Richard Lindstrom

Dr. Richard L. Lindstrom is Founder and Attending surgeon at Minnesota Eye Consultants, Adjunct Professor Emeritus at the University of Minnesota Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Neurosciences and Visiting Professor at the UC Irvine Gavin Herbert Eye Institute. He is a board-certified ophthalmologist and internationally recognized leader in corneal, cataract, refractive, glaucoma, laser surgery, innovation, and the business of ophthalmology. He has been at the forefront of ophthalmology’s evolutionary changes throughout his 51 year career in medicine as a recognized researcher, teacher, inventor, writer, industry consultant and highly acclaimed physician and surgeon.

After graduating Magna Cum Laude with a B.A. and B.S. from the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Minnesota, Dr. Lindstrom completed his doctorate degree in medicine at The University of Minnesota in 1972. He then completed an internal medicine internship at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Next, he completed a 3-year Residency in ophthalmology and a 1-year Fellowship in Cornea/External Disease at the University of Minnesota and Affiliated Hospitals. He then extended his training with an Anterior Segment Surgery Fellowship at Mary Shiels Eye Hospital in Dallas, Texas for 6 months followed by a 6-month Heed Foundation Sponsored Fellowship in Glaucoma at The University of Utah Department of Ophthalmology in Salt Lake City, Utah. After two years of private practice in Dallas, Texas with William S. Harris M.D. at Ophthalmology Center, in 1980 Dr. Lindstrom returned to the University of Minnesota, where he spent ten years on the faculty of the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Neurosciences, the last two as Full Professor and the Harold G. Scheie Research Chair. For ten years he also served as Chief of Ophthalmology at the Minneapolis Veterans Administration Hospital. He continues as Adjunct Clinical Professor Emeritus and serves as a Trustee of the University of Minnesota Foundation.

Dr. Lindstrom entered private practice in 1989 and has led the growth and expansion of Minnesota Eye Consultants, serving as Managing Partner for 15 years and Partner and Attending surgeon for 31 years. In 2017 the practice was acquired by Unifeye Vision Partners and Dr. Lindstrom was appointed to the UVP Board of Directors. He has served as the Global Medical Editor of the USA and International Editions of Ocular Surgery News for 40 years, which reaches 82,000 ophthalmologists worldwide.

Dr. Lindstrom was elected President of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery in 2007 and continues to serve on the ASCRS Executive Committee and the Board of Directors of the ASCRS Foundation. He served as President of the International Society of Refractive Surgery of the American Academy of Ophthalmology in 1993-1994, was elected President of the International Intraocular Implant Club for 2002 to 2004, and was president of the International Refractive Surgery Club in 2006 2008.

Dr. Lindstrom from 1995 to present has served as the Chairman and CEO of Lindstrom Restoration, a three-generation family Construction business founded by his father. He and his wife Jaci are active in philanthropy and have endowed several funds supporting the University of Minnesota Department of Ophthalmology, the University of Minnesota Medical School Deans Scholar Fund, the Eye Bank Association of America, the University of Minnesota Tennis Team, Sightpath Eye Bank, ASCRS, ECLA and many others.

Dr. Lindstrom has been awarded 45 patents in ophthalmology and has developed a number of corneal preservation solutions, intraocular lenses, drugs and devices that are used daily in clinical practice globally. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of Lindstrom Restoration, Minnesota Eye Consultants, TearLab, Ocular Therapeutix, Harrow Health, Imprimis, Lensar, Surface, Combangio, Kedallion, MD Backline, AcuFocus, Foresight#6, Equinox, Lentechs, Corneagen, Unifye Vision Partners, Theroptix, and Acquea. He is a member of the investment committee at Visionary Ventures Capital and Flying L Ventures.

Prior Board service for acquired companies includes Eyeonics, Encore, WaveTec, Iantech, Advanced Vision Science, Midwest Surgical Services, Laserboyz, Citation Ventures, LVCI, TLCVision, Sightpath, Onpoint Medical Diagnostics, Vision 21, Occulogix, and Wavetec. Current not for profit Board service includes The University of Minnesota Foundation, Inner City Tennis, The Minnesota Eye Consultants Foundation, and The ASCRS Foundation.

A frequent lecturer throughout the world on cornea, cataract, glaucoma, laser refractive surgery, innovation and the business of ophthalmology, he has presented 40 named lectures and keynote speeches before professional societies in the U.S. and abroad, including the Binkhorst, Kelman Innovator and Steinert Lecture at the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery, The American Academy of Ophthalmology Kelman, Barraquer and Lans Lectures, The Cornea Society Castroviejo Lecture, and received The Glaucoma 360 Accelerator Award. He is a recipient of the Eye Bank Association of America Paton and NACT awards. Select International named lectures include the Blumenthal Memorial Lecture in Jerusalem, Israel, the Benedetto Strampelli Medal Lecture in Rome, Italy, the Bjerrum Medal Lecture in Copenhagen, Denmark, the UKISCRS Choyce Medal Lecture in London England, the Albrecht Von GRAFE-Vorlesung Innovator’s Lecture in Nuremberg, Germany, and The International Intraocular Implant Society Medal Lecture in Paris, France. In 2019 he was the first physician inducted into the Scandinavian-American Hall of Fame. In 1998, the Eye and Contact Lens Association initiated the Richard L. Lindstrom MD Surgeon Lecture at its annual meeting. In 2021, the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery will initiate the named Richard L. Lindstrom MD Symposium and Lindstrom Medal Lecture at its annual meeting each year on Sunday. The participants in the Minnesota Eye Consultants Corneal Fellowship Program now number over 80 and are named Lindstrom Fellows and meet once every 4 years for an educational retreat in Napa, California.

Dr. Lindstrom serves on several journal editorial boards, including the Journal of Cataract and Refractive Surgery and the Journal of Refractive Surgery. He is the Honorary Editor-in-Chief of the U.S./Chinese Journal of Ophthalmology. He has co-edited ten books, written many book chapters and published over 400 papers in peer reviewed journals. His professional affiliations are extensive and include the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the American Society of Refractive Surgery, the Cornea Society, The Eye Bank Association of America, The International Society for Refractive Surgery, The International Intraocular Implant Club, the Eye and Contact Lens Association, and the Minnesota Academy of Ophthalmology.

He is the recipient of numerous awards for distinguished service by national and international ophthalmology associations, including two Lifetime Achievement Awards from the International Society of Refractive Surgery of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, The Harold S. Diehl and Trustees Society Award from his alma mater The University of Minnesota, and the Appleton Award from the Minnesota Academy of Ophthalmology. He has been elected to Best Doctors in America since its founding. He was named fourth most influential ophthalmologist in the world in the inaugural “The Ophthalmology” power list in 2015 and has been re-nominated every year to date. Dr. Lindstrom lives in his hometown of Wayzata, Minnesota on the shores of Lake Minnetonka with his wife Jaci. Their two children and five grandchildren live nearby. He and his wife have a second home in Irvine, California. He still practices part time and enjoys an active life including tennis, golf, boating, upland bird hunting, walking the dog, and reading historical fiction when time allows.