Meet Our Eye Physicians and Surgeons
Lance Turkish, M.D. grew up in Bayonne, New Jersey. He received his undergraduate degree (AB Chemistry) from Case Western Reserve University, graduated magna cum laude, and received the Charles Thwing Outstanding Senior Award. Dr. Turkish received his medical degree from Case Western Reserve University. After completing his surgical internship in the Tulane Division at the Charity Hospital of Louisiana, Dr. Turkish completed his residency in ophthalmology at New York Medical College/Flower and Fifth Avenue Hospital in New York, New York.
Following the completion of his residency, Dr. Turkish was the 18th Roland Horace Myers Memorial Fellow at the Vitreoretinal Research Foundation in Memphis, Tennessee where he completed his fellowship in diseases and surgery of the vitreous and retina. Dr. Turkish has been practicing in New Orleans since 1978. He was a co-investigator in the National Eye Institutes Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study which published numerous articles on the treatment of diabetic eye disease. He also served as the State Coordinator for Louisiana for the Diabetes 2000 program from its inception until its completion in 2000. Dr. Turkish is married to Karen Turkish, RN and has three children, Evan, Lainie and Hallie. |
Maria D. Bernal, M.D. is a native of New Orleans but grew up in Bogota, Colombia. She completed her ophthalmology residency at Louisiana State University (LSU)/Ochsner Clinic Foundation in New Orleans, during which she served as Chief Resident. She then completed a fellowship at the University of California San Francisco/ F. I. Proctor Foundation in San Francisco, CA where she trained in cornea, external diseases and uveitis. Dr. Bernal currently serves as Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology at the LSU Health Sciences Center and has received multiple awards for Outstanding Faculty Clinical Education.
Dr. Bernal's main ophthalmologic interests are medical and surgical management of corneal and uveitic diseases. Her specialty also includes performing complex corneal transplants such as DSAEK (Descemet's Striping Automated Endothelial Keratoplasty) and cataract surgery. |
Crystal Le, M.D., M.P.H. is a New Orleans native. She is a board certified and fellowship trained glaucoma specialist and cataract surgeon. After earning her Medical Doctorate and Master of Public Health in Global Health & Development, she undertook her Ophthalmology residency at Tulane University. Dr. Le went on to complete her clinical and surgical glaucoma fellowship at the University of California, San Francisco. Following her training, she served as an Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology at UCSF in addition to working in private practice. She is a member of the American Glaucoma Society and the American Academy of Ophthalmology.
In addition to passionately caring for her patients, Dr. Le is dedicated to research, medical education, and community service. She has many publications in respected peer-reviewed journals. She has presented her research at national and international meetings, including the American Academy of Ophthalmology and American Glaucoma Society meetings. At Tulane, Dr. Le was granted the Research Award of Excellence. As an Assistant Professor at UCSF, she was given a faculty teaching award for her devotion to education. Dr. Le has volunteered extensively, providing eye care to in need communities in rural Mexico and India. She continues her passion of providing care for disadvantaged communities by dedicating time at University Medical Center. Dr. Le values building meaningful relationships as the cornerstone to providing compassionate and comprehensive glaucoma care. Using a patient-centered approach, she strives to combine the most current evidence, state-of-the-art technologies, and precision surgical techniques to implement treatment plans tailored to each individual's specific needs. Dr. Crystal Le is accepting new patients. She is conversant in Vietnamese. |