Career Of A Pioneer
After graduating with honours from Cambridge University, the young Dan Reinstein went on to study several postgraduate qualifications including an MA, MB BChir, FRCS, and MD. Once fully qualified as a LASIK surgeon, Doctor Reinstein joined a research project at Cornell University, New York. It was here where he first discovered how ultrasound could be used to measure the thickness of the cornea to within one micron—1/1000 of a millimetre. He immediately applied his findings and built a prototype of what would later become known as the Artemis Insight 100™ scanner—the world’s most accurate corneal scanner.
Soon after, he became Chief Medical Officer of a group of 58 laser eye surgeons over 28 clinics across North America. Under the leadership of Professor Reinstein, the group became the world’s largest provider of Laser Vision Correction, performing over 100,000 procedures a year.
His involvement in pioneering projects didn’t end there, as he became a member of a specialist team at Meditec (later Carl Zeiss Meditec)—the team which developed the revolutionary MEL 80 laser which soon became the benchmark laser for the industry.
In 2002, Prof Reinstein founded London Vision Clinic, with the aim of providing the public with exceptional surgical skills, the latest in laser technology, and the very best in patient care. His overarching vision was to establish the world’s leading Laser Eye Surgery clinic.
More recently, Prof Reinstein has continued to be a significant proponent in the advancement of Laser Eye Surgery. The ReLEx SMILE procedure pioneered by Carl Zeiss Meditec—for which Prof Reinstein holds a joint patent for—has set in motion a new era in refractive surgery, chiefly due to its less invasive nature, which allows the surgery and recovery time to be reduced to a fraction of that of other treatments.
Watch Professor Reinstein discuss his career, and the monumental impact discovering the Artemis Insight technology had.
Excited by the possibilities of developing safer, more accurate eye surgery, the young Dan Reinstein built a prototype of what would become the Artemis Insight 100™ scanner – now the world’s most accurate corneal scanner. Immediately, he became the only person in the world equipped to identify the causes of complications in early laser eye surgery.
Prof Reinstein soon became Chief Medical Officer of a group of 58 laser eye surgeons in 28 clinics across North America. During his tenure, the group became the world’s largest provider of Laser Vision Correction, performing over 100,000 procedures per year. Unusually, and at Prof Reinstein’s insistence, every surgeon in the group shared the lessons of his or her experience, ensuring that the whole group worked to the highest possible standards. It is a philosophy that has characterised Prof Reinstein’s entire career.
Later, he joined the specialist team at Meditec (later Carl Zeiss Meditec) that developed the revolutionary MEL 80 laser. This immediately became, and remains, the benchmark laser for the industry. The London Vision Clinic has now worked closely with Carl Zeiss, one of the world’s leading optics manufacturers, for several years, and Prof Reinstein holds several patents relating to Laser Eye Surgery.