Neal V. Palejwala, MD

Ophthalmologist

Specialties: Retina

Dr. Palejwala is a Phoenix native completing his high school education at Brophy College Preparatory. He then went on to complete his undergraduate studies at the Pennsylvania State University where he was part of the Phi Beta Kappa honor society. He then entered medical school at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, PA where he was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA) national medical honor society and graduated summa cum laude. At Jefferson, he developed a passion for ophthalmology conducting multiple clinical research projects at Wills Eye Institute.

He returned back to the valley for his internship at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center and then went on to pursue a residency in ophthalmology at Emory University in Atlanta, GA. After the completion of his residency, he chose to further subspecialize in vitreoretinal surgery at the Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, OR. Dr. Palejwala joined Retinal Consultants of Arizona in 2015.

Published journals:

1. Olsen TW, Liao A, Robinson HS, Palejwala NV, Sprehe N. The nine-step Minnesota grading system for eyebank eyes with age-related macular degeneration: A systematic approach to study disease stages. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2017 Oct 1;58(12):5497–5506.

2. Thomas AS, Redd T, Campbell JP, Palejwala NV, Baynham JT, Suhler EB, Rosenbaum JT, Lin P. The impact and implication of peripheral vascular leakage on ultra-widefield fluorescein angiography in uveitis. Ocul Immunol Inflamm. 2017 Oct 16:1–7.

3. Palejwala NV, Sawhney G, Raecker M, Flaxel CJ, Yeh S. The value of diagnostic work-up in the evaluation of white dot syndromes. Ophthalmic Surg Lasers Imaging Retina. 2017 Jul 1;48(7):540–545.

4. Palejwala NV, Gale MJ, Clark RF, Schlechter C, Weleber RG, Pennesi ME. Insights into autosomal dominant Stargardt-like macular dystrophy via multimodality diagnostic imaging. Retina. 2016 Jan;36(1):119–130.

5. Palejwala NV, Jia Y, Gao SS, Liu L, Flaxel CJ, Hwang TS, Lauer AK, Wilson DJ, Huang D, Bailey ST. Detection of non-exudative choroidal neovascularization in age-related macular degeneration with optical coherence tomography angiography. Retina. 2015 Nov;35(11):2204–2211.

6. Palejwala NV, Stempel A, Stout JT. Bilateral giant retinal tears in a pediatric patient with leukemia inhibitory factor receptor deficiency (Stuve-Wiedemann Syndrome). Retin Cases Brief Rep. 2015;9(3):245–247.

7. Campbell JP, Beardsley RM, Palejwala NV, Baynham JT, Lin W, Suhler EB, Rosenbaum JT, Flaxel CJ, Lin P. Peripheral vascular leakage in uveitis: clinical and angiographic findings. Ophthalmology. 2015 Mar 11.

8. Palejwala NV, Lauer AK. Aflibercept: an update on recent milestones achieved. Drugs Today. 2014;50(12):779–790.

9. Palejwala NV, Lauer AK, Weleber R. Choroideremia associated with choroidal neovascularization treated with intravitreal bevacizumab. Clin Ophthalmol. 2014 Sep 1;8:1675–1679.

10. Olsen TW, Palejwala NV, Lee LB, Bergstrom CS, Yeh S. Chorioretinal folds: associated disorder and related maculopathy. Am J Ophthalmol. 2014;157(5):1038–1047.

11. Palejwala NV, Flaxel C. Pharmacologic vitreolysis: a review of the literature. Ophthalmology International. 2014;9(1):10–12.

12. Palejwala NV, Lin P. Not your average eye infection! American Society of Retina Specialists: Spotlight Cases. 2014.

13. Postel EA, Phillips WB, Katira R, Palejwala NV, Lauer AK. Diabetic retinopathy: epidemiology, diagnosis, and management. One® Network, American Academy of Ophthalmology CME Course.

14. Palejwala NV, Yeh S, Angeles-Han ST. Current perspectives on ophthalmic manifestations of childhood rheumatic diseases. Curr Rheumatol Rep. 2013;15(7):341.

15. Palejwala NV, Yeh S, Grossniklaus HE, Bergstrom C. Cortical blindness and choroidal metastases secondary to metastatic breast carcinoma in a male patient. Ophthalmic Surg Lasers Imaging Retina. 2013;44(1):81–84.

16. Melo AB, Razeghinejad MR, Palejwala NV, Myers JS, Moster MR, Spaeth GL, Katz LJ. Surgical repair of leaking filtering blebs using two different techniques. J Ophthalmic Vis Res. 2012;7(4):281–288.

17. Palejwala NV, Walia HS, Yeh S. Ocular manifestations of systemic lupus erythematosus: a review of the literature. Autoimmune Dis. 2012:290898.

18. Walia HS, Grumbine FL, Sawhney GK, Risner DS, Palejwala NV, Emanuel ME, Walia SS. An aggressive sphenoid wing meningioma causing Foster Kennedy Syndrome. Case Rep Ophthalmol Med. 2012; Article ID: 102365.

19. Walia HS, Grumbine FL, Palejwala NV, Sawhney GK, Risner DS, Walia SS. A very rapid visual recovery of posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome. J Clin Imaging Sci. 2011;1:36.

20. Palejwala NV, Ichhpujani P, Fakhraie G, Myers J, Moster M, Katz LJ. Single needle revision of failing filtration blebs: a retrospective comparative case series with 5-fluorouracil and mitomycin C. Eur J Ophthalmol. 2010 Nov–Dec;20(6):1026–1034.

21. Lorenzana LL, Lankaranian D, Dugar J, Mayer JR, Palejwala NV, Kulkarni K, Boghara Z, Richman J, Warrian K, Wizov SS, Spaeth GL. A new method of assessing ability to perform activities of daily living: design, methods and baseline data. Ophthalmic Epidemiol. 2009 Mar–Apr;16(2):107–114.

Book Chapters

• Flaxel CJ, Palejwala NV. Chapter 42: Posterior Sub-Tenon’s Injections. In: Basic Techniques of Ophthalmic Surgery, 2nd Edition. American Academy of Ophthalmology.

Honors:

• Arizona Ophthalmologic Society

• Phoenix Ophthalmologic Society

• American Academy of Ophthalmology

• American Medical Association

• American College of Physicians

Achievements:

January 2015 – Medical mission trip to Haiti to perform manual small incisional cataract surgery, vitrectomy surgery, and retinal lasers on an underserved population.