DR. SAM FANOUS, M.D., OPHTHALMIC SURGEON
Founder and Medical Director of The Montreal Eye Clinic
Assistant professor, Faculty of Medicine, Université de Montréal

In 1978, Dr Sam Fanous graduated in medicine from Université de Montréal, where he completed his residency in ophthalmology in 1982.

He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, and a Fellow of the American Academy of Ophthalmology. Dr. Fanous is regularly invited to speak at international conferences in Canada, United States, Europe, and the Middle East.

Foundation of The Montreal Eye Clinic, where Dr Fanous has performed thousands of operations to correct cataracts and glaucoma, as well as vision errors using laser or other advanced techniques. In the course of his practice, he has spearheaded several new techniques in eye surgery in both Québec and Canada.

Head of Glaucoma department at Université de Montréal.

Dr. Fanous becomes the first ophthalmologist in Canada to use during cataract surgery, the foldable intra-ocular lens instead of a hard lens, opening the door to the new era of small incision surgery.

Clinical assistant professor at the faculty of medicine (Université de Montréal).

Dr. Fanous is the first in Canada to perform cataract surgery without anesthetic injection or sutures, a new technique which enables patients to start seeing clearly immediately after surgery.

Head of the ophthalmology department at Lachine hospital and glaucoma specialist at the Hotel-Dieu pavilion of the Centre hospitalier universitaire de Montréal (CHUM).

Dr. Sam Fanous was the first physician in Canada to offer his patients the implantation of a multifunctional lens in the eye during cataract surgery. This lens allows patients to see at all distances without glasses. From 1993 to 1996, this lens was the subject of an extensive study in which he participated with a group of renowned North American ophthalmologists.

In June 1996, Dr. Fanous presented the results of his study at the prestigious annual meeting of The American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery, which was held in Seattle, USA. A month later in July 2006, he received an award from the American pharmaceutical company “Allergan” in recognition of his important scientific contribution to the clinical investigation of the multifunctional intra-ocular lens.

Dr. Fanous was granted the title of visiting professor at other Universities, notably the University of Alexandria in Egypt, in April 1997 and the Gulf University in Bahrain, in May 1997.

In October 1998, Dr. Sam Fanous became the first Canadian surgeon to offer his patients the implantation of a contact lens inside the eye, called ICL (Implantable Contact Lens), within the scope of a North American study. This was the only hope for patients who could not undergo laser treatment to correct vision errors because of very high myopia or very thin cornea.

In February 1999, Dr. Fanous was honored by the American College of Eye Surgery for maintaining a high level of excellence in cataract surgery and the implantation of intra-ocular lenses. This was the first time in Quebec and the second time in Canada that the organization awarded a Canadian surgeon this distinction. Dr. Fanous thus joined the 300 physicians worldwide who have been honored since the program was launched in 1989.

Once again, in March 2000, the same American college honored him for his excellence in laser surgery (LASIK). He is still the only surgeon in Canada to have been awarded this distinction.

In January 2001, the Canadian government honored Dr. Fanous for his outstanding medical achievements.

In July 2001, Health Canada approved the ICL lens, and The Montreal Eye Clinic was designated as one of the few centres of Excellence for ICL surgery in Canada for training surgeons to master this new technique.

In August 2001, Dr. Fanous was once again the first surgeon in North America to develop an avant-garde technique to correct glaucoma, without penetrating the eye, using the Excimer laser and the Aqua Flow drain.

Dr. Fanous was invited to speak at the prestigious American Academy of Ophthalmology’s Annual Meeting, where he presented the results of his study on multifocal lenses, entitled: “Multifocal IOLs and Hyperopia”. The Meeting was held in Orlando Florida in November 2002

Dr. Fanous was invited by the Annual Symposium of the Canadian Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (CSCRS) to speak on the topic of Presbyopic Lens Exchange. The meeting was held in Montreal in April 2003.

For the second consecutive year, Dr. Fanous was invited to give a lecture at the Annual Symposium of the Canadian Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (CSCRS). The title of the lecture was: “Refraction Solution for Every Patient”. The Symposium was held in Toronto in March 2004

Dr. Fanous was invited to give a conference at the prestigious American Academy of Ophthalmology’s Annual Meeting, where he presented the results of his study on new intra-ocular multifocal lenses, entitled: “Second Generation of Multifocal IOLs: Rezoom IOL”. The Meeting was held in Chicago, in November 2005

Dr. Fanous was invited to speak at “Les journées ophtalmologiques de l’Université de Laval” annual meeting in Québec City, where he spoke about the new generations of the multifocal intra-ocular lens.

Dr. Fanous was invited to give a lecture at the Canadian Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (CSCRS), where he presented the results of his study on multifocal intra-ocular lenses. The title of his lecture was: “Second Generation Multifocal IOLs: Baby-Boomers’ expectations”.

In November 2006, Dr.Fanous was invited to speak at the international convention (Beginners and Masters of Cataract and Refractive Surgery), held in Egypt. He shared with his colleagues his new surgical techniques in ophthalmic surgery.