Professor Emeritus

Areas of Interest
vitreoretinal surgery, ocular trauma, microsurgical instrument development and translational research/retinal gene therapy

Dr. Witherspoon is an experienced vitreoretinal and ocular trauma surgeon and has been a member of the UAB Department of Ophthalmology since 1982. Dr. Witherspoon was integral to the development of the UAB Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences as a leader in ocular trauma and helped secure the 2011 designation of the UAB Callahan Eye Hospital as a Level 1 Ocular Trauma Center. Dr. Witherspoon is the director of the UAB Vitreoretinal Fellowship Training Program. He is the co-founder of the United States Eye Injury Registry (USIER), now based in the UAB Department of Ophthalmology. Dr Witherspoon is also a former president of the American Society of Ocular Trauma (ASOT) and current chief executive and board member of ASOT. Dr Witherspoon’s clinical interests include the surgical treatment of advanced diabetic retinopathy, complex or complicated retinal detachments, severe combined anterior and posterior segment eye injuries, sports-related eye injuries and surgical treatment for complications of previous surgery.

Dr. Witherspoon is certified by the American Board of Ophthalmology and is a fellowship-trained subspecialist in the fields of vitreoretinal surgery and ocular trauma. He has received the American Society of Retina Specialists’ Honor Award and both the Honor Award and Senior Honor Award by the American Academy of Ophthalmology. He has been awarded more than a dozen U.S. patents, either individually or jointly, for the development of novel instrumentation related to vitreoretinal microsurgery. He has authored or coauthored more than 50 scientific journal articles and book chapters in the field of vitreoretinal surgery. Dr. Witherspoon has been selected as one of the "Best Doctors in America" yearly since 1996 and is currently listed in both the subspecialty category of vitreoretinal surgery and ocular trauma surgery.

Education & Training

Residency in Ophthalmology
University of Alabama at Birmingham

Fellowship, Vitreoretinal
University of Tennessee