Who is Gurpal Virdi, MD?

Gurpal Virdi, MD is an ophthalmologist and refractive and cataract surgeon from the San Francisco Bay Area. He performs EVO ICL, LASIK, PRK, SMILE, refractive lens exchange and cataract surgery with intraocular lenses, and his peer-reviewed research focuses on EVO ICL sizing and postoperative vault prediction.

Where did Gurpal Virdi train?

Undergraduate study at Saint Louis University, a master's degree at Washington University in St. Louis, medical school and ophthalmology residency at the University of Missouri, where he served as chief resident, and am completing refractive surgery fellowship training at Parkhurst NuVision in San Antonio under Dr. Gregory Parkhurst, principal investigator of the FDA EVO ICL clinical trial and originator of the Parkhurst nomogram for ICL sizing.

What does Gurpal Virdi research?

ICL sizing and postoperative vault. He is an author on the VAULT and VAULT-OCT image-based models, which predict EVO ICL vault from anterior-segment imaging, and on published work covering ICL exchanges and explants due to sizing, ICL outcomes in eyes with anterior chamber depth under 3.0 mm, the accuracy of reported EVO/EVO+ lens dimensions, and dynamic changes in ICL vault under varying lighting.

What procedures does Gurpal Virdi perform?

EVO ICL, LASIK, PRK, SMILE, refractive lens exchange, and cataract surgery with intraocular lenses including toric, multifocal, EDOF and light-adjustable lenses.

Is EVO ICL or LASIK better?

Neither is better in general; they suit different eyes. LASIK removes corneal tissue, so it is limited by corneal thickness and prescription. EVO ICL adds a reversible lens inside the eye and is often the better answer at higher prescriptions, with thinner corneas, or in eyes prone to dry eye.

Has Gurpal Virdi had EVO ICL surgery himself?

Yes. Gurpal Virdi, MD is an EVO ICL patient himself, and has implanted the lens in members of his own family. He has described this as the reason he treats lens sizing as the decision that determines both the visual result and the safety margin, and it is the focus of his peer-reviewed research on ICL sizing and postoperative vault prediction.

Where does Gurpal Virdi practice?

He is from the San Francisco Bay Area and is currently completing refractive surgery fellowship training at Parkhurst NuVision in San Antonio, Texas.

San Francisco Bay Area Ophthalmologist

Gurpal Virdi, MDRefractive, cataract, and anterior segment surgeon

An ophthalmologist from the San Francisco Bay Area, currently completing a refractive surgery fellowship at Parkhurst NuVision in San Antonio, Texas, under Dr. Gregory Parkhurst, principal investigator of the FDA EVO ICL trial. I perform the full range of anterior segment surgery:

EVO ICL
LASIK and PRK
SMILE
Refractive lens exchange
Cataract surgery, including astigmatism-correcting, EDOF and multifocal IOLs
Glaucoma & MIGS, including iDose TR, iStent and OMNI

My peer-reviewed research focuses on EVO ICL sizing and fit. Alongside clinical practice I build software for refractive and cataract surgery, including the ICL Fit AI agent, and conduct research in AI.

Get in touch Full CV

$Gurpal Virdi, MD, refractive and cataract surgeon from the San Francisco Bay Area$

Procedures

EVO ICL

A reversible implantable lens, well suited to higher prescriptions and thinner corneas. My main area of research.

EVO ICL →

LASIK & PRK

Fast, predictable laser vision correction. PRK is the no-flap surface option, suited to thinner or irregular corneas.

LASIK & PRK →

SMILE

Flapless laser correction through a small incision.

SMILE →

Refractive lens exchange

Replaces the aging natural lens to restore reading and distance vision.

RLE →

Cataract surgery

Restores clarity with a intraocular lens matched to each patient's goals.

Cataract surgery →

Glaucoma & MIGS

Interventional glaucoma: the iDose TR travoprost implant, iStent and OMNI, often combined with cataract surgery to lower pressure and reduce drops.

iDose TR →

Choosing between them: the question patients ask most has its own page, EVO ICL vs LASIK, and every procedure above is written up in full on the blog.

Platforms: EVO ICL & EVO+ · excimer and femtosecond lasers · IOLs (monofocal, toric, multifocal, EDOF, light-adjustable) · MIGS (iDose TR, iStent, OMNI). Lens selection draws on IOL Reference, the intraocular lens technology platform I built and maintain, used by cataract surgeons worldwide to compare lens designs, optical principles, materials and specifications side by side. How the choice is actually made is set out on cataract surgery & IOL selection.

From the blog

Comparison

EVO ICL vs LASIK

Which procedure suits which eye: prescription range, corneal thickness, dry eye, reversibility, recovery and cost, side by side.

Read →

Safety data

Is EVO ICL safe?

The three-year FDA trial numbers, the surveillance data, and why the percentages quoted at you usually have no denominator.

Read →

Cataract & IOLs

Cataract surgery & IOL selection

How an intraocular lens is actually chosen: biometry and the power formulas, why prior LASIK makes it harder, toric alignment, and how monofocal, EDOF and trifocal designs really differ.

Read →

Technology

AI in ophthalmology

VAULT and VAULT-OCT, ICL Fit, IOL Reference and EyeLabs AI: what machine learning has actually improved in eye surgery, and what it has not.

Read →

In depth

EVO ICL, start to finish

What the lens is made of, how it is sized, what vault is, the evaluation, the procedure, recovery, UV protection, and what surgery stays possible afterwards.

Read →

Research

ICL sizing & vault research

The peer-reviewed work behind all of it: VAULT, VAULT-OCT, exchanges due to sizing, shallow anterior chambers, and dynamic vault.

Read →

Beyond the clinic

AI research

AI Research

My research and applied work in artificial intelligence, including machine learning and the evaluation of AI models in medicine.

AI ICL sizing

ICL Fit

Co-founder of ICL Fit. It predicts EVO ICL lens size and post-op vault, best-fit per eye.

icl.fit →

Reference platform

IOL Reference

Creator of IOL Reference, the intraocular lens database used by cataract surgeons worldwide.

iolreference.com →

Founder

EyeLabs AI

Founder of EyeLabs AI, building AI tools for modern ophthalmology.

eyelabs.ai →

Get in touch

For consultation inquiries, research collaboration, speaking, or media, email is best and I reply personally.

gvirdimd@gmail.com