Ayyagari, Radha Ph.D.
Bartsch, Dirk- Uwe PhD
Bowd, Christoper PhD
Brody, Barbara MPH
Brown, Stuart I. MD
Cheng, Lingyun MD
Ferreyra, Henry A. MD
Freeman, William R. MD
Goldbaum, Michael H. MD
Granet, David B. MD
Haw, Weldon, M.D.
Heichel, Chris M.D.
Kikkawa, Don O. MD
Korn, Bobby S. M.D., Ph.D.
Levi, Leah MD
Lindsey, James D
Liu, John H K PhD
Medeiros, Felipe MD PhD
Nguyen, Thao MD
Robbins, Shira MD
Sample, Pamela A. PhD
Schanzlin, David J. MD
Silva, Gabriel A. MSc PhD
Weinreb, Robert N. MD
Zangwill, Linda PhD

Chris W. Heichel, M.D.
Assistant Clinical Professor
Cornea, Cataract and Refractive Surgery

Chris W. Heichel, M.D., serves as Assistant Professor of Cornea, Cataract and Refractive Surgery for the UCSD Department of Ophthalmology at the Shiley Eye Center. He has dedicated his career to maximizing every patient’s visual potential. He is experienced in the most advanced techniques in refractive surgery including Custom and “all laser” laser vision correction procedures. In addition to laser vision correction, Dr. Heichel specializes in other vision correction procedures including, the treatment of mild hyperopia and presbyopia, INTACS for the treatment of keratoconus and corneal ectasia. As a corneal specialist, Dr. Heichel’s goal of improving patient quality of life by restoring and improving their vision, is not only met through laser vision correction, but also through cornea and cataract surgery.

Professional Affiliations & Interests

Dr. Heichel is a board certified ophthalmologist with memberships in the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery, the Association of Research in Vision and Ophthalmology and the American Medical Association. Clinical interests include corneal transplantation, laser vision correction, challenging cataract surgery and anterior segment reconstruction. Dr. Heichel’s research interests include exploring new applications of custom wavefront technology in refractive surgery, the use of intrastromal corneal rings to treat corneal ectasia and variable thickness lamellar grafting. In the future, Dr. Heichel hopes to discover innovative approaches to corneal transplantation.

Education

Dr. Heichel completed his undergraduate degree in Biochemistry and Cellular Biology from Revelle College at the University of California, San Diego where he was awarded a Howard Hughes Research Fellowship. After graduating with Honors as a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society from the Chicago Medical School, Dr. Heichel received an “Outstanding Intern” Award. Upon his return to UCSD, Dr. Heichel completed his residency, serving as Chief Resident. He was then selected and went on to complete the Cornea, External Disease and Refractive Surgery fellowship program at UCSD.