Thomas R. Mazzocco, MD was born in 1933 in Canyon, WV, a small coal mining camp near Morgantown. He entered West Virginia University in 1951, entered the medical school in 1953, and received an A.B. in 1954, and a B.S. and M.S. in 1955. He transferred to Washington University in St. Louis where he earned his medical degree in 1957.
After completing an internship at the Washington, DC General Hospital, he entered general practice in Laurel, MD. He was drafted into the military and joined the United States Public Health Service (USPHS) in the Air Pollution Medical Program, where he served two years performing epidemiological studies. He then completed a residency in ophthalmology at the USPHS Hospital in San Francisco.
Dr Mazzocco entered private practice in San Francisco and soon became a member of the clinical faculty at University of California at San Francisco, directing UCSF medical school contact lens clinic. He became a Clinical Professor in 1981.
In 1973, he joined Dr. Richard Kratz in Van Nuys, CA. Dr Kratz was then a pioneer developer of Kelman phacoemulsification cataract surgery. Drs. Mazzocco and Kratz began combining posterior chamber intraocular lens implantation with phacoemulsification in the early 1970s and persisted with the technique until it fell out of favor due to the need to enlarge the wound for lens insertion. Together, they demonstrated the technique to hundreds of surgeons during those years. Dr. Kratz moved to Newport in 1981 and Dr. Mazzocco assumed the practice in Van Nuys.
Dr. Mazzocco developed the first folding implant (“Mazzocco taco lens”) to take advantage of the small incision of phacoemulsification. He built one of the first Medicare Certified ambulatory surgery centers. It had three operating rooms and through-the-microscope video taping, which allowed observation of procedures in waiting rooms. He inserted the first folding lens at his ambulatory surgical center in 1984. He was the cofounder of STAAR Surgical Company, which produced the lenses and folders for the new technology.
In 1985, Mazzocco instituted one of the earliest, real-time medical record computerization systems, producing the so-called paperless office. All appointments, records, and accounting were kept on a computer. Patient histories and findings were entered using a unique alpha-numeric menu system, which was unparalleled for speed and accuracy at the time of introduction.
In 1995 Dr. George Rajacich assumed the clinical and surgical practice, and Dr. Mazzocco reduced his activity to performing the duties of Medical Director of the ambulatory surgical center.
Dr Mazzocco is an avid golfer. He patented a telescopic golf shaft used in the only golf club with a moving part to be deemed “conforming” by the USGA and the R & A. He is also a pilot and commuted by plane from home in Healdsburg, CA to Van Nuys for more than 20 years. He started a small family winery in Healdsburg in 1980 and produced about 15,000 cases per year of premium wines. He is married and has three grown daughters.
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