Medical Director of the Montreal Eye Institute.
Come and meet Dr. Sameh Fanous. Throughout his career, he has distinguished himself with many firsts in both Quebec and Canada. He has been honored on many occasions for his surgical excellence and outstanding medical achievements.
Come and meet Dr. Sameh Fanous. Throughout his career, he has distinguished himself with many firsts in both Quebec and Canada. He has been honored on many occasions for his surgical excellence and outstanding medical achievements.
A legacy of science
From his distant Egypt, Sameh Fanous has kept the sense of hospitality and the warm attention of a look that makes you feel confident. Sameh Fanous was born in Cairo into a family dedicated to medicine for several generations. By the age of 10, Sameh was fascinated by all things related to sight. “At the time, I found it easy to understand how we walk, how we eat, but I couldn’t clearly conceive how we see. My perception of vision was like a miracle and I had to solve this mystery…”, admits the ophthalmologist who has always participated in the advancement of his discipline.
Dr Sameh Fanous
Humanist
Under the influence of his older brother, the whole Fanous family arrived in the city in the early 1970s. Sameh, at the age of 22, began his medical studies at the University of Montreal and obtained his degree in ophthalmology in 1982.He briefly travelled to the United States to further his knowledge of glaucoma. Upon his return, he began a career strewn with professional honors, commercial successes, but also altruism. For Sameh, the humanist, always organizes his own missions to the Middle East twice a year to operate on the most needy.
The obsession to do better
He spent a few years at the Hôtel-Dieu Hospital implementing what he likes to call “an innovative architecture for patient traffic”. He also used his expertise to create an ophthalmology department located in the Valleyfield Hospital Center. In addition to all these activities, Sameh Fanous is a lecturer and head of the glaucoma section at the Université de Montréal.
The Montreal Eye Institute
In 1982, Sameh Fanous founded the first Montreal Eye Institute where he has since performed thousands of surgeries. He was the first Canadian ophthalmologist to implant a foldable intraocular lens for cataract surgery in the late 1980s. In 1992, he was once again the first surgeon to perform cataract surgery without anesthesia and without sutures, introducing to Canada a technique that allows the patient to see immediately after surgery. In 1993, he was the first surgeon in Canada to implant a multifunctional lens, which he continued to study until 1996.
A wealth of recognition
During the same years, between research, operations, teaching and business, Sameh Fanous was coveted by the Lachine Hospital Center, which wanted to establish an ophthalmology department. Some 20 years later, the Lachine Ophthalmology Department is still recognized as a center of excellence for cataract surgery. Fulfilled by the recognition of his peers and still “turned on” by the new technologies in his field, Sameh Fanous savors the premise of his vast project for the future: “I would like the Montreal Eye Institute to become the reference center for patients and an international center of excellence in practice and research.”
Dr Sameh Fanous
A legacy of science
From his distant Egypt, Sameh Fanous has kept the sense of hospitality and the warm attention of a look that makes you feel confident. Sameh Fanous was born in Cairo into a family dedicated to medicine for several generations. By the age of 10, Sameh was fascinated by all things related to sight. “At the time, I found it easy to understand how we walk, how we eat, but I couldn’t clearly conceive how we see. My perception of vision was like a miracle and I had to solve this mystery…”, admits the ophthalmologist who has always participated in the advancement of his discipline.
Humanist
Under the influence of his older brother, the whole Fanous family arrived in the city in the early 1970s. Sameh, at the age of 22, began his medical studies at the University of Montreal and obtained his degree in ophthalmology in 1982.He briefly travelled to the United States to further his knowledge of glaucoma. Upon his return, he began a career strewn with professional honors, commercial successes, but also altruism. For Sameh, the humanist, always organizes his own missions to the Middle East twice a year to operate on the most needy.
The obsession to do better
He spent a few years at the Hôtel-Dieu Hospital implementing what he likes to call “an innovative architecture for patient traffic”. He also used his expertise to create an ophthalmology department located in the Valleyfield Hospital Center. In addition to all these activities, Sameh Fanous is a lecturer and head of the glaucoma section at the Université de Montréal.
The Montreal Eye Institute
In 1982, Sameh Fanous founded the first Montreal Eye Institute where he has since performed thousands of surgeries. He was the first Canadian ophthalmologist to implant a foldable intraocular lens for cataract surgery in the late 1980s. In 1992, he was once again the first surgeon to perform cataract surgery without anesthesia and without sutures, introducing to Canada a technique that allows the patient to see immediately after surgery. In 1993, he was the first surgeon in Canada to implant a multifunctional lens, which he continued to study until 1996.
A wealth of recognition
During the same years, between research, operations, teaching and business, Sameh Fanous was coveted by the Lachine Hospital Center, which wanted to establish an ophthalmology department. Some 20 years later, the Lachine Ophthalmology Department is still recognized as a center of excellence for cataract surgery. Fulfilled by the recognition of his peers and still “turned on” by the new technologies in his field, Sameh Fanous savors the premise of his vast project for the future: “I would like the Montreal Eye Institute to become the reference center for patients and an international center of excellence in practice and research.”
1978-1982 | University of Montreal
1978 – Degree in Medicine – University of Montreal
1982 – Graduated in Ophthalmology – University of Montreal
1983 – Appointed Assistant Professor at the University of Montreal and Head of the Glaucoma Section
1982 | Founder and Director
Dr. Sameh Fanous is the founder and director of the Montreal Eye Clinic, which became an institute in 2011.
1982 | Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada
Fellowship in the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada in 1982.
1983 | Fellow of the American Board of Ophthalmology
Awarded the title of “Fellow” of the American Board of Ophthalmology in 1983.
1984 | Founder and Head of the Department of Ophthalmology
Founder and Head of the Department of Ophthalmology at the Valleyfield Hospital Center.
1989 | First Ophthalmologist in Canada
Continually striving to improve his surgical techniques, Dr. Fanous became the first ophthalmologist in Canada to implant the foldable intraocular lens during cataract surgery in 1989.
1992 | Cataract Surgery
In 1992, Dr. Fanous became the first ophthalmologist in Canada to introduce Cataract Surgery without anesthetic injections.
1993 | First surgeon in Canada
In 1993, Dr. Fanous became the first doctor in Canada to offer an innovative treatment: the implantation of a multifocal lens in the eye during cataract surgery, thus allowing for the correction of both near and distance vision. This lens was the subject of a vast study between 1993 and 1996, in which Dr. Fanous participated with a group of renowned North American ophthalmologists.
1993 | Congress for advanced surgical techniques
In 1993, he organized a congress to train his fellow ophthalmologists in the new surgical techniques for cataract surgery using ultrasound (phacoemulsification).
1998 | First surgeon in Canada
1998
First surgeon in Canada
In 1998, he was the first surgeon in Canada to implant a contact lens called ICL (Implantable Contact Lens) in the eye as part of a North American study. Thanks to this revolutionary technique, many patients who were not good candidates for Lasik could now be free of their glasses.
1999 to 2010 | Optometric Symposium
From 1999 to 2010, he organized the annual optometric symposium of the Montreal Eye Clinic which attracted an average of 250 optometrists per year.
1999 | Honored for maintaining a high level of excellence
1999
First surgeon honored in Quebec
In February 1999, Dr. Fanous was honored for maintaining a high level of excellence in cataract surgery and lens implantation in the eye by the prestigious American College of Eye Surgery. This was the first time in Quebec and the second in Canada that the organization honored a Canadian surgeon. Dr. Fanous joins the 300 physicians honoured worldwide since the program’s inception in 1989.
2000 | American college of eye surgery
2000
High level of excellence
Dr. Fanous was again honored by the same American college in March 2000, for his high level of surgical excellence in laser vision correction (LASIK).
2000 | Speaker at international conferences
Dr. Fanous has many years of experience during which he has performed thousands of ophthalmic surgeries. Throughout his practice, he has continued to distinguish himself by introducing several new techniques in eye surgery in Canada and Quebec. He is regularly invited to speak at international conferences, notably in the United States, Europe and the Middle East.
2001 | House of Commons and Government of Canada
2001
Outstanding Medical Achievements
In January 2001, the House of Commons of the Canadian government honoured Dr. Fanous for “outstanding medical achievements.
2002 | Multifocal Lens Studies
In 2002, in an effort to provide patients with the best possible vision, he conducted a large study on multifocal lenses: “Multifocal IOLs and hyperopia”. He was invited to present the results of his study at the prestigious annual meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, which was held in November 2002 in Orlando, Florida.
2006 | First surgeon in Canada to offer Lasik treatment
2006
First surgeon in Canada to offer the iLasik treatment
He was the first surgeon in Canada to offer the iLasik treatment without blade, a more precise and safer technique since it eliminates the risks associated with the surgical blade. In fact, since 2010, he no longer offers the Lasik technique with blade to his patients.
2008 Conference on the second generation of multifocal IOLs
2008
Multifocal IOLs
Lecture during the 2008 symposium on the second generation of multifocal IOLs for the study on quality of life and quality of vision in postoperative care.
2011 | Technological Challenge
In order to meet the technological challenge of the 21st century, Dr. Fanous founded the Montreal Eye Institute in St. Laurent in October 2011. Equipped with sophisticated, state-of-the-art equipment, the Institute offers a wide range of services covering several ophthalmic subspecialties. In April 2012, the establishment was chosen as the best project of the year by the borough of Saint-Laurent.
2012 | City of Saint-Laurent
2012
The Montreal Eye Institute
In 2012, Dr. Fanous was honored by Ville Saint-Laurent for the design and realization of the Montreal Eye Institute, chosen as the best project of the year.
2012 | Refractive Cataract Surgery
2012
Refractive Cataract Surgery
On September 17, 2012, Dr. Fanous performs bladeless cataract refractive surgery using the LenSx® laser: a first in Quebec.
2012 | Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal
2012
Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal
To top it all off, in September 2012, Dr. Fanous was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal by the Governor of Canada to thank him for his service to the community, his peers and to Canada.
2016 | Canadian Ambassadors Award
Recipient of the Canadian Ambassadors Award to recognize outstanding achievement in the field of medical science.
2017 | Honorable Mention
2017
Accredited with Honorable Mention
In 2017, the Eye Institute was accredited with Honorable Mention by Accreditation Canada for achieving national standards of excellence in health care.
Contact us at
(514) 700-6022
Montreal – Saint-Laurent
2300, Boulevard Marcel-Laurin,
Saint-Laurent, QC, H4R 1J9
Brossard
8005 Boul. Du Quartier
suite 305, Brossard J4Y 0N5
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