Dr. Karl Stonecipher

Dr. Karl G. Stonecipher is a cornea and refractive surgery specialist and the Director of Laser Defined Vision in Greensboro, North Carolina, which he founded in 2005. Prior to that, he served as Director of the Southeastern Laser and Refractive Center in Greensboro from 1991 to 2005. In 2010, he joined Piedmont Eye Surgical and Laser Center as a consultant and surgeon.

Dr. Stonecipher is a Clinical Professor of Ophthalmology at the University of North Carolina and a Clinical Adjunct Professor of Ophthalmology at Tulane University, where he helps train residents in refractive and refractive cataract surgery. He also serves as Medical Director for Laser Defined Vision, Physicians Protocol Research, and Self Skin Care.

Outside of his professional work, Dr. Stonecipher enjoys spending time with his wife of 39 years, Lynne; his son, Kody; and his daughter and son-in-law, Megan and Nathan—often cheering on UNC football and basketball. In his free time, he is an avid water skier, snow skier, and golfer.

Dr. Stonecipher earned dual undergraduate degrees in Biology and Chemistry from Southern Methodist University and received his medical degree from the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. He completed his Ophthalmology residency at Tulane University, followed by an 18-month cornea and refractive surgery fellowship under Dr. J. James Rowsey at the McGee Eye Institute. Before entering practice at Southeastern Eye Center in 1991, he also received advanced basic science training at Stanford University and the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology.

Over his career, Dr. Stonecipher has performed more than 86,000 refractive surgical procedures and 46,000 cataract surgeries. He has authored or co-authored over 200 publications, including books, book chapters, abstracts, and articles, with more than 1,200 citations, placing him among the top 5% of ophthalmologists worldwide. He lectures nationally and internationally on refractive, cataract, presbyopic, and corneal surgery and has delivered over ten named keynote lectures.

Board-certified by the American Board of Ophthalmology, Dr. Stonecipher has been a proud member of the International Intraocular Implant Club for over fifteen years. His professional memberships also include the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the International Society for Refractive Surgeons, the World College of Refractive Surgery, the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery, and the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery.

He is currently involved in FDA clinical trials focused on corneal, cataract, presbyopic, and refractive surgery. Dr. Stonecipher has received three Achievement Awards from the American Academy of Ophthalmology and has been recognized multiple times for his leadership in the field. He is consistently named among the Top 50 Ophthalmologists by Cataract and Refractive Surgery Today, is listed in Who’s Who in Ophthalmology, has been one of America’s Top Doctors for over twenty years, and has been recognized as one of America’s Top Ophthalmologists for more than fifteen consecutive years. Most recently, Newsweek Magazine again named him among America’s Top Ophthalmologists.

He is proud to be a part of the Piedmont Eye Surgical and Laser Center team.