Leslie W. Jacobson, M.D.

Leslie Walter Jacobson, M.D., F.A.C.S., was born and raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is a graduate of the University of Minnesota, receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1954, Bachelor of Science degree in 1955 and his Medical degree in 1958. After a general internship at Hennepin County General Hospital in Minneapolis, he spent 2 ½ years as a Captain in the U.S. Army, both overseas and domestically and was awarded the Army Commendation Medal. He returned to the University of Minnesota, where he completed a Fellowship in Ophthalmology 1965. He started his practice at 6533 Drew Avenue South in Edina, where he practices to this day.

Dr. Jacobson is Board Certified in Ophthalmology and is a member of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, Minnesota Academy of Ophthalmology, American College of Surgeons, American Medical Association, Minnesota State Medical Association, Hennepin County Medical Society and the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery.

In 1992, he was featured in the first “Top Doctor’s “ issue of the Minneapolis/St. Paul magazine. He has been on the teaching staff of the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Minnesota since 1965 where he is currently an Adjunct Professor of Ophthalmology. Dr. Jacobson is on the medical staffs of Abbott-Northwestern Hospital, Phillips Eye Institute and Fairview Southdale Hospital.

He and his wife, Cathy, have one son, two daughters and three grandsons. Dr. Jacobson has many avocations, which include flying his own aircraft (having obtained both his instrument and land and sea ratings), hunting and fishing, playing racquetball, downhill skiing and traveling.

Raymond C. Croissant, M.D.
MEDICAL/SURGICAL PRACTICE

Dr. Croissant is a comprehensive ophthalmologist who performs diagnostic, preventive, and routine eye exams, and treats most eye diseases. His areas of special interest are cataracts and implants, refractive surgery and LASIK, and prevention and control of glaucoma.

Refractive surgery and LASIK have rapidly developed into state-of-the-art technology, offering exciting results to properly selected patients. While the procedures work for many individuals, each patient must be carefully examined and must deliberately consider the risk/benefit factors before committing to having the treatments. Dr. Croissant and his staff emphasize educating the patients about the pros and cons of refractive surgery. He has been performing LASIK since early 1999.

Like refractive surgery, cataract surgery and implants are microsurgical techniques. Currently, Dr. Croissant utilizes the clear cornea, suture less technique, spherical and toric implants, and topical anesthesia (as opposed to injecting Novocain-like medicines.)

Glaucoma is almost always silent and can seriously damage vision unless it is detected early. Many treatments are now available, including numerous eye drops, laser, and microsurgery. Each patient must be carefully monitored for response to treatment. The doctor must be ever-vigilant for the need to change treatment modalities if the condition changes.

Dr. Croissant operates primarily at Fairview Southdale Hospital.

The American Board of Ophthalmology has certified Dr. Croissant. He has served as a director on the State Affairs Committee of the American Academy of Ophthalmology and was Minnesota’s Councilor to the American Academy of Ophthalmology. He is on the Board of Directors of the Minnesota Academy of Ophthalmology, and has served as that organization’s president for a number of years.

EDUCATION
Dr. Croissant graduated from Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland. At Western Reserve he was elected to Alpha Omega Alpha, the Honor Medical Society.

After an internship in Cleveland, Ohio, he joined the U.S. Public Health Service, Division of Tuberculosis Control. He was assigned to Puerto Rico where he spent two very rewarding years treating tuberculosis patients. Dr. Croissant especially enjoyed the opportunity to live in a Latin American culture and to learn the Spanish language.

Dr. Croissant completed a four-year course of study in the specialty of Ophthalmology at the University of Minnesota, and then he joined Southdale Eye Clinic. Board Certification was granted shortly after.

PERSONAL
Dr. Croissant is a long-time resident of the Twin Cities. He was born in New England and was the eldest of eight children. His father was an officer in the U.S. Army, so his boyhood was spent all over the U.S. from New England to California. He went to Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, where he majored in biology and minored in chemistry. For a foreign language he studied Italian, the language of his mother’s family. At Western Reserve he was elected to Beta Beta Beta, the biology honorary, and to Phi Sigma Lota, the Romance language honorary. He also was a starter on the school’s football team, playing offensive guard and linebacker.

He met his wife, Mara, in college and they were married after his 2nd year of medical school. Mara is a registered nurse. They have two grown daughters, Christine and Lisa, and three young grandchildren.

Dr. Croissant enjoys outdoor sports, skiing, his Northwoods cabin in winter and summer, and working with his computer.

Martin B. Kaplan, M.D.
Dr. Kaplan has practiced comprehensive Ophthalmology and Ophthalmic surgery for over 30 years. His practice includes treatment of medical eye diseases, surgical and laser treatment of Glaucoma, and cataract and refractive surgery. He is Board Certified by the American Board of Ophthalmology and is certified by VISX® on their state of the art laser for refractive surgery.

Dr. Kaplan grew up in the Twin Cities, earning his medical degree from the University of Minnesota. He received his Ophthalmology training at the internationally recognized Wills Eye Hospital in Philadelphia. He also served in the United States Air Force as a Flight Surgeon for the USAF Thunderbird aerial demonstration team.

Dr. Kaplan served on the steering committee involved in the development of the Phillips Eye Institute and is presently on staff at that facility, as well as at Fairview Southdale Hospital. He was on the board of the Minnesota Academy of Ophthalmology for many years and served as president from 1992-1993. He has received the Physician Recognition Award from the American Medical Association every year since 1970. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, a member of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery, and is an Adjunct Professor of the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Minnesota Medical School.

N.J. Haddad, M.D.

Dr. Nick Haddad, a native of West Virginia, graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of West Virginia in 1959. In 1963, he completed his M.D. degree from the Jefferson Medical College of Philadelphia and went on to a Medical Internship at Temple University in Philadelphia, PA, a residency in Neurology at Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, D.C. and finished with an Ophthalmology residency at the renowned Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN.

Dr. Haddad became a Board Certified ophthalmologist in 1973 and in 1976 was elected as the Junior Examiner to the American Board of Ophthalmology. Active in teaching students, Dr. Haddad is an Adjunct Professor of Ophthalmology at the University of Minnesota Medical School. Currently he is on staff at Fairview Southdale Hospital, Abbott Northwestern Hospital and Phillips Eye Institute. He is also a member of the American Medical Association, Minnesota Medical Association, American Academy of Ophthalmology and the Minnesota Association of Ophthalmology. He currently is continuing his career as a comprehensive ophthalmologist at Southdale Eye Clinic.

He and his wife, Pat, have two sons, two daughters and two grandchildren. Dr. Haddad enjoys golfing and is an avid gardener.

Stephen B. Leverentz, M.D.
Dr. Leverentz is a Board Certified ophthalmologist with over 20 years of anterior segment ocular surgery and laser experience. He received his medical and specialty training at the University of Minnesota. He and his partners at Southdale Eye Clinic have approached the field of Refractive Surgery carefully and deliberately.

Dorothy J. Horns, M.D.
Dr. Horns is a Board Certified Ophthalmologist and received her degree from Harvard Medical School. She specializes in surgery of the anterior segment of the eye and has been performing laser surgery for more than twenty years. Dr. Horns currently practices at Southdale Eye Clinic.

Mark Lewis Norman III, M.D.
Mark Lewis Norman III, M.D., featured in every “Top Doctor” issue of the renowned Minneapolis/St. Paul magazine is popular with both patients and peers. A comprehensive ophthalmic practitioner since 1983, he specializes in the latest cataract, pediatric, and refractive surgeries. He is Board Certified by the American Academy of Ophthalmologists and VISX® certified on the VISX’s state-of-the-art Star 2 scanning laser, which helps correct nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism.

Dr. Norman was elected Chief of Staff in 1995 of Minneapolis’ celebrated Phillips Eye Institute. He also has staff appointments to Riverside Medical Center, Abbott Northwestern Hospital, both in Minneapolis and Fairview Southdale in Edina. Additionally, he is a Clinical Instructor in Family Practice at the University of Minnesota School of Medicine.

Born and reared in the Twin Cities, Dr. Norman received his Bachelor of Science, Summa Cum Laude, from the University of St. Thomas where he majored in biology and minored in chemistry. Completing his medical training for his medical degree at St. Louis ( Missouri) University, he served two internships, one in the Department of Neurosurgery and the second in the Department of Internal Medicine at St. Louis University Hospitals. His residency in ophthalmology was at the University’s Bethesda Eye Institute where he was named Chief Resident in his third year.

Dr. Norman is an avid outdoorsman, enjoying jogging and rollerblading with his dogs. He and his wife, Polly, a photographer and artist, have two sons.

George O. Hilgermann, M.D.
Dr. Hilgermann is a Board Certified Ophthalmologist with many years of experience in cataract surgery, glaucoma surgery, strabismus surgery and laser surgery. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Minnesota, his M.D. from the Wisconsin College of Medicine and his specialty training in Ophthalmology at the University of Minnesota. He spent two years as a Naval Medical Officer, serving both the Navy and the Air Force.

For many years he has been on the teaching staff of the Department of Ophthalmology of the University of Minnesota and at the Hennepin County General Hospital as a Clinical Associate Professor of Ophthalmology. He is currently on the staff of Abbott-Northwestern Hospital. He is on the honorary staff of Phillips Eye Institute, Fairview Southdale and Hennepin County Hospitals. He has also been on the staff of Methodist Hospital, North Memorial Hospital and Minneapolis Children’s Hospital.

He is a member of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, Minnesota Academy of Ophthalmology, American College of Surgeons, American Medical Association, Minnesota State Medical Association and the Hennepin County Medical Society.

Nathan B. Reader, M.D.
Nathan Reader, M.D. practices comprehensive ophthalmology and has experience with the diagnosis and treatment of eye disease including medical and laser treatment of retinal disease. He has extensive training in cataract, lens implant, laser, glaucoma, and other anterior segment surgery. Dr. Reader is certified to perform custom LASIK vision correction surgery using the VISX excimer laser. Dr. Reader also has a special interest in eyelid and upper facial plastic and reconstructive surgery.

Dr. Reader graduated from the University of Minnesota with a BS in Biochemistry. He received his Doctor of Medicine degree from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri, one of the top ranked medical schools in the country. While there, he was elected to the Alpha Omega Alpha honor medical society. Dr. Reader completed an internship at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis, followed by residency in ophthalmology at the University of Minnesota where he won the oculoplastics award, given to the resident who has shown outstanding skills and aptitude in the areas of ophthalmic plastics and reconstructive surgery. He has done research in the areas of eye movement disorders, neurology, genetics, and fluid mechanics.

Dr. Reader is a board eligible member of the American Academy of Ophthalmology and is also a member of the Minnesota Academy of Ophthalmology and the Minnesota Medical Association. He lives in southwest Minneapolis with his wife and two sons.

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