Stephen S. Lane, M.D.

Refractive Surgery
Corneal & External Disease
Anterior Segment Surgery
Cataract Surgery

Dr. Lane was recently named a Top Doctor by U.S. News, including recognition in the top 1% of ophthalmologists. Read more.

In 2010, Dr. Lane was named one of the "34 Best Ophthalmologists in America" by Becker's ASC Review! Read more.

Stephen S. Lane, M.D. joined Associated Eye Care, a multi-specialty ophthalmology practice in July 1985 after completing his medical school training at the University of Minnesota, a three year residency in Ophthalmology at Pennsylvania State University, and a one year post residency training fellowship in Cornea/ External disease and refractive surgery at the University of Minnesota. Dr. Lane is a board certified ophthalmologist and Adjunct Clinical professor of ophthalmology at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis Minnesota. Dr. Lane’s expertise is in cornea/external disease, anterior segment surgery and refractive surgery. In addition to his busy clinical practice Dr. Lane is actively involved in clinical research having participated in over 60 national clinical trials investigating new products for cataract and refractive surgery. Many of these trials have involved patients cared for at Associated Eye Care who have benefited from new innovative devices, and drugs long before they were available to the general public. Dr. Lane was one of the original clinical investigators in the FDA clinical trial examining the use of the excimer laser used in LASIK and has performed laser refractive surgery for over 15 years.

An active contributor to the ophthalmic community, Dr. Lane is a member of many national and Minnesota-based professional societies and on the editorial board of various scientific publications. Among his national memberships are the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery, of which he is a past president and currently sits on its board of directors, the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO), the International Society of Refractive Keratoplasty (Former Treasurer and Board of Directors) and the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology. Dr. Lane is a previous medical editor of EyeWorld and serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Cataract and Refractive Surgery, as well as several other non-peer reviewed ophthalmic magazines. He has been actively involved on several educational committees within the American Academy of Ophthalmology and served as Secretary of e-learning and e-education for the American Academy of Ophthalmology and served on the Board of Secretaries of the AAO. He is recognized in Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in the World and Best Doctors in America.

Teaching has always been an important aspect of Dr. Lane’s career. He instructs and teaches courses doctors in training, and is a frequent guest lecturer to his peers on cataract and refractive surgery both nationally and internationally. Dr. Lane has presented more than 20 named lectures and visiting professorships, and over 200 lectures and papers at national and international meetings as well as publishing more than 50 peer-reviewed ophthalmic papers. He has also written chapters for or served as co-author of 20 ophthalmic textbooks. In 1993, the American Academy of Ophthalmology presented Dr. Lane with the Honor Award for his teaching contributions. He also received the American Academy of Ophthalmology Senior Achievement Award, and Secretariat Award in 2002 for teaching and leadership. In 2011 Dr. Lane received the AAO’s highest educational award the Lifetime Achievement Award. Dr. Lane is a visiting faculty member of ORBIS International, which is involved in the teaching of specialized ophthalmic surgical techniques to physicians in Third World countries around the world. He has been on 18 of these medical missions throughout the world including Cuba, Mongolia, the Philippines, Jordan, Indonesia, Lithuania, and multiple countries in Asia and South America.

Dr. Lane has been married to his wife, Nancy, for 34 years and has three children: Molly, Jana, and Max. He has two grandchildren: Shey (4) and Owen (1), whom he loves to spoil every chance he gets. “If I knew how great being a grandparent was, I would have skipped the kids and gone right to grandchildren”, says Lane.

Dr. Lane also enjoys golf, skiing, travel, and reading in his spare time. A 6 handicap golfer, one of Dr. Lane’s proudest achievements is being named by Golf Digest as one of the top 100 golfing physicians in the United States.

“I have been truly blessed having a wonderful family, supportive partners, kind and caring friends and colleagues and grateful, appreciative patients. As a result I have been able to make “paying it forward” an important part of my life. Making a difference in the way we take care of patients by teaching my colleagues and introducing new technology to the profession I love makes getting up each morning exciting and fulfilling”.

Certification: American Board of Ophthalmology, 1986
Education: M.D., University of Minnesota, 1983

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