Dr. Joel Nelson

Dr. Joel Nelson is a Minnesota native who received his bachelor’s degree in biology and psychology from Gustavus Adolphus College before moving on to his medical training in Des Moines, Iowa. He then spent 4 years completing his ophthalmology training in Miami, FL at Nova Southeastern University. The last stop of his training was at the University of MN to specialize in the medical and surgical treatment of corneal disease. He is one of the only surgeons in Central Minnesota performing a variety of corneal transplant techniques, including PKP, DSEK, DMEK, and DALK. He has also been specially prepared to surgically manage intraocular lens dislocations using the intrascleral haptic fixation technique. In addition to corneal surgery, Dr. Nelson also has emphasis in his practice on the surgical treatment of cataracts and LASIK surgery. He is one of the few surgeons in the state certified to implant the new iStent Inject Micro-Bypass device for the management of glaucoma at the time of cataract surgery.

Beyond work, Joel enjoys spending time camping, hiking, and gardening with his young family.

Dr. Nelson is highly rated in 1 condition, according to our data. His clinical expertise encompasses Cataract, Neurotrophic Keratitis, Glaucoma, Adult-Onset Vitelliform Macular Dystrophy (AVMD), and Cataract Removal.

He is actively involved in clinical research, co-authoring 6 peer reviewed articles.