Deborah M Costakos, MD

• Milwaukee Campus-Children's Wisconsin
  8915 W. Connell Court
  Milwaukee, WI 53226
  Office Phone: (414) 266-2020
  
• Mequon Clinic-Children's Wisconsin
  1655 W. Mequon Road
  Mequon, WI 53092

Services

• Eyes
• Ophthalmology

I always knew I wanted to be a doctor. As a child, I saw my first surgery when a veterinarian let me watch an operation on my cat. As a teenager, I developed appendicitis and convinced the surgeon to let me keep my appendix in a jar. In college, a genetics course sparked my interest in metabolic diseases, which are sometimes diagnosed by eye findings. During my time as a genetic counselor, I was able to work with pediatric ophthalmologists to diagnose genetic diseases. I was also involved in prenatal diagnosis and witnessed amazing advances in genetics and premature infant care. Now, I am honored to care for premature babies and patients that have heritable disorders. I am privileged to be able to teach clinical and surgical skills that help save and improve vision. In 2019, I became Chair of the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences and am proud to lead a research and medical team working on innovation and advancements while taking the very best care of patients.

Certifications

• Ophthalmology

Areas of Interest

• Pediatrics
• Amblyopia
• Dacryostenosis blocked tear duct
• Genetic disorders affecting the eye
• Ophthalmology
• Retinopathy of prematurity
• Pediatric cataracts
• Pediatric eye trauma
• Strabismus

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Education

• 1998, Medical College of Wisconsin, MD

Residencies

• 2002, University of Colorado (Denver, CO) - Ophthalmology

Fellowships

• 2003, University of Colorado (Denver, CO) - OPHTHALMOLOGY

Awards

Research

• Retinopathy of Prematurity
• Macular development in infants
• Subclinical macular findings in infants screened for retinopathy of prematurity with spectral-domain optical coherence tomography.
• Evaluation of normal human foveal development using optical coherence tomography and histologic examination.
• Whole exome sequencing in dominant cataract identifies a new causative factor, CRYBA2, and a variety of novel alleles in known genes.
• Bilateral Central Retinal Artery Occlusions in an Infant with Hyperhomocysteinemia.
• Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia Manifested as Bilateral Proliferative Retinopathy.

Publications