Theresa Turla, MD

Theresa Turla, M.D., is a board-certified ophthalmologist who worked for much of her career in the Greater New Orleans area.

She currently travels and works nationally as locum tenens ophthalmologists and has provided services and surgeries in Maine, Colorado, Wisconsin and North Carolina. Dr. Turla volunteers with SEE International in many brigades for the people of Honduras who would not otherwise have access to vision care. Honduras is where she learned and now performs, Manual Small-Incision Cataract Surgery, or MSICS, which is critical to treat cataracts in humanitarian settings. She is active with the medical mission organization, Centro Cristiano De Servicios Humanitarios De Honduras, located in San Pedro Sula, Honduras; and the following organizations: Health in Sight Mission (HISM) and Clinica Esperanza, providing ophthalmology services and surgeries. She has assisted HISM in locating the future site for their ophthalmology clinic that plans to serve the underserved population of Roatan, Honduras, and provide a location for other surgical brigades.

She received her Bachelors of Science in Biochemistry at Cornell University, where she was usually found on the Dean’s List and she played for their volleyball team. She obtained her medical degree from New York Medical College where she was elected to the medical school honor society, Alpha Omega Alpha. She completed her ophthalmology training at Tulane University where she experienced the concept of charity in the no-longer-existing famous Charity Hospital in New Orleans. The hospital no longer exists due to Hurricane Katrina. She recently completed her Executive MBA with Quantic School of Business and Technology.

Dr. Turla is an active member of the American Academy of Ophthalmology. She has a strong interest in education, which is reflected by a book she authored, Tea with T, Let’s Talk about Age Management, Eyes, which teaches the public about the aging eye. In addition, Dr. Turla enjoys the mountains, skiing and snowboarding with her husband and sons, and has summited Mount Kilimanjaro. You can usually find her snorkeling and scuba diving in Roatan, practicing yoga and reading.