Kent L. Wellish, MD

Founder And Medical Director Nevada’s First Laser Vision Surgeon

Fellowship – Cornea, External Ocular Disease, and Refractive Surgery, University of California, Los Angeles – Jules Stein Eye Institute
Research Fellowship – National Institutes of Health
Residency – University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, Kansas
Medical School – University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona
Undergraduate – Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts

Calm, personable, genuine and confident, Dr. Kent Wellish has an impeccable quality of care, a passionate love of his work and a commitment that endears him to his patients. His skills as a surgeon and level of experience have gained him wide recognition among his peers as one of the leading vision correction surgeons in the country. Dr. Wellish is the only two-year UCLA university fellowship-trained corneal and laser refractive surgeon in Nevada. He received his B.A. with honors from Brandeis University in 1982. He also completed an NIH research fellowship in vision in 1983, and obtained his M.D. at the University of Arizona in 1987. After an ophthalmology residency at the University of Kansas, he spent two years as a visiting assistant professor at the Jules Stein Eye Institute, UCLA, where he performed pioneering research in Excimer Laser Vision Correction and became one of the first surgeons in the world to complete a two-year university fellowship in corneal and laser refractive surgery.

Dr. Wellish has been invited to lecture on Excimer Laser Vision Correction from coast to coast and around the world. He has served as a reviewer for the Journal of Refractive Surgery and is a clinical assistant professor of ophthalmology at the University of Nevada School of Medicine. Dr. Wellish’s published work is used to train surgeons to perform laser vision correction.

As the first surgeon in Nevada to perform laser vision correction (July 1994), Dr. Wellish is often interviewed by television news programs covering the latest developments in ophthalmology. Dr. Wellish has been honored twice by the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce and has also been honored by several members of Congress for his work.

Achievements, recognition and awards

Was selected as a National Institutes of Health research fellow in vision, 1983. One of only a handful of LASIK surgeons in the world to achieve this distinction.

Completed a two-year fellowship in corneal and vision correction surgery at the Jules Stein Eye Institute, UCLA, 1992-1994.
Has been voted Top Doc by Las Vegas area physicians multiple times since 2000, making Wellish Vision Institute the only All-Laser LASIK vision center* owned and operated by a Las Vegas Top Doc.(*Permanent, on-site laser center)
Has been invited to lecture on laser vision correction at universities and meetings across the country.
Personally performed thousands of LASIK and cataract surgeries, including many on Las Vegas area Top Docs and prominent eye doctors, their family members and two consecutive presidents of the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce.
Trained dozens of Las Vegas area eye care physicians on pre- and post-operative care of vision correction surgery patients.
Has been interviewed on Las Vegas local affiliate channels for NBC, CBS, ABC and FOX.
Was featured as an expert on local ABC affiliate news story “LASIK LIES,” and contributed to other news stories on LASIK in the Las Vegas Review Journal.