Sanford Chen, MD

Sanford Chen, M.D. is a board-certified vitreoretinal surgeon who has been a partner at Orange County Retina since 1993.
Dr. Chen, a member of MENSA, received his medical degree at the age of 23 from an accelerated Premedical–Medical program at the University of Michigan. This was followed with an internship in internal medicine at Yale. Dr. Chen’s ophthalmology residency was completed at the Scheie Eye Institute – University of Pennsylvania. While performing his retina fellowship at the Massachusetts Eye Infirmary – Harvard Medical School, he was also granted an academic research fellowship at the Eye Research Institute.
Dr. Chen is a nationally and internationally recognized retina specialist who is actively involved in clinical research. He has participated as principal investigator in over 90 multicenter trials. Complimenting his research endeavors, Dr. Chen serves on numerous scientific advisory boards and is a frequent invited speaker at national and international conferences. He is also a consultant to many biotech, surgical, and pharmaceutical companies involved in the development of new treatments, surgical techniques, and instrumentation. He has particular expertise in age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, retinal vascular disease, and surgical management of macular pathology.
Dr. Chen is also a contributor to medical literature having authored abstracts, original papers, and book chapters. He serves as a scientific editorial reviewer for Ophthalmology, Archives of Ophthalmology, British Journal of Ophthalmology, and Journal of Vitreoretinal Surgery.
Dr. Chen has been widely recognized by his professional colleagues and peers, by being listed in “Physicians of Excellence,” “Best Doctors,” and “Who’s Who lists” on an annual basis. He has been featured on national syndicated television shows such as “The Doctors” and “Hallmark Channel.” He has served as team retinal surgeon to the Anaheim Ducks (National Hockey League).
Dr. Chen lives in Laguna Beach, California with his wife and two children. He actively serves as a coach and manager to his kids’ multiple sports teams. In addition, his own hobbies include ice hockey, skiing, golf, and piano. He enjoys giving back to his community and participates in several volunteer organizations and has performed medical missionary services to Armenia and China.