Steven P. Shearing, MD, dies

Las Vegas-Cataract surgery pioneer Steven P. Shearing, MD, died July 10 at the age of 76.

Dr. Shearing practiced ophthalmology in Las Vegas, where he founded the Shearing Eye Institute. In the 1970s, he developed an eponymously named and patented compressible posterior chamber IOL. The implant included flexible suspension loops to help keep it in place behind the iris, a design that transformed cataract surgery. He retired in 2000.

Over the course of his career, Dr. Shearing received many honors, being named Innovator of the Year in 1986 by the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery and Inventor of the Year in 1989 by the Nevada Assembly. In 1993, the University of California, San Francisco, established the Steven P. Shearing Chair of Ophthalmology. Dr. Shearing had completed his residency training there.

His wife of 50 years, Miriam Shearing, was the first woman elected as a justice to the Nevada Supreme Court. In addition to Miriam, he is survived by a son and two daughters.