Yale-New Haven Hospital news release
Release date: Feb. 4, 2009
Media contact: (203) 688-2488
NEW HAVEN — Jimmy K. Lee, MD, has joined the medical staff of Yale-New Haven Hospital as an attending physician in the department of ophthalmology, and is the newly appointed director of the cornea and refractive surgery section at the Yale Eye Center. Dr. Lee's expertise is in all aspects of corneal transplantation surgery for adult and pediatric patients.
Dr. Lee is one of the few eye surgeons in Connecticut to perform partial corneal transplants, sometimes called Descemet's Stripping Endothelial Keratoplasty (DSEK), and he is among the first to perform artificial corneal transplants. Dr. Lee, who is also an assistant professor of ophthalmology and visual science at Yale School of Medicine, joined the medical staff at YNHH this past fall, after completing a fellowship in cornea and external disease at the Wilmer Eye Institute at Johns Hopkins Hospital.
"As one of a handful of physicians across the country specializing in DSEK and artificial corneal transplant surgery, it is gratifying to welcome Dr. Lee to Yale-New Haven Hospital and Yale Medical Group, and to make his special expertise available to patients throughout Connecticut and this region," said James C. Tsai, MD, chief of ophthalmology at YNHH and chair of ophthalmology and visual science at Yale School of Medicine. "As one of just a few eye specialists in Connecticut to have completed additional fellowship training with experience in the newer methods of corneal transplantation, Dr. Lee's expertise is unmatched."
Dr. Lee also provides highly advanced laser vision correction and cataract surgery with premium intraocular lens implantation. He hopes to expand Yale-New Haven's clinical expertise in treating patients with myopia, hyperopia, presbyopia and astigmatism.
Dr. Lee's research interests include the assessment of new technologies in refractive surgery, new corneal transplantation procedures for Fuch's Dystrophy, endothelial keratoplasty, femtosecond laser for corneal transplantation, limbal stem cell transplantation, and artificial corneas. All these techniques improve recovery times and enhance visual acuity for patients suffering from challenging corneal and cataract abnormalities. Dr. Lee is also working on improved therapy for patients with dry eye syndrome, and to help patients recover from the discomfort due to limited tear production.
Dr. Lee received his BA from Johns Hopkins University and his medical degree from Cornell University Medical College. He completed his residency in ophthalmology at the Albert Einstein Montefiore Medical Center. A member of the American Academy of Ophthalmology and American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery, he has published many peer-reviewed articles and is a scientific reviewer for numerous ophthalmologic journals.
Yale-New Haven Hospital is a 944-bed, not-for-profit hospital serving as the primary teaching hospital for the Yale School of Medicine. Yale-New Haven was founded as the fourth voluntary hospital in the U.S. in 1826 and today, the hospital complex includes Yale-New Haven Children's Hospital and Yale-New Haven Psychiatric Hospital, with a combined medical staff of about 3,400 university and community physicians practicing in more than 100 specialties. Visit www.ynhh.org for additional information.