DR. WAYNE F. YAKES ’71

PROFESSOR, MD, FSIR, FCIRSE

As a young boy, Wayne Yakes did not have a choice on where he was going to attend high school.

His mother, Frances worked 3 jobs to send him and his sister to Catholic grade school because she knew that Central Catholic High School was the best school in Texas for Wayne to attend.

While attending Central Catholic Army Instructor Sergeant Major Johnnie Salazar encouraged Wayne to continue with Drill Team leadership, become Brigade XO his senior year, and pursue an Army ROTC Scholarship.

Because of that decision, Dr. Yakes was awarded the scholarship to attend Rice University and Creighton University School of Medicine with zero debt and zero worry for his mom to pay for it.

Dr. Yakes says, “This is all due to the hard work of my mom and because of Central Catholic.”

He served in the U.S. Army for 12 years and was honorably discharged in 1991. He is a graduate of the U.S. Army Airborne Paratrooper School and U.S. Army Ranger School.

He then attended Creighton University School of Medicine and graduated in 1979. Dr. Yakes completed his Internship and Radiology Residency at Fitzsimons Army Medical Center in Colorado and was board certified in Radiology in 1983.

Dr. Yakes created and authored the “Yakes AVM Classification System” which drastically lowers the complication rate in treating and curing AVMs. This is the most challenging area of vascular medicine.

Patients from across the world come to Colorado to see Dr. Yakes, as he is considered to be the world leader in the diagnosis and treatment of vascular malformations.

Dr. Yakes is the Past President of the International Society for the Study of Vascular Anomalies.