Dr. Stephen Coleman, a LASIK eye surgeon in Albuquerque, New Mexico, believes that the history of LASIK can most accurately be summed up with 2 words: progress and cooperation. Many people are convinced that there has never been a more successful example of a true team effort in the history of medicine. Significant contributors to the changes in LASIK surgery have come from a variety of fields and walks of life including ophthalmologists, optometrists, opticians, optical engineers, optical scientists, venture capitalists, national laboratories, the United States military, well known TV and movie personalities, as well as patients themselves.

Perhaps the single most significant advancement in LASIK surgery resulting from this wide-ranging collaboration is the transition to using an aberrometer to measure a patient’s wavefront and then using an excimer laser to correct this wavefront on the cornea. LASIK eye surgery done in this fashion are 100% unique to an individual and by definition cannot be reproduced.

The wavefront aberrometer was substantially developed in Albuquerque, New Mexico in the late 1990’s at a company initially called Wavefront Sciences. As is the case with many great technologies, the intent at first was not to build an instrument that would fundamentally change the way in which LASIK is performed around the world. It started as an attempt to eliminate atmospheric distortion when viewing objects from deep space with telescopes on earth.

A brief, 10 minute summary of this technology can be found in Dr. Coleman’s TEDx Talk titled “Seeing Clearly in the Future.” The evolution to the iDesign that Dr. Coleman uses for his LASIK surgery is based on the use of internal adaptive optics, with hundreds of tiny lenslets located within the aberrometer that adjust the shape of a patient’s wavefront in order to optimize the shape of the cornea. Particularly when compared to glasses and contact lenses, the precision, accuracy, and reproducibility of this approach to LASIK eye surgery cannot be overstated.

​Dr. Stephen Coleman, founder of Coleman Vision in Albuquerque, New Mexico, has been performing LASIK eye surgery for the past 25 years. He has seen many advances and changes in LASIK and has been at the forefront of cutting-edge technology over the years. Much of this technology has been developed in his hometown of Albuquerque, New Mexico by companies that had their start at Sandia National Laboratories.

Dr. Coleman remembers well the “early adopters” of LASIK eye surgery. These were primarily patients who had very large eyeglass prescriptions and no longer wanted to deal with the limitations of wearing glasses which include seeing everything smaller than it actually is (image minification) as well as the loss of peripheral vision. These highly nearsighted patients trusted the accuracy, precision, and reproducibility of laser technology for LASIK even in its early stages.

Wow, have times changed! As Dr. Coleman’s recent TEDx talk illustrates, found on the Coleman Vision website for LASIK eye surgery, the technology today is typically far superior for correcting vision with LASIK than what contact lenses or eyeglasses can offer. But what has been truly surprising at Coleman Vision is the patient population that is driving the current world-wide surge in LASIK eye surgery.

Our on-going COVID-19 pandemic has placed many people in a difficult position to navigate their day while wearing a mask over eyeglasses due to excessive fogging and slippage. This is particularly problematic for our first responders, nurses, firefighters, and law enforcement officials. In addition, contact lenses can act as a reservoir or receptacle for pathogens and air-borne particles which in these uncertain times has become a greater concern. There are several ways to correct vision and in the proper setting, LASIK eye surgery is a great option!

Dr. Stephen C. Coleman is a leader in the field of LASIK surgery. He performed the first laser vision correction surgery for nearsightedness in New Mexico on June 14th, 1996. Since that time, Coleman Vision has been dedicated exclusively to LASIK surgery. Dr. Coleman does not fit or sell contact lenses or glasses. Advancing the technology used for LASIK surgery is the very foundation of Dr. Coleman’s practice. Dr. Coleman has been a Principal Investigator on countless FDA studies for over two decades evaluating laser profiles to improve LASIK surgery outcomes. He currently treats patients with LASIK who have nearsightedness (myopia), farsightedness (hyperopia), and astigmatism. Over the years, Dr. Coleman has developed an intense concentration on the treatment of astigmatism with LASIK.


As a result of the many FDA studies that he has conducted, Dr. Coleman has been directly involved in advancing the technology used for LASIK surgery and as a result has witnessed many developments in laser profiles. Additionally, he has advanced the use of the diagnostic instruments which assess who should, and perhaps more importantly who should not, have LASIK surgery. Having these tools available at Coleman Vision contributes to the overall success of his practice. Just as no two snowflakes are exactly alike, no two eyes are exactly alike and Dr. Coleman performs fully customized, individualized LASIK treatments for each and every patient. No two treatments are ever exactly alike. This individualized approach maximizes the potential outcomes for LASIK.