Dr. Gregory Parkhurst graduated with honors from the undergraduate program at Hillsdale College before completing medical school at Northwestern University. He then went onto a residency training during which he was appointed Chief Resident in eye surgery at Walter Reed Army Medical Center followed by a fellowship at University of Texas and Slade & Baker Vision Center in Houston, with subspecialty training as a corneal specialist and refractive eye surgeon.
Dr. Parkhurst is distinguished as one of the “Top 40 Under 40” Most Influential Ophthalmologists in the world by The Ophthalmologist, an authority on the eye care industry out of Europe and was named one of San Antonio’s “Top Doctors” by San Antonio Magazine and a “Top Ophthalmologist” in San Antonio by The Leading Physicians of the World. His work has been published in numerous peer reviewed journals including Ophthalmology, Journal of Cataract & Refractive Surgery, and Journal of Refractive Surgery among others and led as Principal Investigator for multiple FDA clinical trials.
Specialties
- Laser- Assisted Cataract Surgery
- Lens Replacement Surgery
- PRK
- EVO ICL Surgery
- Superficial Keratectomy
- Standard Cataract Surgery
- LASIK Eye Surgery
- SMILE LASIK
- Cross-Linking
- Minimally Invasive Glaucoma Surgery
- Surgical Co-Management
An Open Letter to My Patients
I feel incredibly humbled and grateful that you have chosen us to accomplish quality vision for the life you live. My life’s work is to help people, just like you, enjoy life without the barriers created by poor vision. I love what I do because experiencing life with better vision allows people to connect with one another and enjoy the world around us every waking minute of our lives.
Having grown up with bad vision and astigmatism myself, I can fully identify with the frustration, hassles, and even risks of being dependent on glasses and contacts just like you may be now. We all have “embarrassing stories” from childhood that we’d rather forget. One or two probably popped into your head just now. One that painfully sticks out for me was when I was a junior high kid. Along with many of the other boys in my class, I had been invited to a birthday party at the lake. As soon as they said it was my turn to water ski, I immediately dove headfirst into the water. One problem: I had forgotten to take off my glasses before diving in! After thrashing around in the waves, grasping at my quickly disappearing glasses as they spiraled toward the bottom of the lake, that summer day still ranks as one of the most humiliating and frustrating experiences of my childhood. There went my chance to ski and have fun with the other boys and with it my ability to see, not only for the rest of that day but also the next several days until I could get a new pair of glasses.
That was just one of the reasons why back in 2003, I decided to have vision correction surgery myself. My vision was better than 20/20 within a week, and 14 years later, it is still exactly the same. It is often easy to forget by now what a life with nearsightedness and astigmatism was like. Since that time, I have had the privilege of performing over 14,000 procedures on patients from all over the world. Many of those I’ve helped are professional athletes and public figures whose names we all recognize, but more importantly, they are also some of my closest family members and friends. Those whom I’ve performed surgery for include my mother (who had LASIK), my father (who had laser cataract surgery with multifocal implant lenses), my mother-in-law, my wife’s best friend, some of my closest childhood friends, other eye doctors, and surgeons and their family, and countless military members who found themselves in environments where glasses and contacts simply are not an option.
Over the course of the last several years, I feel incredibly blessed to have helped so many of you from states and countries near and far accomplish your best natural vision. There are too many of your stories to recount here, but a couple come to mind. To you Jessica, who struggled with “coke-bottle glasses” since 1st grade and decided to have your mom come in from out of state to have her vision corrected too. Experiencing that moment when the two of you were a few weeks out from your procedures and sharing happy tears, celebrating being able to see better than either of you ever remembered was truly a highlight. And to you Javier, who grew up self-conscious due to blurred vision, seeing you experience newfound self-confidence and not having to hide behind those thick glasses. My life’s work is dedicated to you.
For those of you who’ve already trusted us at Parkhurst NuVision to correct your vision, thank you from the bottom of my heart. If we’ve not yet had the pleasure to meet you, please contact me here. I would be thrilled to meet you personally and see what we can do to help. For others who would like to know more about the details about my resume, training, and experience, please feel free to read on below. However, beyond diplomas, certificates, awards, and designations, know that the most important thing I think you should know is that I’m in this for you, and it would be an absolute privilege for me to see what we can do to help you achieve your best natural vision. Having my vision fixed has changed my life every waking minute. If you think it might benefit you, I’d love to meet with you and discuss your options in person.
With warm regards,
Dr. Gregory Parkhurst
Education & Experience
Surgeon, Leader, Vision Pioneer
- Undergraduate: Hillsdale College Honors Program
- Medical School: Northwestern University
- Residency Training in Eye Surgery: Walter Reed Army Medical Center, selected as Chief Resident
- Military Experience: US Army Major, honorably served until completion
- Fellowship: University of Texas and Slade & Baker Vision Center in Houston, subspecialty training as a corneal specialist and refractive eye surgeon
Personal Affiliations
A Pillar of the Refractive Surgery Community
Dr. Parkhurst is board certified by the American Board of Ophthalmology, and is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons. Additionally, a professional point of pride for Dr. Parkhurst is that he is a founder, former president, and board member of the Refractive Surgery Alliance, a global organization consisting of 300 of the world’s top refractive surgeons. Together, they’re dedicated to furthering principles of qualified, ethical physicianship, capital equipment, and post-surgery longevity worldwide.
What will your NuVision story be?
Book LASIK EvaluationHonors & Awards
- Listed on the “Top 40 Under 40” Most Influential Ophthalmologists in the world by The Ophthalmologist, an authority on the eye care industry out of Europe
- Named one of San Antonio’s “Top Doctors” in San Antonio Magazine
“Top Ophthalmologist” in San Antonio according to The Leading Physicians of the World Publication - One of 5 Surgeons in North America Inducted into the Visian Implantable Contact Lens “Master’s Club” for having contributed significantly to the field and performed over 1,000 procedures
- Served as President of the Refractive Surgery Alliance, an international society of Refractive Surgeons with over 300 eye surgeon members
- Parkhurst NuVision became the first designated LensAR laser cataract center of excellence in the United States and still stands as the only center with that designation in the South Region
- Performed the most EVO ICL procedures in the United States several years running
American Academy of Ophthalmology Achievement Award - Refractive Surgery Alliance President’s Award
- Performed the most EVO ICL procedures in Texas
- Performed the First Raindrop Near Vision Inlay in a corneal pocket in the United States
- Performed the First LensAR laser cataract procedure in San Antonio/South Texas
- Board Certified by the American Board of Ophthalmology
- Fellow of the American College of Surgeons
- Published textbook chapters on Laser Cataract Surgery and EVO ICL, available in multiple languages worldwide
- Best Scientific Research Paper of Session Award from the American Academy of Ophthalmology
- Best Scientific Research Paper of Session Award from the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery
Research & Academics
- US Food & Drug Administration
- American Academy of Ophthalmology
- European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery
- American-European College of Ophthalmic Surgeons
- Refractive Surgery Alliance
- International Society of Refractive Surgery
- American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery
Publications
Dr. Parkhurst has contributed prolifically to a number of outlets, including the following:
Peer-Reviewed Scientific Journals
- Ophthalmology
- Journal of Cataract & Refractive Surgery
- Journal of Refractive Surgery
- Clinical Ophthalmology
- Journal of Occupational & Environmental Medicine
Ophthalmology Industry Publications
- Ocular Surgery News
- Cataract & Refractive Surgery Today
- Ophthalmology Times
- Cataract & Refractive Surgery Today
- Europe Glaucoma Today
- Eye World
Personal
Inspired by his own vision correction success
Dr. Parkhurst grew up with astigmatism and poor vision himself, which inspired him to begin a career in ophthalmology. In 2003, he made the life-changing decision to become a LASIK patient, and has since performed vision correction surgery on members of his family. This experience has helped him to truly empathize with the concerns his patients have prior to surgery. Dr. Parkhurst has always emphasized service in his career; he has not only served the United States in the military and operated on service members, but has also gone on mission trips to places such as Mexico to perform free cataract surgery!