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Connie M. Sears, MD
Oculofacial Plastic & Reconstructive Surgeon

Connie M. Sears, MD

Oculofacial Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery Specialist

Dr. Connie Sears is an Oculofacial Plastic Surgeon with expertise in cosmetic facial and reconstructive surgery. She is dedicated to delivering exceptional, patient-centered care that combines her advanced surgical skill with an emphasis on natural and refined outcomes. Dr. Sears earned her medical degree from Harvard Medical School and completed an Ophthalmology residency at Stanford University. She then pursued advanced subspecialty training through a highly competitive two-year American Society of Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (ASOPRS) fellowship at UCLA Jules Stein Eye Institute — one of only 30 such programs in the United States. Her fellowship training provided extensive experience in facial, eyelid, lacrimal (tear duct), orbital, and reconstructive surgery. During this time, she also refined her expertise in facial cosmetic surgery through training in leading private practices in Beverly Hills. 

Dr. Sears is committed to developing individualized surgical and nonsurgical treatment plans tailored to each patient’s unique anatomy, concerns, and aesthetic goals. Her practice philosophy emphasizes achieving natural, balanced, and discreet results through meticulous technique and an artistic approach to facial harmony. 

In addition to her clinical practice, Dr. Sears maintains an active role in teaching, research, and community service. She holds a teaching appointment at UCLA-Harbor Medical Center, where she serves as a clinical instructor in oculofacial and cosmetic surgery for UCLA Jules Stein ophthalmology residents and ASOPRS fellows. She has lectured nationally and internationally and has been invited to teach at numerous facial aesthetics and orbital surgery courses. 

Dr. Sears’s commitment to academic medicine is reflected in her recognition as a Research to Prevent Blindness Fellow. She has authored more than 20 peer-reviewed publications and contributed chapters to several ophthalmology textbooks. Her advocacy efforts focus on improving access to care for underserved populations, and she is an active mentor to students from underrepresented backgrounds pursuing careers in medicine. 

At Harvard Eye Associates, Dr. Sears combines her advanced surgical training with a compassionate and detail-oriented approach. She is dedicated to ensuring that each patient receives highly personalized care and achieves outcomes that are both natural and satisfying.  

Dr. Sears is fluent in Spanish, further broadening her ability to connect with and serve a diverse patient population.

Connie M. Sears, MD Significant Research References

Fischer JL, Kosaraju N, Lucarelli KM, Sears CM, Lee JT, Beswick DM, Rootman DB, Wang MB, Suh JD. Influence of Dental Intervention and Disease on Acute Invasive Fungal Rhinosinusitis Severity and Outcomes. Am J Rhinol Allergy. 2025 Sep 25:19458924251382514. doi: 10.1177/19458924251382514. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 40997227.

Shah SA, Chandraparnik P, Choi S, Amarikwa L, Guniganti R, Walsh HL, Rubio RH, Linaburg T, Meyer E, Reem K, Sears C, Goldin M, Kinde B, Dosiou C, Malik A, Mawn L, Shinder R, Wester S, Rootman D, Cockerham K, Tamhankar M, Couch S, Harrison A, Kossler AL. The Efficacy and Safety of Teprotumumab in Geriatrics Patients: A Multicenter Study. Ophthalmic Plast Reconstr Surg. 2025 Sep 9. doi: 10.1097/IOP.0000000000003024. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 40928425.

Fischer JL, Kosaraju N, Lucarelli KM, Wells CR, Sears CM, Karmouta R, Shirriff AS, Weng M, Suh JD, Lee JT, Beswick DM, Rootman DB, Wang MB. Outcomes of Acute Invasive Fungal Rhinosinusitis Patients Treated with Retrobulbar Amphotericin B Injections versus Orbital Exenteration. Int Forum Allergy Rhinol. 2025 Jul;15(7):744-747. doi: 10.1002/alr.23573. Epub 2025 Mar 21. PMID: 40116130; PMCID: PMC12227109.

Oh AJ, Sears CM, Vadivelan AA, Gomperts BN, Federman N, Said J, Roelofs KA. Orbital indeterminate cell histiocytosis. Orbit. 2025 Feb;44(1):96-100. doi: 10.1080/01676830.2024.2317301. Epub 2024 Feb 19. PMID: 38374584.

Men CJ, Amarikwa L, Pham B, Sears C, Clauss K, Lee BW, Lee WW, Pasol J, Ugradar S, Shinder R, Cockerham K, Wester S, Douglas R, Kossler AL. Reply Re: “Teprotumumab for the Treatment of Recalcitrant Thyroid Eye Disease”. Ophthalmic Plast Reconstr Surg. 2025 Jan-Feb 01;41(1):111-112. doi: 10.1097/IOP.0000000000002875. Epub 2025 Jan 3. PMID: 39752221.

Shah SA, Amarikwa L, Sears CM, Clauss KD, Rajjoub RD, Kang JY, Tamhankar MA, Briceño CA, Harrison AR, Cockerham KP, Wester ST, Douglas RS, Dosiou C, Kossler AL. Reply. Ophthalmology. 2024 Jun;131(6):e27-e28. doi: 10.1016/j.ophtha.2024.01.003. Epub 2024 Feb 12. PMID: 38349298.

Hubschman S, Sojitra B, Ghiam S, Sears C, Hwangbo N, Goldberg RA, Rootman DB. Teprotumumab and Orbital Decompression for the Management of Proptosis in Patients With Thyroid Eye Disease. Ophthalmic Plast Reconstr Surg. 2023 Nov 16. doi: 10.1097/IOP.0000000000002563. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 37972968.

Men CJ, Amarikwa L, Pham B, Sears C, Clauss K, Lee BW, Lee WW, Pasol J, Ugradar S, Shinder R, Cockerham K, Wester S, Douglas R, Kossler AL. Teprotumumab for the Treatment of Recalcitrant Thyroid Eye Disease. Ophthalmic Plast Reconstr Surg. 2023 Nov 16. doi: 10.1097/IOP.0000000000002564. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 37972960.

Arquette C, Peicher V, Ajayi A, Alvarez D, Mao A, Nguyen T, Sawyer A, Sears CM, Carragee EJ, Floyd B, Mahanay B, Blankenburg R. Moral Injury: How It Affects Us and Tools to Combat It. MedEdPORTAL. 2023 Nov 3;19:11357. doi: 10.15766/mep_2374-8265.11357. PMID: 37927405; PMCID: PMC10622333.

Shah SA, Amarikwa L, Sears CM, Clauss KD, Rajjoub RD, Kang JY, Tamhankar MA, Briceño CA, Harrison AR, Dosiou CC, Cockerham KP, Wester ST, Douglas RS, Kossler AL. Teprotumumab-Related Adverse Events in Thyroid Eye Disease: A Multi-Center Study. Ophthalmology. 2023 Oct 16:S0161-6420(23)00760-1. doi: 10.1016/j.ophtha.2023.10.018. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 37852417.

Ho TC, Maamari RN, Kossler AL, Sears CM, Freitag SK, Reshef ER, Shinder R, Rootman DB, Diniz SB, Kahana A, Schlachter D, Do TH, Kally P, Turner S, Mokhtarzadeh A, Harrison AR, Hwang CJ, Kim HJ, Avila SA, Thomas DA, Magazin M, Wester ST, Lee WW, Clauss KD, Holds JB, Sniegowski M, Compton CJ, Briggs C, Malik AI, Lucarelli MJ, Burkat CN, Patel LG, Couch SM. Outcomes of Patients With Thyroid Eye Disease Partially Treated With Teprotumumab. Ophthalmic Plast Reconstr Surg. 2023 Mar-Apr 01;39(2):150-155. doi: 10.1097/IOP.0000000000002267. Epub 2022 Sep 9. PMID: 36095848.

Lu TJ, Amarikwa L, Sears CM, Kossler AL. Advances in the Treatment of Thyroid Eye Disease Associated Extraocular Muscle Myopathy and Optic Neuropathy. Curr Neurol Neurosci Rep. 2022 Jun;22(6):313-325. doi: 10.1007/s11910-022-01194-7. Epub 2022 May 26. PMID: 35614367.

Sears CM, Azad AD, Amarikwa L, Pham BH, Men CJ, Kaplan DN, Liu J, Hoffman AR, Swanson A, Alyono J, Lee JY, Dosiou C, Kossler AL. Hearing Dysfunction After Treatment With Teprotumumab for Thyroid Eye Disease. Am J Ophthalmol. 2022 Aug;240:1-13. doi: 10.1016/j.ajo.2022.02.015. Epub 2022 Feb 25. PMID: 35227694; PMCID: PMC9308628.

Chandramohan A, Sears CM, Huang LC, Beres S, Fredrick D, Kossler AL. Microphthalmia and orbital cysts in DiGeorge syndrome. J AAPOS. 2021 Dec;25(6):358-360. doi: 10.1016/j.jaapos.2021.06.001. Epub 2021 Sep 29. PMID: 34597781.

Reeves MR, Pasricha MV, Ludwig CA, Chandramohan A, Azad AD, Li AS, Rosenblatt TR, Sears CM, Kossler AL, Do DV, Pan CK. Trends in Leadership and Award Recognition Among Women in the American Society of Retina Specialists. J Vitreoretin Dis. 2021 Jul 9;6(5):374-380. doi: 10.1177/24741264211021019. PMID: 37006904; PMCID: PMC9954927.

Sears CM, Wang Y, Bailey LA, Turbin R, Subramanian PS, Douglas R, Cockerham K, Kossler AL. Early efficacy of teprotumumab for the treatment of dysthyroid optic neuropathy: A multicenter study. Am J Ophthalmol Case Rep. 2021 May 14;23:101111. doi: 10.1016/j.ajoc.2021.101111. PMID: 34113737; PMCID: PMC8170359.

Azad AD, Sears CM, Hwang PH, Mohyeldin A, Fernandez-Miranda J, Kossler AL. Multi-compartment skull base orbital cavernous venous malformation: A rare presentation of a common orbital mass. Am J Ophthalmol Case Rep. 2021 Jan 21;21:101020. doi: 10.1016/j.ajoc.2021.101020. PMID: 33598587; PMCID: PMC7868709.

Sears CM, Azad AD, Dosiou C, Kossler AL. Teprotumumab for Dysthyroid Optic Neuropathy: Early Response to Therapy. Ophthalmic Plast Reconstr Surg. 2021 May-Jun 01;37(3S):S157-S160. doi: 10.1097/IOP.0000000000001831. PMID: 32976335.

Sadda SR, Nittala MG, Taweebanjongsin W, Verma A, Velaga SB, Alagorie AR, Sears CM, Silva PS, Aiello LP. Quantitative Assessment of the Severity of Diabetic Retinopathy. Am J Ophthalmol. 2020 Oct;218:342-352. doi: 10.1016/j.ajo.2020.05.021. Epub 2020 May 22. PMID: 32446737.

Rosenblatt TR, Sears CM, Park JK, et al. Corneal Neurotization and Novel Medical Therapies for Neurotrophic Keratopathy. Curr Ophthalmol Rep. 2020;8:252–266.

Sears CM, Nittala MG, Jayadev C, Verhoek M, Fleming A, van Hemert J, Tsui I, Sadda SR. Comparison of Subjective Assessment and Precise Quantitative Assessment of Lesion Distribution in Diabetic Retinopathy. JAMA Ophthalmol. 2018 Apr 1;136(4):365-371. doi: 10.1001/jamaophthalmol.2018.0070. PMID: 29470566; PMCID: PMC5876824.

Sears C, Tandias R, Arroyo J. Deep learning algorithm. Surv Ophthalmol. 2018 May-Jun;63(3):448-449. doi: 10.1016/j.survophthal.2017.12.003. Epub 2017 Dec 15. PMID: 29248535.

Jabaji Z, Brinkley GJ, Khalil HA, Sears CM, Lei NY, Lewis M, Stelzner M, Martín MG, Dunn JC. Type I collagen as an extracellular matrix for the in vitro growth of human small intestinal epithelium. PLoS One. 2014 Sep 15;9(9):e107814. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0107814. PMID: 25222024; PMCID: PMC4164635.

Jabaji Z, Sears CM, Brinkley GJ, Lei NY, Joshi VS, Wang J, Lewis M, Stelzner M, Martín MG, Dunn JC. Use of collagen gel as an alternative extracellular matrix for the in vitro and in vivo growth of murine small intestinal epithelium. Tissue Eng Part C Methods. 2013 Dec;19(12):961-9. doi: 10.1089/ten.TEC.2012.0710. Epub 2013 May 10. PMID: 23566043; PMCID: PMC3833386.

Connie Martin Sears, Prithvi Mruthyunjaya. Supplemental Video: No-touch Conjunctival Excision Technique “Chapter 20. Conjunctival Lesions and Conjunctivoplasty.” The Duke Manual of Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus Surgery, edited by Laura Enyedi and Nandini Gandhi, Wolters Kluwer Health, 2021.

Sears CM, Hoenig JA. Upper and Midface Lift Anatomy. Aesthetic Eyelid and Facial Rejuvenation Masters Seminar 2025. Jules Stein Eye Institute, UCLA. Los Angeles, CA. July 2025.

Sears CM, Goldberg RA. Sub-eyebrow Blepharoplasty with Dermal Stacking. Aesthetic Eyelid and Facial Rejuvenation Masters Seminar 2025. Jules Stein Eye Institute, UCLA. Los Angeles, CA. July 2025.

Sears CM, Roelofs K, Hoenig JA. Considerations for Brow Lifting. Aesthetic Eyelid and Facial Rejuvenation Masters Seminar 2024. Jules Stein Eye Institute, UCLA. Los Angeles, CA. July 2024.

Sears CM, Hoenig JA. Upper and Midface Lift Anatomy. Aesthetic Eyelid and Facial Rejuvenation Masters Seminar 2024. Jules Stein Eye Institute, UCLA. Los Angeles, CA. July 2024.

Sears CM, Rootman DB. “Minimally Invasive Neurosurgery.” Grand Rounds Case Presentation. Jules Stein Eye Institute, UCLA. Los Angeles, CA. May 2024.

Sears CM, Goldberg RA. Fracturas De Órbita Infero Medial: Podemos Restaurar La Arquitectura Normal? (Inferomedial Orbital Fractures: Is it Possible to Restore Normal Anatomy?). Pan-American Association of Ophthalmology (PAAO). San Juan, Puerto Rico. March 2024.

Sears CM, Gout T, Singh P, Pirakitikulr N, Rootman DB, Goldberg RA. Does Anterior Orbital Fat Contribute to Orbital Decompression? American Society of Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (ASOPRS), Fall Meeting, San Francisco, CA. November 2023.

Sears CM, Singh B, Gundlach BS, Chandraparnik P, Ghiam S, Kossler AL, Goldberg RA, Rootman DB. Long-term Outcomes of Dysthyroid Optic Neuropathy Treated with Conventional Therapies Compared to Teprotumumab. American Society of Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (ASOPRS), Fall Meeting, San Francisco, CA. November 2023.

Sears CM, Karlin J. Posterior Ptosis Repair Anatomy and Techniques. Aesthetic Eyelid and Facial Rejuvenation Course 2023. Jules Stein Eye Institute, UCLA. Los Angeles, CA. July 2023.

Sears CM, Karlin J. “Socket to Me.” Grand Rounds Case Presentation. Jules Stein Eye Institute, UCLA. Los Angeles, CA. October 2022.

Sears CM, Amarikwa L, Men C, Shinder R, Clauss K, Ugradar S, Cockerham K, Wester SD, Douglas R, Kossler AL. Teprotumumab For The Treatment of Recalcitrant Thyroid Eye Disease. American Society of Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (ASOPRS), Fall Meeting, New Orleans, LA. November 2021.

Sears CM, Kang JY, Clauss K, Cockerham K, Wester SD, Kossler AL. Teprotumumab-Related Adverse Events in Thyroid Eye Disease. American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO), New Orleans, LA. November 2021.

Sears CM, Azad AD, Topping KL, Dosiou C, Erickson BP, Kossler AL. Recurrent Disease and Adverse Events After Tocilizumab Treatment for Thyroid Eye Disease. 4th International Orbital Society Symposium, Seoul, Korea. April 2021. *Postponed due to COVID-19.

Sears CM, Kang J, Wang Y, Kossler AL, Turbin R, Subramanian P, Douglas R, Cockerham K. Effect and Durability of Teprotumumab on Optic Neuropathy Secondary to Thyroid Eye Disease (TED CON). North American Neuro-Ophthalmology Society (NANOS), Virtual. February 2021. *Finalist for Best Abstract by a Resident-in-Training Award.

Sears CM, Azad AD, Topping KL, Dosiou C, Erickson BP, Kossler AL. Recurrent Disease and Adverse Events After Tocilizumab Treatment for Thyroid Eye Disease. Grand Rounds, Byers Eye Institute at Stanford, Virtual. December 10, 2020.

Sears CM, Azad AD, Topping KL, Dosiou C, Erickson BP, Kossler AL. Recurrent Disease and Adverse Events After Tocilizumab Treatment for Thyroid Eye Disease. American Society of Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (ASOPRS), Fall Meeting, Virtual. November 2020.

Sears CM, Myung D, Leung T. Telemedicine and Artificial Intelligence for Diabetic Retinopathy Screening. Grand Rounds, Byers Eye Institute at Stanford, Virtual. June 18, 2020.

Sears CM, Azad AD, Topping KL, Dosiou C, Erickson BP, Kossler AL. Early Outcomes in Teprotumumab for Thyroid Eye Disease. Stanford Ophthalmology Research Day. Byers Eye Institute at Stanford, Virtual. June 6, 2020.

Sears CM, Kossler AL. The Evolution of Thyroid Eye Disease Treatment. Grand Rounds, Byers Eye Institute at Stanford, Virtual. June 4, 2020.

Sears CM, Azad AD, Kossler AL. Multicompartment Orbital Tumor – A Multidisciplinary Surgical Approach. Grand Rounds, Byers Eye Institute at Stanford, Palo Alto, CA. December 5, 2019.

Connie Martin Sears, Benjamin P. Erickson, Andrea Lora Kossler. “Chapter 17. Lids: Congenital and Acquired Abnormalities − Practical Management.” Taylor and Hoyt Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus, 6th edition, edited by Scott Lambert and Christopher Lyons, Elsevier, expected date of publication: 2022.

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