H. George Tanaka, MD

H. George Tanaka, MD, is a board-certified and fellowship-trained glaucoma and cataract surgeon who has been offering his expertise in glaucoma diagnosis and management to the Bay Area community for over twenty years. He is currently a Clinical Professor of Ophthalmology at Pacific Vision Foundation Eye Institute and Co-Director of the Glaucoma Service at California Pacific Medical Center (CPMC) where he has been awarded the Clinical Faculty Teaching award five times. Dr. Tanaka was also the first Bay Area glaucoma specialist to perform all of the recently FDA-approved MIGS (Minimally Invasive Glaucoma Surgery) procedures and has been on the cutting edge of the emerging subspecialty of Interventional Glaucoma. As a refractive cataract surgeon, Dr. Tanaka offers his cataract patients the options of light adjustable, monofocal, toric, extended depth of focus, and multifocal intraocular lens implants when appropriate to reduce their dependence on glasses. Dr. Tanaka has lectured locally, nationally, and internationally on glaucoma diagnosis, treatment, and surgery. He has authored numerous articles in both peer-reviewed journals and subspecialty publications. His current research interests include novel methods of improving the success of both traditional and Interventional Glaucoma procedures. Dr. Tanaka serves as an Associate Examiner for the American Board of Ophthalmology. He is a member of the American Glaucoma Society and American Academy of Ophthalmology from which he has received an Achievement Award. He serves on the board of the Hospital De La Familia Foundation which supports sustainable programs to provide medical and vision care in the underserved regions of Western Guatemala and Southern Mexico.

Educational Background

Dr. Tanaka graduated with high honors from Princeton University where he majored in electrical engineering and computer science, completing a senior thesis on a microprocessor-based distance estimation system for the visually impaired. Dr. Tanaka went on to receive his medical degree with honors from both Harvard Medical School and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, graduating from the Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology Program. During medical school he conducted two years of eye research focused on lens and corneal metabolism in the Howe Laboratory of the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary in Boston. Dr. Tanaka completed an ophthalmology residency at California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco where he received the Erdbrink Resident Research Award. He then finished a glaucoma fellowship at Northwestern University in Chicago before entering private practice and joining the clinical faculty at CPMC.

Outside of work Dr. Tanaka enjoys hiking, cycling, working out in the gym, snowboarding, travel, and playing the cello.