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.
In 1999, Dr. Foulkes opened Future Vision Laser Center,
incorporating his own ideas to make LASIK a safer and
more accurate procedure. Using the Nidek laser, a new
laser that allowed for expanded zones of treatment,
and carefully measuring pupil size with an infrared
device, the side effect of glare and halos where dramatically
reduced. Using plume evacuation and careful real time
outcome analysis, results with this laser have exceeded
reported results with other laser systems. In 2000,
Dr. Foulkes began a research center within his practice.
Dr. Foulkes has developed techniques for studying microkeratomes
(flapmakers), flap quality and flap thickness. He has
studied nearly every device and currently favors the
Hansatome Zero Compression for it's consistency and
near zero complication rate. In addition to research
Dr Foulkes has written patents on devices to improve
safety and to address issues in eye surgery. Currently,
Dr. Foulkes is completing a textbook on the techniques
and devices for studying and creating microkeratomes.
Dr. Foulkes has personally performed over 18,000
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.
Dr. Foulkes is married with two children and a dog.
As an avid cyclist, he rides several thousand miles
a year, often in an effort to raise awareness and money
for his favorite charitable causes. Glassesfree.com
is his sponsored bicycle racing team. He has treated
hundreds of police officers and fire fighters at a significant
cost reduction, to aid in the safety of their work.
Dr. Foulkes generously supports Medicines Sans Frontieres,
Amnesty International and the Nature Conservancy, as
well as local organizations such as the Chinese AIDS
Society and the Guardian Angel Home in Joliet. Active
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