This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Ophthalmic community mourns loss of Robert P. Rivera
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
Robert P. Rivera, MD, an accomplished cataract and refractive surgeon and an early adopter of corneal inlays for presbyopia, died on April 1 after a lengthy illness. He was 58.
In his career, Rivera performed several thousand cataract surgeries and helped pioneer LASIK and Implantable Collamer Lens (ICL) implantation. He participated in the world’s first comparative study of different cataract laser systems and later began testing various corneal inlays for treatment of presbyopia. He won several awards for papers, presentations and videos based on his clinical research.
“Rob was one of those special people you always wanted to be around. His wit, his smile and his caring attitude were amazing. His contributions to our field were huge and we will miss him so, so much,” Daniel S. Durrie, MD, OSN Refractive Surgery Section Editor, told OSN.
Rivera was born in Silver City, NM, in 1956 and graduated from Lordsburg High School as class valedictorian in 1974. He earned a bachelor’s degree at New Mexico State University, attended the University of Utah’s School of Medicine and completed his residency in ophthalmology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.
Rivera established a practice in Flagstaff, Ariz., that later merged with the Barnet Perkins Eye Center in Phoenix, Ariz. He joined Hoopes Vision in Salt Lake City, Utah, in 2011 as director of clinical research at Hoopes-Rivera Clinical Research Center.
Rivera is survived by his wife, Suzanne M. Rivera, and six children: M. Andrew Rivera, Marisa R. Rivera, Daniel J. Rivera, Eliana M. Rivera, Samuel A. Rivera and Anya S. Rivera.
Funeral services will be held Saturday, April 11, at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2195 E. Pepperwood Dr., Sandy, Utah. Details are available at: http://larkinmortuary.com/obituary/robert-patrick-rivera/ – by Matt Hasson