LASIK and Other Eye Surgeries – Eye Surgeons serving University Place / Tacoma, Puyallup, Gig Harbor and Auburn, Washington

The eye surgeons at Cascade Eye & Skin Centers, P.C., are highly experienced, well educated and professional. Our staff is the foundation upon which our success is built. Each of our LASIK and other eye surgeons is an expert in his or her field and has helped many University Place / Tacoma, Puyallup, Gig Harbor, and Auburn, Washington residents preserve or regain excellent eyesight.

Ophthalmologists

Keith F. Dahlhauser, M.D., F.A.C.S
Dennis D. Drouillard, M.D.
Rachael D. Elrod, M.D.
Leslie P. Fox, M.D., F.A.C.S.
Mark R. Gildenhar, M.D.
Laurel R. Harris, M.D.
Roy J. Park, M.D.
Michael W. Rausch, M.D.
Jerry R. Shields, M.D.
Anthony R. Truxal, M.D., F.A.C.S.
Lawrence J. White, M.D.

Optometrists

Cheryl Croft, O.D.
Rikk J. Schlaffman, O.D.

Ophthalmologists

Keith F. Dahlhauser, M.D., F.A.C.S

With over 6000 ocular surgeries (LASIK, PRK, cataract, and glaucoma), Keith F. Dahlhauser, M.D., F.A.C.S. has the experience; but it is more than just experience that counts. He says, "The most experienced hair cutter is the barber at boot camp, but would you want him to give you a haircut before your wedding?" Just as important as experience in surgery is attention to detail, modern equipment, concern for the patient, and monitoring of results. Therefore, all surgical patients are seen preoperatively and postoperatively by the same ophthalmologist/surgeon at Cascade Eye & Skin Centers, P.C.

Prior to joining Cascade, Keith F. Dahlhauser, M.D., F.A.C.S. was a Lieutenant Colonel and chief of cataract surgery at Madigan Army Medical Center, where he spent 10 years teaching residents how to perform cataract and refractive surgery. Dr. Dahlhauser received the "Teacher of the Year" award in six of those 10 years and gained experience dealing with unusual complications. The medical center also gave him a $10,000 grant for introducing modern cataract surgery techniques. In addition to performing hundreds of glaucoma surgeries at Madigan, he also ran the glaucoma clinic at the American Lake VA Hospital. Some of his favorite experiences come from his humanitarian missions to Honduras, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Peru, where he performed surgery for the poor and underprivileged.

Dr. Dahlhauser grew up in Illinois, received a B.S. in Biochemistry, a medical degree at the University of Iowa, and completed his internship at Grand Rapids, Michigan, as well as an ophthalmology residency at the University of Minnesota. He is board certified in ophthalmology, scoring in the top 10 percent, and is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons. His research publications cover topics such as anterior capsule contraction after cataract surgery, scar limitation with refractive surgery, and problems with microkeratomes.

Dennis D. Drouillard, M.D.

Dennis D. Drouillard, M.D. Dr. Drouillard grew up in Missoula, Montana and eagerly attended Stanford University for his undergraduate years. Anxious to see what the eastern part of the country looked like, he went to medical school in the land of chocolate at the Hershey Medical Center. The streetlights really are shaped like kisses. There, he was awarded the Mosby Scholarship Award. He then loaded all of his belongings into a beat-up old Ford and moved to Pittsburgh, where he completed his ophthalmology residency at the University of Pittsburgh Eye & Ear Hospital.

Cascade Eye & Skin Centers, P.C., is an outgrowth of Dr. Drouillard and our other eye surgeons’ earlier Tacoma Eye Clinic group and the Eye & Skin Associates of Puyallup. The merger has produced full-service offices as well as a state-of-the-art surgery center.

Dr. Drouillard is a Diplomate of the American Board of Ophthalmology. He specializes in small-incision phacoemulsification cataract surgery and has 25 years of experience.

Rachael D. Elrod, M.D.

Rachael D. Elrod, M.D. Dr. Elrod grew up in Seattle, Washington. She is a graduate of Seattle University, receiving a B.A. degree in liberal arts and a B.S. degree in biochemistry, both with honors. She went on to earn her medical degree from the University of Washington School of Medicine, and she then did a combined surgery and medicine internship in Portland, Oregon. She completed her ophthalmology residency at the University of Washington, where her training involved work at the University of Washington Hospital, Harborview Medical Center, and Children’s Hospital.

Dr. Elrod then completed a subspecialty fellowship in ophthalmic plastic surgery and neuro-ophthalmology at the University of Vermont. During her fellowship, she underwent extensive training in cosmetic and functional surgery of the eyelids, orbits, mid-face, and tear ducts, as well as the diagnosis and management of neurological diseases that affect the eye and visual pathways. Dr. Elrod has published articles and given numerous presentations on subjects including myasthenia gravis, thyroid eye disease, and lacrimal gland tumors.

Dr. Elrod has many outside interests, including hiking, skiing, quilting, painting, cooking and travel.

Leslie P. Fox, M.D., F.A.C.S.

Leslie P. Fox, M.D., F.A.C.S. Dr. Fox specializes in LASIK and other forms of refractive eye surgery. He trained in laser surgery in Los Angeles, Vancouver, Seattle, Boston, London, and France. In the past 20 years, he has performed many thousands of refractive surgical procedures. Using state-of-the-art Intralase Method™ and VISX CustomVue™ corneal correction, 97 percent of his LASIK patients have achieved vision of 20/25 or better. Dr. Fox is a board certified ophthalmologist, a fellow of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, a fellow of the American College of Surgeons, and Clinical Associate Professor of Ophthalmology at the University of Washington Medical School.

Dr. Fox was educated at Wesleyan University in Connecticut and at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. He served as Chief Resident in Ophthalmology at Letterman Medical Center in San Francisco and later became a member of the clinical faculty of Texas Tech University. He served as Chief of the Department of Ophthalmology of the 50th General Hospital (U.S. Army) in Saudi Arabia during Operation Desert Storm. Since 1987, Dr. Fox has been a member of the clinical faculty of the University of Washington (Clinical Associate Professor), where he teaches cataract and refractive surgery techniques to ophthalmology residents in training. He is former President of the Puget Sound Ophthalmology Society.

Dr. Fox has many interests outside medicine. He studied music at the Juilliard School in New York and has played clarinet professionally with the New Haven Symphony and with the Tacoma Opera Orchestra. He is currently a member of the Tacoma Concert Band that toured in Europe in 2007. Dr. Fox is a past president of the Tacoma Youth Symphony Board of Trustees and is currently a member of the Youth Symphony Advisory Board. He enjoys photography, baseball (Go Mariners!) and golf. The doctors Barbara and Leslie Fox have been married for over 35 years and have three grown children.

Mark R. Gildenhar, M.D.

Mark R. Gildenhar, M.D. Dr. Gildenhar grew up in Indiana. He loved roaming the hardwood forests and beautiful farms, swimming and fishing in old stone quarries, playing basketball and golf, and being out with his friends and family on warm summer evenings. He attended college at Northwestern University in Chicago, where he met his needs for fresh air and space by playing on the golf team, taking long jogs by Lake Michigan, and spending a few spring afternoons in the bleachers at Wrigley field.

He attended medical school at the University of Cincinnati. It was there that his love for ophthalmology began. After three years of ophthalmology training and sampling big city life at Northwestern in Chicago, he moved to Tacoma, Washington, where he has been in private practice for 23 years.

Laurel R. Harris, M.D.

Laurel R. Harris, M.D. Dr. Harris is a graduate of Texas Christian University, earning degrees in both geology and pre-medicine, where she was honored as T.C.U.'s most outstanding graduate for 1985. She earned her medical degree at Emory University Medical Center in Atlanta, interned at Georgia Baptist Medical Center, and completed her ophthalmology residency at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. She is board certified in ophthalmology and is a fellow of the American Academy of Ophthalmology. She was elected to the Phi Beta Kappa honor society for outstanding academic performance in college, and she was then elected to Alpha Omega Alpha, the national medical honor society, in recognition of excellent academic, clinical, and ethical performance at Emory University Medical School.

Dr. Harris has served on the grievance committee of the Pierce County Medical Society since 1996, an advisory board of physicians and community leaders charged with resolving disputes between patients, physicians, and insurers, often advocating for the patient’s rights. In 2002, she was also elected to the Board of Trustees of Pierce County Medical Society, the governing board for the physicians of Pierce County. In 2004, she was then elected secretary of Pierce County Medical Society. In addition, Dr. Harris is among a prestigious few to be selected by the Consumer's Research Council as one of "America's Top Ophthalmologists" for 2002-2003, then again for 2004-2005, and for 2006-2007.

Dr. Harris' interests include camping and hiking with her husband and three young children, riding horses, playing classical piano, and enjoying the unsurpassed beauty and wonderful people of the Pacific Northwest.

Roy J. Park, M.D.

Roy J. Park, M.D. "I believe vision is the most precious of our senses, and as an ophthalmologist, my goal is to save and restore it."

Dr. Park uses the most advanced diagnostic, medical, laser and surgical techniques in his practice of ophthalmology. Although his subspecialty is glaucoma, he also provides comprehensive eye care, including the treatment of cataracts, diabetes, age related macular degeneration and other ocular diseases.

Dr. Park is a graduate of Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire. He received his medical degree from Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, PA where he was elected to the Alpha Omega Alpha National Medical Honor Society. His ophthalmology residency was completed at the University of Washington, Seattle, WA. He also completed an extensive clinical and surgical Fellowship in Glaucoma at the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary, New York, NY. Dr. Park has published original research on glaucoma in some of the most well respected ophthalmology journals.

Dr. Park enjoys spending time with his wife and their young son. He also enjoys sports, reading and travel.

Michael W. Rausch, M.D.

Michael W. Rausch, M.D. "Always remember that there is a person on the other side of the eye." It’s a simple philosophy that Dr. Rausch takes very seriously. He aims to treat eye issues while keeping in mind the importance of talking with and educating his patients. "It is important to have a doctor that is qualified and intelligent, but also one with whom people feel they can communicate."

Dr. Rausch grew up in Colorado, where he learned to enjoy the beautiful views of the great outdoors. His decision to study ophthalmology stemmed from meeting and then working with an eye doctor while volunteering at a local hospital. He then attended the University of Colorado Medical School, graduating with honors and multiple "Letters of Academic Excellence" from the Dean.

A move to Seattle with his future wife followed. He attended internship and then ophthalmology training at the University of Washington. After graduation, he stayed at the University as an Assistant Professor, taking care of patients and teaching surgical and clinical skills to residents in training. During this time he was voted teacher of the year. He joined Cascade with experience gained from an academic setting and now practices with enthusiasm in our private practice offices. He is board certified by the American Board of Ophthalmology.

In his spare time, he enjoys bicycling, kayaking, and spending time with his wife and two Labrador retrievers. He is also learning to play guitar and his wife no longer makes him practice in the basement.

Jerry R. Shields, M.D.

Jerry R. Shields, M.D. Dr. Shields has extensive experience in refractive surgery (LASIK and PRK), small-incision cataract surgery, refractive cataract surgery, and glaucoma care. He has been invited to give numerous lectures nationwide on advancements in cataract surgery, including multifocal lenses ( REZOOM™ and ReSTOR® ). He has also published on early detection and treatment of glaucoma. He is board certified by the American Academy of Ophthalmology and a member of both the American Academy of Cataract and Refractive surgeons and the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology.

Dr. Shields graduated from Wake Forest University magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Science degree and was elected to the Beta Beta Beta national honor society. He received his Doctorate of Medicine from the Medical College of Georgia and was elected to the Alpha Omega Alpha national medical honors society. He also received the James A. Puryear Memorial Scholarship and the Merck Medical Award for being one of the top five members of his graduating class. His internship and residency were completed at the University of Washington.
In his spare time, Dr. Shields, his wife, and their family enjoy sports, reading, hiking, camping and travel.

Anthony R. Truxal, M.D., F.A.C.S.

Anthony R. Truxal, M.D., F.A.C.S. Dr. Truxal graduated magna cum laude from St. Bonaventure University in Olean, New York. He received his M.D. degree from Temple University Medical School in Philadelphia where he graduated as president of his class in 1980. After medical school, he entered the U.S. Army Medical Corps at Fitzsimmons Army Medical Center where he completed internship and residency before being assigned to Madigan Army Medical Center in 1986. He completed a vitreoretinal fellowship at the University of Texas in 1992. Dr. Truxal then returned to Madigan where he started the vitreoretinal service and helped initiate the residency training program there. After 21 years, he retired at the rank of Colonel. He has continued his affiliation with Madigan as a Red Cross volunteer. Dr. Truxal has a special interest and fellowship training in diseases of the macula, retina and vitreous. Dr. Truxal has two sons and a daughter and resides in Lakewood with his wife, Lynnette. He enjoys golf, skiing and travel

Lawrence J. White, M.D.

Lawrence J. White, M.D. Dr. White graduated summa cum laude from the University of Wisconsin at Whitewater, where he obtained his Bachelor of Science degree and was elected to the Phi Kappa Phi honor society. In 1978, he received his M.D. degree from the University of Wisconsin, receiving the Dean award. While completing his ophthalmology residency at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Dr. White was selected to serve as chief resident. He then was Chief of the EENT clinic at Reynolds Hospital in Oklahoma and later completed military service at Madigan Army Medical Center.

Dr. White is board certified in ophthalmology and a fellow of the American Academy of Ophthalmology. He is a member of the International Society of Refractive Surgery and an Ophthalmologic Associate of Research to Prevent Blindness, Inc. He has held academic teaching positions, was President of Laser Visioncare from 1995 to 1998, and was Medical Director of the South Sound ClearVision laser center.

Dr. White has an interest in corneal physiology following refractive surgery and has performed research and published numerous articles on this subject. He has served as a LASIK instructor for many Northwest eye surgeons and also was co-director of a Regional LASIK. Dr. White serves University Place / Tacoma, Puyallup, and Auburn, Washington patients with dedication and expertise as a cataract and refractive surgeon.

Dr. White is an avid sportsman. He enjoys skiing, biking, hunting, fishing, running, and mountain climbing. He also enjoys cooking, bridge, and most of all, his family. His wife Donna is a radiologist, and they have three very active daughters.

Optometrists

Cheryl Croft, O.D. (Optometry)

Cheryl Croft, O.D. Dr. Croft provides complete family eye care; from eye health diagnosis and management to specialty contact lens fits. After undergraduate studies in biochemistry at the University of British Columbia, she completed her Bachelor of Science and earned her Doctor of Optometry degree from Pacific University in Forest Grove, Oregon. Dr. Croft completed preceptorships in Arizona at the Pima Indian Health Center and in Redmond, Washington at a pediatric eye clinic. She joins Cascade after nine years of practice at an Ophthalmology office in Tacoma.

Born and raised in Canada, Dr. Croft now resides in Washington since she met and married an American. In her spare time she enjoys volunteering with the Lions Club. She has been on eyeglass mission trips to Mexico, Costa Rica, and Honduras. She has two young boys, whom she insists both get regular eye examinations.

Rikk J. Schlaffman, O.D. (Optometry)

Rikk J. Schlaffman, O.D. Dr. Schlaffman was born in Valley City, ND and grew up in Sequim, WA. He earned his Associates degree from Peninsula Community college in Port Angeles, WA. After attending Central Washington University and receiving a bachelor's degree in biology, he went on to Pacific University College of Optometry in Forest Grove, OR to earn his Doctor of Optometry degree. Prior to joining the Cascade Eye & Skin Centers team, he spent 23 years in private practice in Lakewood, WA. He is a member of the American Optometric Association as well as the Washington Association of Optometric physicians.

Dr. Schlaffman and his family enjoy golfing, camping, snow skiing, hunting and fishing. He also likes to watch his two active children participate in soccer, baseball, dance and cross country.

Contact Cascade Eye & Skin Centers, P.C.

To discuss LASIK and other vision correction options with one of our eye surgeons serving Puyallup, University Place / Tacoma, and Auburn, Washington, contact Cascade Eye & Skin Centers, P.C., now.

For LASIK from experienced eye surgeons in University Place / Tacoma, Puyallup, and Auburn, Washington, contact Cascade Eye & Skin Centers, P.C., today.