My name is Austin Igelman, and I’m a refractive, cataract, and minimally invasive glaucoma surgeon, joining Northwest Eye Surgeons in October of 2026 at the Northgate Seattle location.
I grew up in Oregon, then I went back East for College at Yale University. I decided to come back home to the Pacific Northwest and attended Medical School at Oregon Health and Science University. I then did my ophthalmology residency training down there in Portland at the KCI Institute at OHSU.
Serving the community has always been a core value to me. I was actually first exposed to ophthalmology while in medical school volunteering with the free mobile eye clinic at OHSU, and have volunteered my services with this group for years both in rural and urban communities in Oregon. Seeing first hand the impact of visual impairment on folks and their gratitude is what inspired me to pursue the field of ophthalmology in the first place. I also have been fortunate enough to provide voluntary surgical eye care during residency in American Samoa. And again, these moments with patients are what continue to be my favorite part of the job and really are what I most look forward to.
I was immediately drawn to the collaborative nature of Northwest Eye Surgeons. Their well-deserved reputation amongst referring doctors and patients is decades in the making and they truly walk the walk. Every team member has the patient’s best interest of heart, and I do my best work while being in a community like that. I like to provide unique and personalized care for each patient. My aim is to discuss their specific goals and desires for their vision and then to use my training and experience to provide them with the best and most state-of-the-art ways to achieve their desired visual goals.
I have an open door policy. I provide my personal phone number and I’m always more than happy to discuss any thoughts or concerns about any of my patients at any time. Our referring doctors are critical in providing both the best visual outcomes as well as a stress-free experience for our patients. Medicine and eye care is a team sport.
