Aaron Fairbanks, M.D.

Sight is our most precious sense. We depend on our vision to navigate the world, perform our work, and care for our families and friends. I chose a career in ophthalmology to help protect, preserve and improve the vision of my patients so they can continue to do what they love. The eyes also provide a unique window to discover systemic disease and an opportunity to provide timely, and potentially lifesaving, treatment. During your visit, I look forward to helping you understand your diagnosis, discussing the best available treatment options and answering all of your questions. I will do my best to provide you and your family with thoughtful, kind and compassionate world-class care.

I grew up in DeKalb, Illinois, the home of seed corn and barbed wire. I received my bachelor's degree with honors and research distinction in molecular and cellular biology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. I also earned my EMT-B license and worked as a phlebotomist during my undergraduate studies. In medical school at the University of Iowa, I won several awards and merit-based scholarships for top grades and teamwork in my classes and graduated with research distinction. I also worked as an anesthesia extern performing intubations and placing intravenous lines with the anesthesiologists.

I was fortunate to train with the prestigious physicians at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, for my ophthalmology residency, and the world-renowned faculty at Massachusetts Eye and Ear during my retina fellowship in Boston, Massachusetts. I hope to bring my unique clinical and surgical experience to benefit the people of Eau Claire and northwest Wisconsin.

In my free time, I enjoy running, hiking, water activities, playing soccer and ultimate frisbee. My wife and I love to travel, and we have a pet Samoyed named Nova who loves the snow.

Education

• University of Iowa Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine Research Distinction

Internship

• Mayo Clinic School of Graduate Medical Education

Residency

• Mayo Clinic School of Graduate Medical Education

Fellowship

• Medical Retina, Massachusetts Eye and Ear

Memberships

• American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO)
• American Board of Ophthalmology (ABO)
• American Society of Retina Specialists (ASRS)

• Age-related macular degeneration
• Diabetic retinopathy
• Inflammatory, infectious, neoplastic and inherited retinal diseases
• Standard and premium lens cataract surgery

• Telemedicine for preoperative evaluation of upper eyelid malposition: reliability of diagnosis and surgical plan, August 2022.
• Automated detection of squint as a sensitive assay of sex-dependent calcitonin gene-related peptide and amylin-induced pain in mice, August 2022.
• Persistent placoid maculopathy-like findings in patients with giant cell arteritis, November 2021.
• Surgical treatment of chiasmal glioma in neurofibromatosis 1, July 2020.
• A Population-Based Study of Anterior Ischemic Optic Neuropathy following Cataract Surgery, June 2020.