Richard L. Lindstrom, MD
Richard L. Lindstrom, MD, is Founder and Attending Surgeon Emeritus at Minnesota Eye Consultants, and a Senior Lecturer, Adjunct Professor Emeritus, and Trustee Emeritus at the University of Minnesota. He is a Visiting Professor and member of the Chairman’s Advisory Committee at the UC Irvine Gavin Herbert Eye Institute. He is a board-certified ophthalmologist and internationally recognized leader in cornea, cataract, refractive surgery, glaucoma, laser surgery, innovation, investment, and the business of ophthalmology. He has been at the forefront of ophthalmology’s evolutionary changes throughout his 55-year career in medicine as a clinician, leader, researcher, teacher, inventor, writer, industry consultant and highly acclaimed physician and surgeon.
After graduating Magna Cum Laude with a B.A. from the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Minnesota, Dr. Lindstrom completed his B.S. and Doctorate Degree in Medicine at the University of Minnesota in 1972. Following six months of corneal preservation research supported by the National Eye Institute, he completed a one-year internal medicine internship at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis, Minnesota followed by a three-year Residency in Ophthalmology and a one-year Fellowship in Cornea/External Disease and Research 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 MD at the Ophthalmology Center, in 1980 Dr. Lindstrom returned to the University of Minnesota, where he spent ten years in the faculty of the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Neurosciences, the last two as a Full Professor and the Harold G. Scheie Research Chair. From 1980 to 1989 he also served as Chief of Ophthalmology at the Minneapolis Veterans Administration Hospital.
Dr. Lindstrom entered private practice in 1990 and led the growth and expansion of Minnesota Eye Consultants, serving as Managing Partner for 15 years and Partner/Attending Surgeon for 32 years. In 2017 the practice was acquired by the Private Equity firm Waud Capital of Chicago and Unifeye Vision Partners (UVP) was founded. Dr. Lindstrom was appointed to the UVP Board of Directors and remains active in this position.
Dr. Lindstrom was elected President of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery for the 2007-2008 term and served on the ASCRS Executive Committee until 2025. He served on the Board of Directors of the ASCRS Foundation for 15 years, six as Board Chair. He served as President of the International Society of Refractive Surgery of the American Academy of Ophthalmology from 1993-1994, was elected President of the International Intraocular Implant Club for 2002 to 2004 and was president of the International Refractive Surgery Club from 2006 2008.
He has presented over 45 named lectures and keynote speeches before professional societies in the United States and abroad. He has received the Glaucoma 360 Accelerator Award, is a member of the Eye Bank Association of America Paton Society, and received the National Ambassador for Cornea Transplant award. He has been awarded 45 patents in ophthalmology.
Dr. Lindstrom has served as Associate and then Chief Global Medical Editor for the USA and International Editions of Ocular Surgery News for 43 years. The broadly read and influential Lindstrom’s Perspective is published twice per month. He has served as Course Director for Healio Live Meetings Hawaii Eye and Retina, Sunshine Eye and Retina and OSN New York Eye and Retina since founding.
He serves on several journal editorial boards, including the Journal of Cataract and Refractive Surgery and the Journal of Refractive Surgery. He has co-edited ten books, written many book chapters, and published over 400 papers in peer reviewed journals. His professional affiliations include the American Ophthalmological Society, 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.
In 1998, the Eye and Contact Lens Association initiated the Richard L. Lindstrom MD Surgeon Lecture at its annual meeting. In 2019 Dr. Lindstrom was the first physician inducted into the Scandinavian-American Hall of Fame. In 2021, the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery initiated the Richard L. Lindstrom MD Symposium and Lindstrom Medal Lecture presented at its annual meeting each year. In 2022, The Wyanoke Group initiated the annual Lindstrom Leadership Lecture at Hawaii Eye and Retina in 2021. In 2025 at the World Cornea Congress in Washington DC the first Lindstrom Corneal Surgical Innovation Lecture and Prize will be awarded. In 2025 the University of Minnesota Department of Ophthalmology inaugurated an annual Lindstrom Anterior Segment Visiting Professor and Lecturer. In 2025 Dr. Lindstrom was elected to the ASCRS Hall of Fame.
Dr. Lindstrom owns and serves as the Chairman and CEO of Lindstrom Restoration, a three-generation family Construction business founded by his father. His son Michael is the current President and COO and 12-year-old grandson Dean has begun his apprenticeship and is next in line.
He is a fourth generation Minnesotan of Swedish descent and 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 enjoys an active life including tennis, golf, boating, upland bird hunting, motorcycling, biking, walking their Pug Rubi, sharing family adventures and reading historical fiction when time allows. Dr. Lindstrom and Jaci are active in philanthropy and have donated funds supporting the University of Minnesota Department of Ophthalmology, the University of Minnesota Medical School, the University of Minnesota Tennis Team, The University of Minnesota Football Team, The Eye Bank Association of America, SightLife Eye Bank, hoag Hospital in Irvine, California, Blake Schools, Benilde Schools, AAO, ASCRS, ECLA and many others
