{"id":3264,"date":"2015-06-16T17:10:00","date_gmt":"2015-06-16T21:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/ophth\/directory\/david-fleischman-md\/"},"modified":"2026-02-05T19:25:35","modified_gmt":"2026-02-06T00:25:35","slug":"david-fleischman-md","status":"publish","type":"directory","link":"https:\/\/www.med.unc.edu\/ophth\/directory\/david-fleischman-md\/","title":{"rendered":"David Fleischman, MD, MS, FACS"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sterling A. Barrett Distinguished Associate Professor of Ophthalmology
\nInterim Chair – UNC Department of Ophthalmology
\nDirector – Glaucoma Fellowship Program
\nDirector – Ocular Trauma (UNC Ophthalmology)<\/p>\n

Specialties<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Glaucoma (medical, laser, surgical & micro-invasive treatment)
\nCataract Surgery
\nOcular trauma<\/p>\n

Education & Training<\/span><\/strong><\/h4>\n
Medical School<\/strong>
\nDrexel University \u2013 Hahnemann University Hospital (Philadelphia, PA)
\nResidency<\/strong>
\nUniversity of North Carolina – Chapel Hill
\nFellowship<\/strong>
\nDuke University Medical Center (Society of Heed Fellow)<\/div>\n
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Research Interests<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Mechanisms of glaucoma and outcome measures of surgery; role of cerebrospinal fluid in ophthalmic disease; cataracts and ocular trauma<\/p>\n

David Fleischman, MD, MS, FACS<\/strong>, is the Sterling A. Barrett Distinguished Associate Professor of Ophthalmology and Interim Chair (November 2025 – ) of the UNC Department of Ophthalmology. He serves as UNC Ophthalmology’s Glaucoma Fellowship Director and Ocular Trauma Director.<\/p>\n

Dr. Fleischman received a BS in Microbiology & Cell Sciences, a BA in History and a minor in Chemistry at the University of Florida. He went on to complete graduate studies in Physiology & Biophysics, earning an MS at Georgetown University in Washington, DC.\u00a0 He earned his medical doctorate at Drexel University \u2013 Hahnemann University Hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He trained at the University of North Carolina Hospitals for his internship and residency. There, he received the Senior Resident Surgical Excellence Award in 2014. As a Glaucoma fellow at Duke Eye Center (2014-2015), he was honored with the prestigious Heed Ocular Foundation Fellowship as one of only 21 fellows nationwide chosen for excellence as an eye specialist in training.<\/p>\n

Dr. Fleischman is interested in the science behind the medical, surgical and laser treatment of glaucoma and cataract. He is actively involved in research, with particular interests in the role of cerebrospinal fluid pressure in glaucoma and the optimization of surgical techniques for the treatment of glaucoma. He has authored or co-authored numerous peer-reviewed publications, textbook chapters, and has given research presentations at meetings nationwide and internationally. His research presentations have received recognition by the American Medical Association, as well as the top award for the annual resident research awards in the University of North Carolina Department of Internal Medicine and Ophthalmology for each of the years between 2011 and 2014.<\/p>\n

Dr. Fleischman\u2019s wife, Dr. Gita Fleischman, is an ENT Head & Neck surgeon at Wake Med. The couple has three children \u2013 two daughters and a son.<\/p>\n

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Select Publications<\/strong><\/h4>\n