Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences

"My goal is to provide the best medical and surgical retina care in a compassionate environment where the patient is my primary focus. I believe in tailoring a specific treatment for every patient according to individual needs and the advancements in science and technology."

To Schedule an Appointment with Dr. Schaal call (502) 852-5466 or (502) 897-9881

Dr. Schaal's main clinical attention is surgical and medical treatment of vitreoretinal diseases. Retinal diseases vary widely; some are common and easily solved, while others are rare, more difficult to diagnose and require more complex treatment. Dr. Schaal is skilled in differentiating these diseases, and then designing a treatment plan that slows or stops the disease and preserves as much vision as possible. Dr. Schaal specializes in the treatment of the following conditions:

• Retinal detachment - a significant eye disease that requires urgent treatment
  
• Diabetic retinopathy - one of the ocular complications of diabetes mellitus
  
• Epiretinal membrane - a scar tissue that grows on the retina and impairs vision
  
• Macular hole - a hole at the area of the retina that is responsible for central vision
• Age-related macular degeneration - the major cause of decreased central or reading vision in people over the age of 60.
  
• Vascular occlusive disorders - interruption in the blood flow to the retina

Treatment of these disorders may incorporate taking oral medications, using lasers or performing microsurgery. Dr. Schaal makes a special effort to explain each phase of diagnosis and treatment of the disease to her patients. She is actively involved in teaching residents at the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences residency program. Dr. Schaal has established her laboratory at the University of Louisville. Her main research focus is the understanding of the molecular mechanisms and developing future treatment options for age related macular degeneration and diabetic eye disease. Dr. Schaal has made numerous national and international scientific presentations.

Assistant Professor, Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences

Surgical and Medical Treatment of Vitreoretinal Diseases

Kentucky
Indiana
Israel

s.schaal@louisville.edu

Research Website

Laboratory of Shlomit Schaal, M.D., Ph.D.

Education

1988-1992 B.Sc. Medical Sciences, Technion Israel Institute of Technology (Summa cum Laude)
1992-1995 M.D. Medical Sciences, Technion Israel Institute of Technology (Summa cum Laude)
2000-2006 Ph.D. Medical Sciences, Technion Israel Institute of Technology
2000-2005 Residency in Ophthalmology, Rambam Medical Center, Haifa, Israel
2005-2006 Post doctoral research fellowship, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY
2006-2008 Fellowship in vitreoretinal surgery, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY

Professional Societies and Affiliations

American Academy of Ophthalmology
Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology
International Society for Eye Research
American Medical Association
American Society of Retina Specialists
Kentucky Academy of Eye Physician and Surgeons
Louisville Academy of Ophthalmology
Research to Prevent Blindness

Select Publications

Schaal S, Beiran I, Rubinstein I, Miller B, Dovrat A. Lenticular Oxygen Toxicity. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 44(8):3476-3484, 2003

Schaal S, Beiran I, Rubinstein I, Miller B, Dovrat A. Oxygen effect on ocular lens. Harefuah. 144(11):777-82, 2005

Schaal S, Beiran I, Bormusov E, Chevion M, Dovrat A. Zinc-desferrioxamine reduces damage to lenses exposed to hyperbaric oxygen and has an ameliorative effect on catalase and Na, K-ATPase activities. Exp Eye Res. 84(3):455-63, 2007

Schaal S, Beiran I, Rozner H, Rubinstein I, Chevion M, Miller B, Dovrat A. Desferrioxamine and zinc-desferrioxamine reduce lens oxidative damage. Exp Eye Res. 84(3):561-8, 2007

Tezel TH, Geng L, Bodek E, Schaal S, Liu R, Dean DC, Klein JB, Kaplan HJ. Synthesis and secretion of hemoglobin by retinal pigment epithelial cells. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. in press.

Schaal S, Kaplan HJ, Tezel TH. Is there tachyphylaxis to intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor pharmacotheraphy in age-related macular degeneration? Ophthalmology.115(12):2199-2205,2008.

Schaal S, Tezel TH, Kaplan HJ. Surgical Intervention in Refractory CME - Role of Posterior Hyaloid Separation and Internal Limiting Membrane Peeling. Ocul Immunol Inflamm, 16(5):209-10,2008.

Schaal S, Schiff WM, Tezel TH. Simultaneous appearance of multiple evanescent white-dot syndrome and multifocal choroiditis indicate a common causal relationship. Ocul Immunol Inflamm, 2008; in press

Schaal S, Tezel TH. Solubilization of Bruch's membrane proteins for two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and proteomic analysis Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci, 2008; in preparation

Chapters in Books

Shlomit Schaal MD, PhD and Henry J Kaplan MD. Uveitis Diagnosis and Management. Pocket Medicine 2006. (Publisher - Lewis Reines)

Shlomit Schaal MD, PhD and Henry J Kaplan MD. Syphilitic Uveitis - A Possible Manifestation of Tertiary Syphilis. In: Uveitis Handbook 2007. (Publisher - Gunes Tip Kitabevleri)

Shlomit Schaal MD, PhD and Henry J Kaplan MD. Anterior Uveitis. In: Ocular Therapeutics Handbook 2007. (Publisher - Lippincott Williams & Wilkins)

Shlomit Schaal MD, PhD and Henry J Kaplan MD. Clinical Immunology: Hypersensitivity Reactions. In: Duane Ophthalmology 2008. (Publisher - Lippincott Williams & Wilkins)

Shlomit Schaal MD, PhD and Henry J Kaplan MD. Intermediate Uveitis. In: Intraocular Inflammation 2008. (Publisher - Springer)