Each year, patients from around the world travel to Jacksonville’s Gulani Vision Institute to have their vision corrected by noted ophthalmologist Arun Gulani, MD. A Ponte Vedra Beach resident, Dr. Gulani has been a leader in LASIK, cataract and astigmatism surgery, and is often called upon to train other physicians in the latest groundbreaking techniques.
What services does the Gulani Vision Institute provide?
We provide advanced, custom-designed LASIK, cataract and astigmatism surgery; second opinions and corrective surgery for complications of LASIK and cataract surgery, previous radial keratotomy (RK) surgery and keratoconus; and innovative techniques for patients who are told they are “not a candidate.” We also treat dry eyes, perform pterygium surface rejuvenation surgeries and provide surgeon training in futuristic techniques along with eye care industry inventions and leadership.How did you become interested in ophthalmology?
I fell in love with it. There is no other profession – pardon my severe bias – that allows one to change people’s lives so dramatically and then go home so gratified every day. I am privileged to perform delicate micro-surgery using futuristic lasers and my own invented surgical instruments to help each patient see the best they can. In addition, this technologically savvy surgical profession fuels my desire to invent and keep chasing a higher target of vision for each patient beyond 20/20. Having performed one of the first LASIK surgeries in the world much before US FDA approval in the United States, I had already invented LASIK surgical instruments to improve the surgery and then authored book chapters and lectured worldwide to share my experience. From then on, I mastered over 28 forms of laser techniques to help people of all conditions see without glasses.
What brought you to the First Coast?
I was invited from New York to start the LASIK department at the University of Florida, after which I started the Gulani Vision Institute to realize my dream for providing a world-class service in a compassionate setting by performing advanced innovative laser surgeries with a very personalized patient care – high-tech, high touch – in addition to teaching visiting surgeons at my institute and providing my unbiased leadership to the eye care industry worldwide. I am blessed to have achieved that dream and continue to raise the bar in my profession so patients can aspire for custom-designed surgeries instead of routine procedures and every surgeon gets inspired to seek vision beyond 20/20
What brings patients from around the globe to Jacksonville to have you correct their vision?
Since we provide the full spectrum of laser vision corrective surgeries, there are three kinds of patients who seek my services: Those who seek the highest level of vision and don’t want to settle for routine LASIK or cataract surgery; patients who have had complications from LASIK or cataract surgery with their surgeons or have had previous radial keratotomy (RK) surgery or side effects of eye surgery and seek to correct their vision; and those who have been told they are not a candidate for surgery due to their complex nature, high astigmatism, keratoconus, thin corneas or dry eyes.
Basically, I have set up my institute and work exactly how I would like to be treated myself. Hence, no patient waits at our institute; no one is rushed. I personally see every patient before, during and after surgery. There is no hype or deals and we don’t like to advertise.
And yet with this simple model, we have made the world fly to us. I know this is contrary to the national norm, but I truly believe that what we do as doctors is a privilege and our patient’s trust has to be highly respected as we work hard for each one of them to deliver the best we humanly can.
What are some of the emerging technologies that are being used today or will soon be available?
Due to my international privileges and exchange of information with surgeons while I am teaching worldwide, I have been fortunate in being among the first in the world for most surgeries and technologies, sometimes years ahead of our peers in the United States. In my crystal ball, the future of the eye surgical field is very exciting, with recent advances to correct after-40 reading glasses with KAMRA/Raindrop technologies, new generation multifocal and Toric multifocal lenses for cataract surgery, no-blade LASIK, dry-eye innovations and laser techniques to help most people lead a life without glasses. In the research pipeline, I am also involved in 3D surgery techniques, robotic LASIK surgery, 3D printed lens and laser simulations, self-charging and self-adjusting cataract lens implants and more.
How do you enjoy spending your free time?
My work is so gratifying, I am never tired of spending hours designing and working on each patient’s vision. Then my second passion is fashion designing and modeling, along with poetry and photography. My penchant for perfection and elegance may be the reason why I am so hard on myself to raise the bar in eye surgery constantly as an art. I enjoy time with my family in our beautiful Ponte Vedra community and love mentoring students, eye surgeons and giving back whenever I can. It truly is a blessing that I am living my dream to help people see the best they can, encourage fellow eye surgeons and shape the future, all from within a community that has given me so much love and support.
