Dr. med. Victor Derhartunian, FEBO, FWCRS

Refractive surgeon, founder and medical director of the SwissLaser clinics in Warsaw and Krakow and the EyeLaser clinics in Vienna and Zurich. One of Europe’s most experienced specialists in laser vision correction, an expert in lenticule surgery (SmartSight), laser correction of presbyopia (PresbyMAX), lens surgery and the treatment of keratoconus. He heads four SCHWIND reference centres (Zurich, Vienna, Warsaw, Krakow) and trains eye surgeons from all over the world.

Experience in numbers

• more than 25,000 laser vision correction procedures (counted per eye)
• approx. 6,000 SmartSight lenticule extraction procedures, including approx. 1,800 with the latest SmartSight Nova method
• approx. 1,000 patients with presbyopia treated with the PresbyMAX® method
• approx. 1,500 phakic lens implantations (ICL)
• Cross-linking procedures for keratoconus performed since 2007
• in 2025 he trained surgeons from 13 countries in laser lenticule extraction

From student of the pioneers to mentor of the world’s elite

In refractive surgery there are doctors who use technology – and those who help shape it. Dr Victor Derhartunian belongs to the second group. He trained under the giants of the field: Prof. Theo Seiler (IROC Zürich), the pioneer of refractive surgery and inventor of the Cross-linking method, and Prof. Thomas Kohnen (University Eye Clinic, Frankfurt). Today he passes that knowledge on himself – not only as a surgeon, but as a mentor.

The clinics under his direction – in Zurich, Vienna, Warsaw and Krakow – hold the status of official SCHWIND reference centres. This means that ophthalmologists from all over the world come here to learn the latest techniques of laser lenticule extraction (SmartSight) and laser correction of presbyopia (PresbyMAX). In 2025 alone, Dr Derhartunian trained surgeons from 13 countries, including the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Germany, Hungary and Serbia.

“When I train a surgeon from London or Riyadh, I am indirectly helping thousands of patients around the world to see better. That high standard then flows into every single procedure in our clinics.”

Dr Victor Derhartunian

Medical specialisations and innovations

SmartSight – the third generation of laser vision correction

Correction without a corneal flap, through a minimal “keyhole” incision. In the latest variant, SmartSight Nova, the CenTrax® system automatically controls cyclotorsion – even when the eye rotates in the lying position, the laser hits the axis of astigmatism precisely.

Presbyopia: reversible and biological

For patients over 45 who find reading glasses a burden, Dr Derhartunian – as one of only a few pioneers worldwide – offers the biological implant Allotex TransForm™ made from human donor tissue: a method that does not permanently alter the anatomy of the eye and is fully reversible. The alternative is PresbyMAX® laser correction, which increases depth of focus.

Corneal reconstruction (CAIRS)

For patients with keratoconus he uses CAIRS – intracorneal ring segments made of natural donor tissue instead of synthetic plastic rings. It is a regenerative method of the highest class that often makes it possible to avoid a corneal transplant.

Education and professional career

• 2002 – medical degree, Faculty of Medicine, University of Vienna
• 2008 – specialisation in ophthalmology: university eye clinics in Erlangen and Frankfurt am Main, plus a placement in the United Kingdom
• 2009 – FEBO title (Fellow of the European Board of Ophthalmology), Paris
• 2009–2013 – work in Switzerland: fellowship in refractive surgery at the IROC institute in Zurich under Prof. Theo Seiler – the pioneer of refractive surgery and inventor of the Cross-linking method – and at the Pallas clinics
• fellowship under Prof. Thomas Kohnen (University Eye Clinic, Frankfurt) and Dr Jerry Tan (Singapore) – corneal topography and lens surgery
• 2012 – founding of his own refractive surgery clinic, EyeLaser, in Vienna
• 2016 – opening of the EyeLaser laser surgery centre in Zurich
• 2019 – return to his Polish roots: founding of the SwissLaser clinic in Warsaw, followed by Krakow
• FWCRS title – Fellow of the World College of Refractive Surgery & Visual Sciences

Scientific publications (selection)

Dr Derhartunian is a co-author of publications in peer-reviewed ophthalmology journals, including:

• Haidari H, Derhartunian V, Magnago T, Lengle MC, Arba-Mosquera S: Effective optical and treatment zone analysis after lenticule extraction, Heliyon 2025 (PubMed)
• Pradhan KR, Derhartunian V, Arba-Mosquera S: To Dose or Not to Dose, Is That the Question?, Journal of Refractive Surgery 2025 (PubMed)
• Janiszewska-Bil D, Kijonka M et al.: Enhancing Safety in Refractive Surgery: A Pilot Evaluation of In Vivo Confocal Microscopy, Journal of Clinical Medicine 2025 (PubMed)
• Haidari H, Derhartunian V, Arba-Mosquera S: Method to determine the centration of a lenticule of tissue extracted from a cornea, Biomedical Optics Express 2023 (PubMed)
• Seiler TG, Fischinger I, Koller T, Derhartunian V, Seiler T: Superficial corneal crosslinking during laser in situ keratomileusis, Journal of Cataract & Refractive Surgery 2015 (PubMed)
• Kohnen T, Klaproth OK, Derhartunian V, Kook D: Ergebnisse von 308 konsekutiven Femtosekundenlaserschnitten für die LASIK, Der Ophthalmologe 2010 (PubMed)
• Kohnen T, Kook D, Auffarth GU, Derhartunian V: Einsatzmöglichkeiten intraokularer Multifokallinsen und Kriterien der Patientenselektion, Der Ophthalmologe 2008 (PubMed)
• Kohnen T, Derhartunian V: Apodisierte Diffraktionsoptik – neues Konzept in der Multifokallinsentechnologie, Der Ophthalmologe 2007 (PubMed)

Lectures and training activity (2025)

• Kyiv (USCRS, online): Lenticular Extraction with ATOS Femtosecond Laser
• London (AECOS): Reproducibility of KLEx in Different Settings
• Nuremberg (DOC): Laser-Lentikel-Extraktion – Die 3. Generation and Wann LASIK, wann KLEx?
• Copenhagen (IPS): Allogenic Corneal Inlays: Emerging Innovations
• Bangkok (SCHWIND User Meeting): Advanced ATOS Strategies and Retreatment after KLEx
• Presentation of the SCHWIND ATOS laser at the ESCRS congress in Vienna (2023)

Memberships in scientific societies

• European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons (ESCRS)
• International Society of Refractive Surgery (ISRS)
• Deutsche Ophthalmologische Gesellschaft (DOG)
• Österreichische Ophthalmologische Gesellschaft (ÖOG)
• Schweizerische Ophthalmologische Gesellschaft (SOG)
• American-European Congress of Ophthalmic Surgery (AECOS)

Awards and distinctions

• DocFinder Patients’ Choice Award 2013–2025 – awarded on the basis of patient ratings; Dr Derhartunian regularly ranks among the top three ophthalmologists in Austria
• The clinics under his direction hold the status of a SCHWIND reference centre (Zurich, Vienna, Warsaw, Krakow)

Charitable work

In 2009–2010 Dr Derhartunian took part in eye camps in India, performing cataract surgery on patients in Jaipur and the province of Rajasthan.

Languages

Dr Derhartunian personally consults mainly complex and difficult cases – in Polish, German, English and French, with some Russian. Standard qualification visits are carried out by the experienced SwissLaser clinical team.

Frequently asked questions about Dr Derhartunian

Qualification visits at the SwissLaser and EyeLaser clinics are also carried out by experienced doctors – selected and trained by Dr Victor Derhartunian. Each case – together with the examination results, indications and proposed treatment method – is then individually verified by him. The final decision on qualification for surgery and the choice of method is made under Dr Derhartunian’s supervision. This ensures a consistent care pathway and an additional layer of medical oversight.