With advanced training in two subspecialties, Dr. Ducker offers patients access to cutting-edge surgical techniques and innovative vision correction options.
“I have a really broad and deep set of skills, and I am not ready to prune any of them off,” he says.
Dr. Ducker earned his medical degree at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland, Ohio. He went on to complete a medicine internship at the Cleveland Clinic, followed by his ophthalmology surgical residency at the University of Minnesota, in his hometown.
He completed an additional dedicated year of training in glaucoma management and surgery at the University of Missouri. He completed his training with another year at the University of Missouri focusing on corneal transplant, keratoconus, ocular surface cancers, limbal stem cell deficiency, LASIK and PRK.
Dr. Ducker’s corneal surgery experience encompasses a wide range of partial transplants that restore vision and quality of life for patients: endothelial keratoplasties, anterior lamellar keratoplasties, and penetrating keratoplasties.
He enjoys treating keratoconus, a progressive eye condition in which the cornea thins and bulges into a cone shape. A genetic condition that tends to develop in adolescence, it can lead to blurry, distorted vision, nearsightedness, and light sensitivity.
“There’s a lot of new technology to really help them that I’d like to bring to UTMB. Your medical therapy typically is happening in your 20s and 30s ideally,” he explains. “It’s different than transplant patients who have Fuch’s Dystrophy, for example, which is the most common transplant indication. Those are older people in their 60s or 70s.”
Dr. Ducker considers himself a cornea surgeon first and a glaucoma surgeon second in terms of how he prefers his practice to look, but he emphasizes that he is a complete glaucoma surgeon with a skillset comparable to his peers within the subspecialty.
His interest centers on modern technologies for glaucoma treatment – like tube shunt, in which a tiny flexible tube is implanted to drain excess fluid and relieve pressure; and minimally invasive glaucoma surgery (MIGS), advanced procedures that employ microscopic tools and tiny incisions to lower eye pressure and reduce optic nerve damage.
Dr. Ducker is equally passionate about refractive surgery, enjoying LASIK and PRK – both components of his fellowship training. He hopes to expand UTMB’s offerings in this area, including introducing implantable collamer lenses (ICL), a procedure that is reversible, unlike LASIK.
While his subspecialties are highly specialized, Dr. Ducker emphasizes that cataract surgery also remains central to his practice as a comprehensive ophthalmologist.
“I love cataract surgery. It’s the best procedure in all of ophthalmology. Most of the surgery we do is cataract surgery, even if we are subspecialized in cornea and glaucoma,” he says.
 | Laurence Ducker, MD, sees patients at the UTMB Health Eye Center locations in Friendswood, Town Center, and Galveston. Learn more about Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences at UTMB. |