Dr. Mark Golden

Dr. Golden received his Bachelor’s Degree in biology from The University of Chicago in 1977, and was awarded their first-ever, pre-doctoral Master’s Degree in Ophthalmology. His Doctorate Degree was awarded at St. Louis University in 1984, where he continued with his internship and residency. In 1988, he joined the cornea practice of Eye Surgeons and Consultants on the north side of Chicago. Under Dr. Golden’s leadership they expanded to a total of eight offices in Chicago and Southern Wisconsin. He specialized in small incision cataract surgery, glaucoma surgery, and treatment of diabetic retinopathy. Dr. Golden was always interested in refractive surgery and trained in Radial Keratotomy (RK) in 1989, but believed that its utility was limited. In 1991 he took the first course on the then new ALK machine (a precursor of today’s LASIK technology. Later in 1991 he performed the first ALK procedures in the Mid-West. Because of Dr. Golden’s extensive experience with the ALK microkeratome, he was called upon to introduce and teach LASIK to international surgeons before it was approved by the FDA for use in the United States. Subsequently he trained hundreds of surgeons in the techniques of LASIK. He was employed by a variety of Laser companies to open more than a dozen LASIK centers across the United States – training surgeons, staffs, and setting protocols. He has lectured at national and international meetings including the American Academy of Ophthalmology, American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery, International Society of Refractive Surgery, American Academy of Optometry, and American Optometric Association. He has provided instruction to local eye doctors and taught continuing education courses for many years. To date, Dr. Golden has performed more than 23,000 laser procedures, including service to pilots, truck drivers, other eye doctors, malpractice attorneys and even his own wife. His understanding of the patient’s needs comes from his own experiences with CK to eliminate his reading glasses and most recently LASIK to improve distance vision in his right eye and optimal reading vision in his left eye.