Thomas Lazzarini, MD

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Thomas Lazzarini, MD

Fellowship	Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, Miami, FL
Residency	Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, Miami, FL
Internship	Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, Torrance, CA
MD	Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT
BS	Yale College, New Haven, CT
Board Certified	American Board of Ophthalmology, 2022

“Dr. Lazzarini started seeing my 78-year-old mom after she suddenly realized she’d lost vision in one eye. Wonderful credentials aside, he is the kindest, most compassionate doctor we’ve ever encountered. His patience and dedication are unparalleled, as he takes the time to carefully perform studies, review and compare images, provide detailed explanations of what is happening inside the eye and the reasons for his recommended treatment. Most importantly, he truly cares about you as a patient and as a human being. In the midst of such incredibly sad news as being blind in one eye, we feel so blessed to have found such an amazing doctor to take care of her good eye for years to come. Thank you, Dr. Lazzarini!”

RCSD Patient Review

Thomas Lazzarini, MD grew up in the San Gabriel Valley in Los Angeles County. He received his B.S. in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry from Yale College while also captaining the Yale Club Water Polo team and earning New England Division MVP and All-American honors. After college, he spent a year in rural Borneo, Indonesia studying the impact of illegal logging on human and environmental health. Prior to medical school, he performed research in a neuroscience laboratory at the Salk Institute in La Jolla, joining his high school sweetheart and now wife, Melissa, who was attending UCSD at that time. It was during this time that they first fell in love with San Diego.

He returned to Yale for Medical School, where he graduated cum laude. He was initially considering psychiatry, but after assisting with a cataract surgery during his surgical rotation, he realized that his future lay in ophthalmic surgery. He completed his ophthalmology residency at the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute — ranked #1 by U.S. News & World Report — in Miami, where his work in the Eye Emergency Department sparked a passion for retinal pathology and medicine. There, he gained hands-on experience lasering retinal tears, managing ocular trauma, and treating complications from diabetic retinopathy. He went on to complete both his vitreoretinal surgical fellowship and chief residency at Bascom Palmer, during which time he also served as Co-Director of Ocular Trauma for Miami-Dade County. During his fellowship, Dr. Lazzarini earned first place in a retinal surgery video competition for his footage of a large intraocular foreign body extraction following a motor vehicle accident.

Dr. Lazzarini lives in North County with his wife and three young children. When he is not in clinic or the operating room, he enjoys scootering and biking with his children, family time at the beach, surfing, and gardening.