Sumit (Sam) Garg

Picture of Sumit (Sam) Garg
Professor of Ophthalmology  
Cataract, External Disease/Corneal Surgery & Refractive Surgery
School of Medicine
Medical Director - Gavin Herbert Eye Institute
Vice Chair of Clinical Ophthalmology
School of Medicine
B.S., University of Southern California, Los Angeles, 1997
M.A., Boston University, Department of Graduate Sciences, Boston, MA, 1998
M.D., New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY, 2003
Phone: Appointments: (949) 824-2020 Academic Office: (949) 824-0327
Fax: (949) 824-4015
Email: gargs@uci.edu
University of California, Irvine
850 Health Sciences Road
Mail Code: 4375
Irvine, CA 92697
Research Interests
Cataract Surgery (complex and routine), Premium Cataract Surgery (Presbyopia/Astigmatism), Laser Cataract Surgery, Dry Eye management, Lipiflow, LASIK, Corneal Transplant, DSEK, DMEK, Keratoconus, Collagen Crosslinking, Complication management
Academic Distinctions
2014 - Recognized in Best Doctors for 2014
2014 - Vitals Patients’ Choice Compassionate Doctor Award
2014 - Recognized in Super Doctors “Rising Stars” for 2014
2014 - Recognized in Vitals Top 10 Doctor (Ophthalmologist)
2015 - Vitals Patients’ Choice Compassionate Doctor Award
2015 - Recognized in Orange County Physicians of Excellence
2015 - Recognized in Super Doctors “Rising Stars” for 2015
2015 - Recognized in Best Doctors for 2015
2015 - Castle Connolly's 2015 Top Doctors Award
2016 - Recognized in Who's Who in Science and Engineering Twelfth Edition 2016
2016 - Recognized in Orange County Physician of Excellence
2016 - Recognized in Best Doctors for 2016
2016 - Castle Connolly's 2016 Top Doctors Award
2016 - The 2016 America’s Most Honored Professional Award
2016 - The 2016 Patients’ Choice Award
2016 - Recognized in Ocular Surgery News as a Premier 300 Refractive Cataract Surgeon
2016 - Recognized in The Leading Physicians of the World as a Top Ophthalmologist by the International Association of Ophthalmologist (IAO)
2016 – Ranked as One of the Top Five UC Irvine Physicians by Ambulatory Surgery Patients
2017 - Recognized in Who's Who in Science and Engineering Twelfth Edition 2017
2017 - Recognized in Super Doctors “Rising Stars” for 2017
2017 - Recognized in Orange County Physician of Excellence
2017 - Castle Connolly's 2017 Top Doctors Award
2017 - Elected Physician for UC Irvine National Doctor’s Day in the Category of Ambulatory Surgery
2017 - The 2017 America’s Most Honored Professional Award
2017 - American Academy of Ophthalmology Achievement Award
2017 - Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award
2017 - Recognized in The Leading Physicians of the World as a Top Ophthalmologist by the International Association of Ophthalmologist (IAO)
2018 - Recognized in Orange County Physician of Excellence
2018 - Recognized in Super Doctors “Rising Stars” for 2018
2018 - Castle Connolly's 2018 Top Doctors Award
2018 - The 2018 America’s Most Honored Professional Award
2018 - Visiting professorship (Cataract Surgery) at Wills Eye Hospital, Philadelphia, PA.
2018 - Recognized in Best Doctors for 2018
2019 - Recognized in Orange County Physician of Excellence
2019 - Castle Connolly's 2019 Top Doctors Award
2019 - Recognized in Best Doctors for 2019
2020 - Recognized in Orange County Physician of Excellence
2020 - Castle Connolly's 2020 Top Doctors Award
Publications
Articles – Peer Reviewed

3. Almony, A., Garg, S., Tsong, J., Peters, R.K., Meihmadi, R., Shibuya, B., Kitridou, R., Sadun, A.A. Threshold Amsler Grid as a Screening Tool for Asymptomatic Patients on Hydroxychloroquine Therapy. Br J Ophthal. 2005 May; 89(5):569-74.

4. Garg S., Said B., Farid M., Steinert RF. Prevalence of Positive Microbiology Results From Donor Cornea Tissue in Different Methods of Corneal Transplantation. Cornea 2013 Feb; 32(2):137-40. PMID: 22580430

5. Asota I., Farid M., Garg S., Steinert RF. Femtosecond Laser Enabled Keratoplasty. International Ophthalmology Clinics. Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins. Spring 2013; 53(2); 103-14. PMID: 23470593.

6. Wade M, Steinert R, Garg S, Farid M, Gaster R. Results of toric intraocular lenses for post-keratoplasty astigmatism. Ophthalmology 2014 March; 121(3): 771-777.

7. Farid M, Chak G, Steinert R, Garg S. Reduction in mean deviation values in automated perimetry in eyes with multifocal compared to monofocal intraocular lens implants. The American Journal of Ophthalmology. 2014 August; 158 (2): 227-231.

8. Khan A., Srivastava R., Spencer D., Garg S., Fremgen D., Vahed H., Lopes P., Pham T., Hewett C., Kuang J., Ong N., Huang L., Scarfone V., Nesburn A., Wechsler S., and BenMohamed L. Contributing Author for manuscript "Phenotypic and Functional Characterization of Herpes Simplex Virus Glycoprotein B Epitope-specific Effector and Memory CD8+ T Cells from Ocular Herpes Symptomatic and Asymptomatic Individuals.” Accepted for Publication. Journal of Virology.

9. David Boyer K. Bailey Freund, Carl Regillo, Marc H. Levy, Sumit Garg, Co_Authors: “ Long-term (60-month) results for the implantable miniature telescope: efficacy and safety outcomes stratified by age in patients with end-stage age-related macular degeneration” Clinical Ophthalmology, Dove Press

10. Behshad S, Tucker J, Garg S. Toric Intraocular Lens Alignment: Manual Versus Automated Alignment Techniques for Toric IOLs. International Ophthalmology Clinics. 2016 Jun; 56 (3)71–84.

11. Behshad S, Jacobsen BH, Pinney E, Wade M, Garg S. Endothelial Kertoplasty Safety-Basket Suture for Management of Difficult Cases. Journal of Cornea. 2016 Jun; 35 (6)908–910. PMID: 27100656

12. Behshad S., Jacobsen BH., Pinney E., Wade M., Garg S. Endothelial kertoplasty safety-basket suture for management of difficult cases. Journal of Cornea. 2016 Jun; 35 (6)908–910. PMID: 27100656

13. Go JL., Pham KD., Garg S. Contributing author for manuscript "Williams syndrome and zonulopathy.” Journal of SciMedCentral Ophthalmology. 2016 Dec; 4 (2): 1046.

14. Srivastava R., Khan AA., Garg S., Syed SA., Furness JN., Vahed H., Pham T., Yu HT., Nesburn AB., BenMohamed L. Human asymptomatic epitopes identified from the herpes simplex virus tegument protein VP13/14 (UL47) prefrentially recall polyfunctional effector memory CD44high CD62Llow CD8+ TEM cells and protect humanized HLA-A*02:01 transgenic mice against ocular herpevirus infection. Journal of Virology. 2017 Jan 3; 91(2): e01793-16.

15. Conger, J., Garg S, Mehta MC. “Modified fibrin glue–assisted scleral fixation to secure intraocular lens after traumatic dehiscence of a corneal transplant”. JCRS Online Case Reports. May 2017; 5(2): 30-32.

16. Alfonso-Garcia A., Paugh J., Farid M., Garg S., Jester J., Potma E. A machine learning framework to analyze hyperspectral stimulated raman scattering microscopy images of expressed human meibum. Journal of Raman Spectroscopy. 2017 Jun; 48: 803–812.

17. Khan AA., Srivastava R., Chentoufi AA., Kritzer E., Chilukuri S., Garg S., Yu DC., Vahed H., Huang L., Syed SA., Furness JN., Tran TT., Sidney J., Sette A., Noelle RJ., Benmohamed L. Contributing author for manuscript " Bolstering the number and function of HSV-1-specific CD8+ effector memory T cells and tissue-resident memory T cells in latently infected trigeminal ganglia reduces recurrent ocular herpes infection and disease.” Journal of Immunology. 2017 Jul; 199(1): 186-203.

18. Oakey Z., Thai K., Garg S. “Bilateral corneal perforation due to MRSA keratitis in a crosslinking patient”. GMS Ophthalmology Cases. 2017 Aug 15; 7: 1-3.

19. Zhang Z., Thomas LW., Leu SY., Carter S., Garg S. Refractive outcomes of intraoperative wavefront aberrometry versus optical biometry alone for intraocular lens power calculation. Indian Journal of Ophthalmology. 2017 Sep; 65(9): 813-817.

20. Vo TA., Oakey Z., Garg S. Characterization of corneal endothelial injury during penetrating keratoplasty. Cornea. 2017 Dec 8. [Epub ahead of print]

21. Koreishi A., Garg S. Clinical Experience with the Implantable Miniature Telescope for End-stage Age-related Macular Degeneration. US Ophthalmic Review. 2018 Mar;11(1):51–55.

22. Srivastava, R., Coulon P., Roy, S., Chilukuri, S., Garg, S., Benmohamed, L. Phenotypic and Functional Signatures of Herpes Simplex Virus-Specific Effector Memory CD73+CD45RAhighCCR7lowCD8+ TEMRA and CD73+CD45RAlowCCR7lowCD8+ TEM Cells are Associated with Asymptomatic Ocular Herpes. Journal of Immunology. 2018 Oct 15; 201(8):2315-2330.

23. Shumway, C., Aggarwal S., Farid, M., Muniz-Castro H., Jarstad, A., Garg, S., Kedhar, S., Wade, M. Penetrating Keratoplasty Using Femtosecond Laser: A Comparison of Postoperative Visual Acuity and Astigmatism by Suture Pattern. Cornea. 2018 Dec; 37(12):1490-1496.

24. Paugh J.R., Alfonso-Garcia A., Nguyen A.L., Suhalim J.L., Farid M., Garg S., Tao J., Brown D.J., Potma E.O., Jester J.V. “Characterization of expressed human meibum using hyperspectral stimulated Raman scattering microscopy.” The Ocular Surface. Elsevier. 2019 Jan; 17(1):151-159.

25. Gelman R.A., Garg S. Novel Yamane Technique Modification for Haptic Exposure after Glued Intrascleral Haptic Fixation. The American Journal of Ophthalmology Case Reports. Elsevier. 2019 Jun; 14: 101–104.

26. Castro H. M., Tai A. X., Sampson S. J., Wade M., Farid M., Garg S. Accuracy of Intraocular Lens Power Calculation Using Anterior Chamber Depth from Two Devices with Barrett Universal II Formula. Journal of Ophthalmology. Vol. 2019, Article ID 8172615, 5 pages, 2019 Sep.

27. Behshad S, Wade M, Farid M, Garg S. Surgical Outcomes of Endothelial Keratoplasty Safety-basket Suture for Management of Difficult Cases. Canadian Journal of Ophthalmology. 2019 Dec; Vol. 54, No. 6.

28. Paugh J. R., Tse J., Nguyen T., Sasai A., Chen E., De Jesus M. T., Kwan J., Nguyen A. L., Farid M., Garg S., Jester J. V. Efficacy of the Fluorescein Tear Breakup Time Test in Dry Eye. Cornea. 2020 Jan. 39(1):92-98.

29. Lu Y., Farid M., Garg S., Wade M. Exploring the 10-year Incidence of Endophthalmitis at a Tertiary Care Academic Referral Practice. Journal of Cataract & Refractive Surgery. 2020 Apr. 46(4):641-643.

30. Lu Y., Farid M., Garg S., Wade M. Exploring the 10-year Incidence of Endophthalmitis at a Tertiary Care Academic Referral Practice. Journal of Cataract & Refractive Surgery. 2020 Apr. 46(4):641-643.

31. Smith, R. G., Knezevic, A., & Garg, S. Intraocular Lens Calculations in Patients with Keratoectatic Disorders. Current Opinion in Ophthalmology. 2020 Jul. 31(4), 284-287.

32. Jarstad, A., Chou, J., Garg, S. Cardiac Arrest During Cornea Transplant Surgery. BMJ Case Reports. 2020 Aug. 13(8):e235272.

33. Mehta U., Diepp A., Nguyen K., Le B., Yuh C., Frambach C., Doan J., Wei A., Palma A.M., Farid M., Garg S., Kedhar S., Wade M., Marshall K., Jameson K., Kenney M.C., Browne A. Quantifying color vision changes associated with cataracts using cone contrast thresholds. Translational Vision Science & Technology. 2020 Nov 3;9(12):11.


34. Realini T., Gupta P., Radcliffe N., Garg S., Wiley W., Yeu E., Berdahl J., Kahook M.Y. The effects of glaucoma and glaucoma therapies on corneal endothelial cell density. Journal of Glaucoma. 2021 Mar. 1;30(3):209-218.

35. Nadel A., Carter S., Hakimi A.A., Dallalzadeh L., Hakim M., Garg S. Prospective evaluation of an iOS-based mobile application to detect corneal injury. The American Journal of Emergency Medicine. 2021 Mar 14; S0735-6757(21)00218-7.

36. Garg, S., Mittal, M. What New Lens Technologies Are on the Horizon? touchREVIEWS in Ophthalmology. 2021 Jun 28; 15(1):6-8.

Articles – Non Peer Reviewed

9. Garg S. “My Preferred Phaco Platform”. Cataract and Refractive Surgery Today. January 2014.

10. “Updates from the 9th International Congress of Corneal Cross-Linking”. The National Keratoconus Foundation. 2014 Winter Newsletter.

11. “Pearls for Creating Quality Surgical Video.” Cataract and Refractive Surgery Today. March 2014.

12. “What You Need to Know About Cataracts”. The Discovery Eye Foundation Blog. June 5, 2014.

13. “Rethinking Cataract Surgery in Advanced AMD.” Cataract and Refractive Surgery Today. September 2014.

14. “Blocking Portions of the Spectrum.” Defining Excellence in IOL Optics. Supplement to EyeWorld. December 2014.

15. “Cataract Surgery and Keratoconus”. The Discovery Eye Foundation Blog. Jan 8, 2015.

16. Garg S. “Dry Eye Diagnosis.” The Discovery Eye Foundation, August 2015.

17. Garg, S. “Lessons Learned from My Early Experiences with Laser Cataract Surgery”. Cataract and Refractive Surgery Today. February 2016.

18. Garg, S. “Efficiency in the OR and Clinic”. Cataract and Refractive Surgery Today. February 2016.

19. Behshad, S., Garg, S. “Toric IOLs: Options for Alignment” Millennial Eye. February 2016.

20. Balakrishnan, A., Colvard, M., Fram, N., Garg, S., Matossian, C., Lesniak, S., Ayres, B.D. “Posttraumatic White Cataract.” Cataract and Refractive Surgery Today. July 2016.

21. Garg, S. “5 Key Ophthalmology Takeaways: American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS) 2016”. Medscape. May 2016.

22. Garg, S. “Phaco: Know Your Fluidics Options”. Review of Ophthalmology. February 2017.

23. Garg, S. “Phaco Updates”. Cataract and Refractive Surgery Today. February 2017.

24. Garg, S. “Vancomycin-Related Cataract Complications Come Into Focus With Recent Data”. Medscape. April 2017.

25. Garg, S. “White Cataract After Open Globe Repair in a Child”. Cataract and Refractive Surgery Today. July 2017.

26. Xie, K., Garg, S. “Cataract surgery and dry eye update”. Ophthalmology Management. July 2017.

27. Garg, S. “Extended Depth of Focus, Low-add Multifocal, and Multifocal Toric Intraocular Lens Platforms”. Cataract and Refractive 360. August 2017.

28. Brar, S., Garg, S. “Preoperative Planning in Cataract Surgery”. Cataract and Refractive 360. September 2017.

29. Garg, S. “Minimizing Astigmatism in Cataract Surgery”. Medscape. October 2017.

30. Garg, S. “Dry Eye Management Strategies: Appropriate Treatment Decision-Making in Patients with Dry Eye”. Virtual Roundtable. January 2018.

31. Garg, S. “Understanding Technology Advances in Refractive Femtosecond Laser Platforms” Cataract and Refractive Surgery Today (CRST). March 2018.

32. Garg, S. “Say Anything”. Cataract and Refractive Surgery Today (CRST). March 2018.

33. Garg, S. “Dry Eye Management Strategies: Appropriate Treatment Decision-Making in Patients with Dry Eye” Cataract and Refractive Surgery Today (CRST). April 2018.

34. Jarstad, A., Garg, S. “Dry Eye Therapy: What’s in the Pipeline”. Ophthalmology Management. May 2018.

35. Garg, S. “How Using Raw Images from a Swept Source Biometer Help Me in My Surgical Decision-Making.” Cataract & Refractive Surgery Today (CRST). July 2018.

36. Garg, S. “Corneal Crosslinking: Is Using an Epithelium-On Technique Effective?” Medscape. February 2019.

37. Garg, S. “Don’t Overlook Ocular Surface Disease Before Cataract Surgery.” Medscape. October 2019.

38. Garg, S. “Floppy Iris Syndrome: Don’t Miss This Risk in Female Cataract Surgery Patients.” Medscape. May 2019.

39. Garg, S. “Pupil Expansion Rings Have Clear Advantages in Cataract Surgery.” Medscape. July 2019.

40. Garg, S. Clinical Course of Phacoemulsification Wound Burns.” Cataract & Refractive 360: Fundamentals, Techniques & Technology. CME Publication. October 2019. Vol. 4, No.1.

41. Garg, S. “Weighing Multifocal IOL Options for Presbyopia Correction.” Medscape. February 12, 2020.

42. Garg, S. “An Ophthalmologists View of COVID-19.” Medscape. March 23, 2020.

43. Israelsen P., Garg, S. “Preoperative Pearls for the Cataract Surgery Patient.” Cataract & Refractive Surgery Issue. Ophthalmology Management. May, 2020. Pp. 38-41.

44. Garg, S. “As Ophthalmology Clinics Reopen, New Questions Abound.” Medscape. July 24, 2020.

45. Garg S. “COVID-19 Strengthens the Case for the Same-day Bilateral Cataract Surgery.” Medscape. October 8, 2020.

46. Garg, S. “Entering the Presbyopia Zone.” MillenialEYE, Presbyopia Challenge. November/December 2020.

47. Garg, S. “What New Ophthalmologists Will Know That We Did Not.” Ocular Surgery News: Blog. January 19, 2021.

48. Garg, S. “The Most Accurate IOL Formulas to Use in Short Axial Eyes.” Medscape. February 19, 2021.

49. Garg S. Use of Presbyopia-Correcting Intraocular Lenses in Patients with Prior Corneal Refractive Surgery. Practice Update website. March 26, 2021.

50. Garg, S. “Virtual Reality Simulators Yield Real Benefits in Cataract Surgery.” Medscape. April 9, 2021.

51. Garg, S. “Evolving use of hypotonic photosensitizing solutions in cross-linking.” Ocular Surgery News. May 27, 2021.

52. Garg, S. “Changing times or challenging times?” Guest Editorial, Ophthalmology Management. July 2021.

53. Garg, S., Chhadva, P. “Customizing the cut: Femtosecond-assisted laser-enabled keratoplasty offers many benefits if you follow these tips.” Corneal Physician. July 2021.

Book Chapters

1. Garg S., Steinert RF. “Corneal Imaging: Clinical”. In: Darlene A. Dartt, editor. Encyclopedia of the Eye. Vol 1. Oxford: Academic Press; 2010. pp 463-484.

2. Garg, S. McColgin, A., Steinert RF. LASIK. Duane’s Ophthalmology, 2010 Edition.

3. Garg, S. McColgin, A., Steinert RF. Adavanced Surface Ablation: PRK, LASEK, Epi-LASIK, and Epi-LASEK. Duane’s Ophthalmology, 2010 Edition.

4. Garg, S. McColgin, A., Steinert RF. Phototherapeutic Keratectomy (PTK). Duane’s Ophthalmology, 2010 Edition.

5. Garg S., Farid M., Steinert RF. Femtosecond Laser Keratoplasty (FLK). Clinical Atlas of Procedures in Ophthalmic Surgery, 2010.

6. Farid, M., Garg, S., Steinert, RF. Femtosecond Laser-Assisted Penetrating Keratoplasty. Cornea 3e. Elsevier. 2011, Chapter 115, pp 1349-1353.

7. Garg S, Farid, M and Steinert RF. Femtosecond Laser Keratoplasty (FLK), Clinical Atlas of Procedures in Ophthalmic and Oculofacial Surgery, Second Edition, Oxford University Press, 2011, Chapter 28, Pages 280-291.

8. Farid M, Garg S, Steinert RF. Femtosecond Laser Keratoplasty (FLK), Copeland and Afshari's Principles and Practice of Cornea. Jaypee Brothers Medical Publishers 2012, Volume 2, Chapter 115, Pages 1421-1426.

9. Garg, S. Microscope Basics. Garg & Steinert. Ophthalmic Microsurgery: Principles, Techniques, and Applications. SLACK Incorporated, 2014 Edition.

10. Garg, S. Ophthalmic Viscosurgical Devices. Garg & Steinert. Ophthalmic Microsurgery: Principles, Techniques, and Applications. SLACK Incorporated, 2014 Edition.

11. Garg, S. Corneal Surgery. Garg & Steinert. Ophthalmic Microsurgery: Principles, Techniques, and Applications. SLACK Incorporated, 2014 Edition.

12. Wade M., Farid M., Garg S., Steinert RF. Role of Optical Coherence Tomography in Endothelial Keratoplasty, Mastering Endothelial Keratoplasty. Springer, 2016, Chapter 6, Pages 89-105.

13. Farid M., Steinert RF., Garg S., Wade M. Femtosecond Assisted Penetrating Keratoplasty. Krachmer, Mannis & Holland (ed) Cornea, Fourth Edition. Mosby Elsevier, 2017, Chapter 112, Pages 1283-1288.

14. Garg S., Ng J., Wade M., Farid M., Steinert RF. Corneal Ectasia: Prevention, Detection and Management. Krachmer, Mannis & Holland (ed) Cornea, Fourth Edition. Mosby Elsevier, 2017, Chapter 170, 1812-1822.

15. Shen E., Fox A., Conrick P., Garg S. Eye Bank Preparation of Pre-Descemet’s Endothelial Keratoplasty Grafts. Pre-Descemet’s Endothelial Keratoplasty (PDEK). JP Medical Publishers, 2018, Chapter 24, Pages 218- 221.

16. Pham K., Kedhar S., Garg S. Posterior Polar Cataracts. More Phaco Nightmares. Slack Incorporated, 2018, Chapter 9, Pages 115-120.

17. Xie K., Knezevic A., Smith R., Garg S. Complications of IOL Surgery. Albert and Jakobiec’s Principles and Practice of Ophthalmology. Springer, 2020.
Books

1. Garg, S., Steinert, RF. Ophthalmic Microsurgery: Principles, Techniques, and Applications. SLACK Incorporated, 2014 Edition.
Professional Societies
American Academy of Ophthalmology
American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery
Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO)
Orange County Society of Ophthalmology
Orange County Cornea Society
The Cornea Society
The International Society of Refractive Surgery
The International Society of Ophthalmologists
California Academy of Eye Physicians and Surgeons
California Medical Association
Orange County Medical Association
Southern California Cornea Society
Paton Society
Vanguard Ophthalmology Society
Eye Bank Association of America (EBAA) Accreditation Board
Order of St. John and the U.S. Priory
EBAA R. Townley Paton Society
Indian Medical Association of Southern California
Other Experience
Fellowship - Corneal and Refractive Surgery

Last updated
02/23/2023