Kyle J. Godfrey, MD, FACS, is an oculofacial plastic, reconstructive, and orbital surgeon at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. Dr. Godfrey is board-certified by the American Board of Ophthalmology and completed fellowship training approved by the American Society of Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (ASOPRS). He has spent nearly a decade in practice in New York City, focused on cosmetic, reconstructive, and tumor surgery of the eyelids, tear drainage system, orbit, and upper face.

Cosmetic surgery of the eyelids and upper face - Dr. Godfrey performs upper and lower eyelid surgery (blepharoplasty), brow lifting, and Asian double-eyelid surgery. His approach is to refresh the face while preserving each patient’s natural features and protecting eyelid function and eye health.

Eyelid and functional surgery - He treats the full range of eyelid conditions in adults and children. This includes drooping eyelids (ptosis) and eyelids that turn inward or outward (entropion and ectropion). He also treats eyelid retraction, facial nerve palsy, blepharospasm, and chalazia.

Eyelid, orbital, and facial tumors - Dr. Godfrey diagnoses and surgically treats benign and cancerous tumors of the eyelids, orbit, and surrounding face, including basal cell and squamous cell carcinoma. He reconstructs the eyelids and face after skin cancer removal, including Mohs surgery, and after trauma. He works closely with dermatologic, head and neck, and oncology colleagues, and holds an affiliate appointment at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

Orbital surgery and thyroid eye disease - He treats orbital tumors, bulging eyes, and orbital fractures. For thyroid eye disease (Graves’ disease), he offers both medical treatment and orbital decompression surgery. He also cares for patients who need removal of a blind, painful eye and placement of an ocular prosthesis. Endoscope-assisted orbital surgery is central to his practice. These approaches often allow tumors deep in the eye socket to be removed through small, well-hidden incisions.

Tear duct (lacrimal) surgery - Dr. Godfrey evaluates and treats tearing and blocked tear ducts in adults and children, from probing to endoscopic dacryocystorhinostomy (DCR). Endoscopic DCR creates a new tear drainage pathway through the nose without an external skin incision.

Orbit and skull base surgery - Dr. Godfrey is a national leader in transorbital endoscopic skull base surgery. In this minimally invasive approach, surgeons reach tumors of the skull base and brain through small incisions in eyelid. He has worked with Weill Cornell neurosurgeons and otolaryngologists to develop and refine these techniques, and he has published widely on patients’ visual and cosmetic outcomes after this surgery. He is a member of Weill Cornell’s Orbital Disease and Treatment Center, its Multidisciplinary Skull Base Team, and its Multidisciplinary Craniofacial Group.

Dr. Godfrey also teaches these techniques to other surgeons and is a national leader in oculofacial surgery education. He is a Course Director of an Endoscopic Orbital Surgery Course and serves as Senior Instructor in endoscopic orbital surgery at the American Academy of Ophthalmology Annual Meeting. He has been invited as a visiting professor and surgeon at Harvard, Yale, and Wills Eye Hospital, among other premier institutions. He has also lectured extensively regionally, nationally, and internationally. Within ASOPRS, he serves on the Board of Directors as incoming Scientific Symposium Director. He received the ASOPRS Research Award in 2026 and has been recognized as a Castle Connolly Top Doctor since 2024.

Dr. Godfrey is a dedicated teacher and clinical researcher. Since 2022 he has served as Program Director of the Ophthalmology Residency at Weill Cornell Medicine/NewYork-Presbyterian. He is also faculty in the New York Combined ASOPRS Fellowship, which trains the next generation of oculofacial plastic surgeons. In 2026 he received the Donald J. D’Amico Surgical Teaching Award and was also named to The Senior List for Faculty Excellence in Teaching at Weill Cornell Medicine. He has authored more than 80 peer-reviewed articles, reviews, and book chapters. He also serves as a reviewer for many leading journals in his field.

Dr. Godfrey earned his medical degree at Georgetown University School of Medicine, where he received the Ophthalmology Achievement Award. He completed his ophthalmology residency at the Shiley Eye Institute, University of California San Diego, where he served as Chief Resident. His two-year ASOPRS fellowship included training at Weill Cornell, Columbia, NYU Langone, Bellevue, and Manhattan Eye, Ear and Throat Hospital, as well as an international clinical rotation at Moorfields Eye Hospital in London. He graduated magna cum laude from Westmont College with a B.S. in Chemistry with Major Honors. At Westmont he was also a scholarship athlete and captain of the men’s tennis team.

Dr. Godfrey sees patients at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center and serves as a consultant at Hospital for Special Surgery. Through this work, he has provided in-season surgical care to professional athletes from New York’s major sports teams, often for eyelid, orbital, and facial injuries where a fast, reliable return to play matters.