Dr. Richard Foulkes
Born in Spokane, Washington, Dr. Foulkes grew up on a farm in eastern Washington State. He served his country honorably as a
corpsman and surgical technician with the Navy and the Marines during the Vietnam conflict. After discharge from the service, he
pursued a degree in Fine Arts, an avocation that continues today. At the same time, he successfully managed a thriving business
in Los Angeles. While engaged in a fund-raising effort for Cambodian refugees, Dr. Foulkes was energized to pursue a career in medicine.
 Dr. Foulkes earned a B.S. in Biology from Tufts University, with cum laude honors, and went on to receive his M.D. from Rush Medical
College in Chicago, where he graduated in the top 10% of his class. Doctor Foulkes fell in love with his gross anatomy partner, Rita
and married a year later! He completed his internship in Internal Medicine at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York and his Ophthalmology
training at Catholic Medical Center, an affiliate of Cornell University, while serving as Chief Resident in Ophthalmology.
During his residency, Dr. Foulkes met Lucio Burato, the co-inventor of LASIK, and became convinced that LASIK would be the refractive
procedure of choice in the future. LASIK addressed the inaccuracy and instability issues of radial keratotomy, RK, the most popular
procedure at the time. LASIK offered a safer choice for both surgeons and patients. Pending FDA approval in the U.S., Dr. Foulkes
began his LASIK training, in 1997, at TLC Canada (The Laser Center) with two leaders in the field at the time Dr. Jeff Machat and
Stephen Slade. During his training, Dr. Foulkes started to formulate ideas he would implement in his own LASIK practice.
Dr. Foulkes has personally performed over 25,000 refractive procedures making him one of the most experienced LASIK surgeons in the
Chicagoland area. He dedicates himself to personalized patient care and to complex cases referred from colleagues. Dr. Foulkes
welcomes other physicians to take advantage of the center's unique setting to help solve the most difficult LASIK cases. As a result
of his continuous pursuit for the safest and most accurate methods Dr. Foulkes has taken the lead in advancing a field that is
crowded with innovators.
Dr. Foulkes is a member of the American Society of Cataract & Refractive Surgeons (ascrs.org), the American Academy of Ophthalmology
(aao.org), and the International Society of Refractive Surgeons (isrs.org). He contributes papers and has been a panelist at their
meetings. He is an Associate Clinical Professor at the University of Illinois Eye & Ear Infirmary. In addition to his work in LASIK,
Dr. Foulkes has developed advanced techniques in cataract extraction, which he teaches residents. |
