Manuel A. Páez Escamilla, MD, FICO
Dr. Manuel A. Páez Escamilla is a native of Guadalajara, Mexico, and has pursued extensive medical training across North America. From an early age, he was intrigued by history and science. He graduated summa cum laude from the Autonomous University of Guadalajara School of Medicine and completed his ophthalmology residency at Guadalajara’s Civil Hospital. During his residency, he participated in the World Ophthalmology Congress abstract competition, earning the “Best Abstract” award. He also distinguished himself by passing the International Council of Ophthalmology’s Basic Science, Clinical Science, and Advanced examinations with merit, earning the prestigious FICO designation (Fellow of the International Council of Ophthalmology)—a distinction held by only a select few worldwide.
Dr. Páez Escamilla furthered his training in the United States with a combined research and clinical fellowship in ocular oncology at the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute in Miami, Florida. He then completed a year of residency training in general surgery at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, Texas, followed by an ophthalmology residency at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center in Pennsylvania. There, he was honored with the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons (ASCRS) Resident Excellence Award and was selected as one of the nation’s top residents for the prestigious Heed Resident Retreat.
After completing his ophthalmology residency, Dr. Páez Escamilla undertook the highly competitive McGill Surgical Retina Fellowship in Montreal, Québec, Canada. Dr. Páez Escamilla is a board-certified ophthalmologist in Mexico and by the American Board of Ophthalmology, making him one of the few ophthalmologists globally to hold dual national board certifications in addition to the FICO distinction.
He now practices as a vitreoretinal surgeon at the Palmetto Retina Center in the Columbia metropolitan area of South Carolina. Fluent in English, Spanish, and French, he enjoys staying active through exercise, exploring diverse cuisines, and spending quality time with his wife, Catalina.