About
Medi Eslani, MD, FAAO
Board-Certified Ophthalmologist · Fellowship-Trained Glaucoma Specialist · Cataract, Refractive & Ocular Surface Surgeon
Meet Dr. Eslani
A surgeon-scientist caring for San Diego County
Dr. Medi Eslani is a board-certified ophthalmologist and fellowship-trained glaucoma specialist at American Eye Associates. He completed his residency and glaucoma fellowship at the Shiley Eye Institute, UC San Diego, training under Dr. Robert N. Weinreb, one of the world's foremost authorities on glaucoma.
Before becoming a surgeon, he built an internationally recognized research career in cornea and ocular surface disease under Dr. Edward Holland and Dr. Ali Djalilian, and served as an Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, authoring 70+ peer-reviewed publications and earning the prestigious Heed Fellowship.
Today he pairs that academic foundation with advanced surgical skill across cataract, refractive, glaucoma, and ocular surface care. Our Spanish- and Tagalog-speaking team helps make exceptional care comfortable for every community we serve.
Schedule with Dr. EslaniEducation & Training
Honors & Recognition
Research & Recognition
At the forefront of eye care
Award-winning research that has helped advance the cornea, ocular surface, and glaucoma care patients receive today.
Beside Dr. Claes Dohlman, a pioneer of modern corneal surgery, with the ASCRS Best Poster award.
Presenting pioneering research on stem-cell therapy for ocular surface reconstruction.
Featured by EyeWorld for breakthrough stem-cell transplantation research with Dr. Edward Holland.
Selected Research
Work that shaped how the ocular surface is treated
Dr. Eslani's research centres on the ocular surface: how the cornea heals, why it fails, and how stem cells can be used to rebuild it. That work was carried out in the Stem Cell Therapy and Corneal Tissue Engineering Laboratory at the University of Illinois at Chicago with Dr. Ali Djalilian, and alongside Dr. Edward Holland at the Cincinnati Eye Institute.
It is not academic decoration. Chemical burns, limbal stem cell deficiency, and corneal neovascularisation are among the conditions that leave people unable to see through an otherwise healthy eye, and the questions studied in the laboratory are the same ones that shape how patients are treated in clinic today.
PubMed
66 indexed publications
Original research, reviews, and clinical trials indexed in the National Library of Medicine database, spanning cornea, ocular surface disease, and glaucoma.
Google Scholar
Cited more than 3,600 times
His published work has been cited over three thousand six hundred times by other researchers around the world.
Impact
h-index of 36
Thirty-six of his papers have each been cited at least thirty-six times: a measure of sustained influence on the field rather than sheer volume of output.
Selected peer-reviewed publications
Amniotic Membrane Transplantation in Acute Severe Ocular Chemical Injury: A Randomized Clinical Trial. American Journal of Ophthalmology, 2019. First author.
Cornea-Derived Mesenchymal Stromal Cells Therapeutically Modulate Macrophage Immunophenotype and Angiogenic Function. Stem Cells, 2018. First author.
Corneal Mesenchymal Stromal Cells Are Directly Antiangiogenic via PEDF and sFLT-1. Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science, 2017. First author.
Late Acute Rejection After Allograft Limbal Stem Cell Transplantation: Evidence for Long-Term Donor Survival. Cornea, 2017. First author.
Long-Term Outcomes of Conjunctival Limbal Autograft in Patients with Unilateral Total Limbal Stem Cell Deficiency. The Ocular Surface, 2019. First author.
The Ocular Surface Chemical Burns. Journal of Ophthalmology, 2014. First author.
Current and Emerging Therapies for Corneal Neovascularization. The Ocular Surface, 2018. Co-author.
How He Practices
What to expect from a consultation
The most common complaint people have about specialist eye care is that it feels like a conveyor belt: a rushed examination, a decision that seems to have been made already, and a recommendation that sounds identical to the one the person before them received.
Time
Unhurried consultations
Enough time to explain what is happening inside your eye, why it matters, and what your options genuinely are. Questions are expected rather than tolerated, and you are welcome to bring someone with you.
Honesty
Being told when not to have surgery
A surgeon who only ever operates is not much use to a patient who should not be operated on. Plenty of consultations end with a recommendation to wait, to treat something else first, or that a different procedure would suit you better.
The whole eye
Three subspecialties in one surgeon
Cataract, glaucoma, and ocular surface disease overlap constantly, and treating one while ignoring the others produces disappointing results. All three are assessed together rather than referred around.
Language
Care in English, Spanish, and Tagalog
Understanding your own eye condition should not depend on how good your English is. Spanish- and Tagalog-speaking technicians support patients across every office.
Our Team
Caring for you across San Diego County
A welcoming, multilingual team, with Spanish- and Tagalog-speaking staff, across four offices in San Diego County and the Imperial Valley.
Our OR team celebrating certification in AlloFlo, one of the newest minimally invasive glaucoma procedures.
Our team at the National City office.
Our team at the El Centro office.
Leadership
The team behind your care
Behind Dr. Eslani stands the experienced leadership of American Eye Associates — physicians and healthcare executives who have set the standard in eye care since 1988.
Nasrin Mani, MD
Founder
Board-certified ophthalmologist who founded American Eye Associates in 1988 and has led its growth across Southern California ever since.
Majid Mani, MD, FACS, FAAO
Chief Medical Officer
Clay Rempe
Chief Executive Officer
Ronda Rodriguez
Chief Operating Officer
Kevin Windle
Chief Financial Officer
FAQ
About Dr. Eslani
Meet Dr. Eslani
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