James R. Kelly, MD is the Director of Refractive Surgery Education at Northwell Health and the Manhattan Eye, Ear and Throat Hospital (MEETH). Dr. Kelly is the only eye surgeon in New York City certified in every FDA-approved elective vision correction surgery and has performed more EVO ICL implantations than any other office-based doctor in the entirety of New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. As surgical proctor for STAAR Surgical, he was the first to implant the EVO ICL in New York City. Since 1996, he has personally performed over 100,000 successful vision correction procedures, making him one of the most experienced and sought-after refractive surgeons in the United States.

Dr. Kelly is a board-certified eye surgeon and a Diplomate of the American Board of Ophthalmology. He earned his undergraduate degree from Columbia University and his Doctor of Medicine from Weill Cornell Medicine. He completed an internship in Internal Medicine at SUNY-Winthrop University Hospital (now NYU Langone Hospital Long Island) before undertaking a three-year ophthalmology residency at the Manhattan Eye, Ear & Throat Hospital (MEETH), one of the nation’s top-ranked specialty eye surgery centers. Following his residency, Dr. Kelly pursued advanced training and certification in refractive laser eye surgery. He scored in the top 2% on the written ophthalmology board examination.

Dr. Kelly is an active Fellow of the American Academy of Ophthalmology and one of just 24 doctors in New York State recognized by the Refractive Surgery Alliance. He is also a member of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons, the New York State Ophthalmological Society, and the International Society of Refractive Surgeons. In addition to his clinical practice, he serves as a surgical proctor for STAAR Surgical.

A trusted expert in his field, Dr. Kelly has been the refractive surgeon of choice for numerous physicians—including fellow eye surgeons—as well as professional athletes and celebrities such as Jordan Belfort (The Wolf of Wall Street), Logan Paul (WWE United States Champion and Co-Founder of sports beverage company Prime), Joey Graziadei (winner of Dancing with the Stars), Jason Tartick (The Bachelor), Drake Bell (Drake & Josh), Kat Stickler, Eva Gutkowski, Sophie Turner, Rosanna Scotto (Co-Host of Good Day New York), Margaret Josephs (Real Housewives of New Jersey), Loco Ninja, and many more. His work has been featured on Fox, Parade, AOL, Newsday, New York Magazine, New York Post, Z100, POWER 105, WKTU, LITE-FM, K98.3, WALK, and The Howard Stern Show.

Despite his many accolades, Dr. Kelly finds his greatest fulfillment in mentoring the next generation of refractive surgeons through his role as Director of Refractive Surgery Education at Northwell Health.