Senior Ophthalmic Surgeon and teaching doctor for vitreoretinal surgery in the University Eye Clinic in Linz, Vienna, Salzburg.
Ulrike Stolba is a highly experienced ophthalmic surgeon with decades of clinical, surgical, and educational expertise, with a particular focus on complex vitreoretinal surgery. She is currently a teaching physician for vitreoretinal surgery at the University Eye Clinic in Linz and continues to be actively involved in clinical work at private eye clinics in Vienna and Salzburg.
Dr. Stolba completed her ophthalmology training at the University Hospital in Vienna, where she began her specialization in 1984. Early in her career, she gained extensive experience in anterior segment surgery, and since 1988 – following a clinical fellowship in Germany – she has focused predominantly on posterior segment surgery. Vitreoretinal surgery soon became her main professional and scientific interest.
Over the years, she developed a broad surgical portfolio including cataract surgery, glaucoma surgery, and complex vitreoretinal procedures such as proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR), proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR), and ocular trauma. This comprehensive background enabled her to manage highly complex cases requiring a multidisciplinary surgical approach.
Her scientific work has been closely linked to vitreoretinal surgery, particularly research on artificial vitreous substitutes. In recognition of her academic contributions, she received her habilitation in 2005. In 1997, she joined the Municipal Eye Clinic Landstrasse, where she played a key role in establishing and developing a specialized vitreoretinal department. She formally retired from full-time clinical practice in 2025.
Teaching and surgical education have been central to Dr. Stolba’s professional mission for many years. Having experienced limited structured surgical training during her own early career, she became deeply committed to educating the next generation of ophthalmic surgeons. She began teaching in wetlab courses in the mid-1990s and has since organized and instructed dozens of vitreoretinal training courses worldwide. In several countries, she has personally assisted young surgeons during their first vitreoretinal procedures.
Since 2003, Dr. Stolba has been a regular faculty member of the Open Medical Institute’s annual ophthalmology teaching program in Salzburg, where she educates young ophthalmologists from Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and Africa. She is widely respected for her dedication to surgical education and for her ability to inspire young colleagues through her expertise, enthusiasm, and long-standing commitment to high-quality ophthalmic training.
Since retiring from clinical leadership, she has also pursued academic studies in Austrian history at the University of Vienna.