Background

The Dean McGee Eye Institute (DMEI) was born from the desire of a small group of Oklahoma City residents to make the best in eye care available to Oklahomans. Led by oil pioneer and philanthropist Dean A. McGee, funds were raised to establish an eye institute, and the Dean McGee Eye Institute opened its doors to patients in 1975. In 2026, DMEI officially became part of OU Health, the university of Oklahoma’s academic health system. 

The Dean McGee Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine provides residency and fellowship training to the next generation of ophthalmologists and undertakes grant-funded vision research.

For more than four decades, DMEI has provided the best in patient care not only to the citizens of Oklahoma but to those in the surrounding region as well, and in places around the world. In addition, DMEI has become a leader in residency education and is recognized as one of the top vision research facilities in the nation.

We invite you to learn more about the DMEI story by clicking here.

Commitment

Ultimately, the remarkable achievements of the Dean McGee Eye Institute are the result of the outstanding quality of compassionate care provided by its physicians and staff, the disciplined and creative work of its scientists, and the hundreds of generous donors who have supported its mission. The Institute is proud of its remarkable legacy and the trust placed in it by patients and the citizens of Oklahoma. In keeping with the principles established by its founders, the Dean McGee Eye Institute pledges to continue its unwavering commitment to excellence in patient care, education, and vision research.

Excellence

Since its dedication on December 4, 1975, the Dean McGee Eye Institute (DMEI) has become one of America’s largest and most respected centers for medical and surgical eye care, providing approximately 200,000 total patient visits per year from all 77 Oklahoma counties and the surrounding region, and performing 8,400 surgeries annually in its femtosecond laser-equipped ambulatory surgery center.

Patient care is provided in all the major ophthalmology subspecialty areas, including:

• Cataract Surgery
• Comprehensive Ophthalmology
• Corneal and External Diseases
• Glaucoma
• LASIK and Laser Vision Correction
• Low Vision Rehabilitation
• Neuro-Ophthalmology
• Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
• Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus
• Retina and Vitreous
• Uveitis and Ocular Immunology

In U.S. News & World Report’s 2023-2024 surveys, DMEI was ranked 8th in the nation among academic eye centers affiliated with a public university and 22nd overall by U.S. News & World Report in its 2022-2023 survey. In the latest Doximity survey of ophthalmology residency programs, DMEI/ University of Oklahoma was ranked 7th among public institutions and 16th overall. Only 16 centers, including seven affiliated with public universities, were ranked in the top 20 in both surveys.

Resident surgical education has consistently ranked above the 90th percentile nationally. Since 2000, the first-time pass rates on the American Board of Ophthalmology’s written and oral examinations are 100% and 97.5% respectively with an average score on the written examination near the 80th percentile.

In 2024, twenty-six DMEI ophthalmologists were recognized as Top Doctors of the 405 and/or Castle Connolly Top Doctors.

Since 2007, four past or current members of the DMEI/OU faculty have served as president of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, and DMEI’s second president, Dr. David W. Parke II, now serves as chief executive officer of the Academy. Faculty members have held major leadership positions in numerous other international, national, and state organizations, including the International Society for Eye Research, Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, American Board of Ophthalmology, American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus, American Glaucoma Society, Association of University Professors of Ophthalmology, Ophthalmic Mutual Insurance Company, Oklahoma State Medical Association, and Oklahoma Academy of Ophthalmology.

The Dean McGee Eye Institute provides more than $1 million in eye care services to needy Oklahomans each year.