Dr. Neal Andrew Sher, MD

A native of New York, Dr. Sher received his M.D. degree with honors from Boston University School of Medicine. He completed his internship in at the University of Minnesota Hospitals. After internship, he fulfilled his military service as a commissioned officer in the US Public Health Service and was assigned to do cancer and immunology research for three years at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. He returned to Minneapolis to complete an ophthalmology residency at the University of Minnesota Hospitals. After three and half years of residency, he travelled to London, UK for additional fellowship training in corneal and external eye disease at prestigious Moorfields Eye Hospital of the University of London. Dr. Sher became Board certified by the American Board of Ophthalmology and a Fellow of the American Academy of Ophthalmology as well as the American College of Surgeons (FACS). Honored for Donating Laser Vision Correction to Our Troops In a combat zone, …contact lenses and eyeglasses can cause serious problems for soldiers and increase their risk of injury. In 2004, Dr. Sher began providing PRK laser eye surgery free of charge to service men and women heading to war. He has been performing this service for more than six years, and has treated nearly 600 soldiers. For his gift of improved vision to our troops, in 2008, Dr. Sher was awarded the Medallion of Excellence, along with a personal letter of commendation from General David Petraeus, Commander, U.S. Central Command in Iraq and Afghanistan. He was also honored in 2010 with a proclamation from the Governor of South Dakota for improving the vision of South Dakota National Guard personnel, deploying in war zones. Dr. Sher is very proud to have received numerous flags and mementos from grateful soldiers, their families and commanding officers. Most of these items are displayed in his Minneapolis office and all are considered important reminders of the need to continue to support our troops. “It is a great honor to help the wonderful men and women in our armed forces improve their vision and help them complete their mission more safely." – Dr. Sher In 2010, Minnesota Physician magazine recognized Dr. Sher as an Outstanding Community Caregiver for his work with our troops. Dr. Sher specializes in corneal surgery and laser vision correction surgery. Over the last 25 years, he has performed thousands of laser vision correction procedures and is internationally recognized as a leader in the field of refractive surgery. Dr. Sher has been named Top Doctor by Minneapolis/St. Paul Magazine many times and has also been awarded the prestigious Troutman Award by the International Society for Refractive Surgery and subsequently elected to its Board. Besides laser vision correction, Dr. Sher's practice also includes the re-treatments of prior LASIK/PRK or RK, routine comprehensive medical eye exams, treatment of corneal and external eye diseases, eye infections, corneal dystrophy, conjunctivitis, allergy eyes, glaucoma, corneal surgery and transplantation, keratoconus and uveitis. He also performs exams for eyeglasses and contacts. In 1984, Dr. Sher and his colleagues at Eye Care Associates became founding members of the renowned Phillips Eye Institute (PEI) and was a former Chief of Ophthalmology at the PEI. He continues to perform his refractive surgeries at this prestigious facility, the only specialty eye hospital in the upper Midwest. Dr. Sher was one of the first surgeons in the world to perform laser vision correction and phototherapeutic keratectomy (PTK) over two decades ago. He made significant contributions to the initial research on excimer laser corneal surgery and participated in the earliest clinical trials of this new technology and hold several patents for inventions relating to refractive surgery techniques and devices.