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ASCs could see big business from implantable lenses

Ambulatory Safety Monitor, November 11, 2004

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A vision correction procedure recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) could represent the next big thing in ophthalmologic treatment performed at ASCs.

According to a story published this month in Newsday, the implantable lens-developed overseas and approved by the FDA in September-is offering hope to patients with moderate to extreme nearsightedness for whom laser surgery and the conventional treatments are not helpful. The 30-minute procedure, which costs $3,000 to $5,000 per eye, involves a device called the Verisyse lens that surgeons implant under the eye's natural lens. The procedure is too complex to be done in a doctor's office, so physicians must conduct the surgery in an ASC.

The popular LASIK surgery-in which a physician uses a laser to sculpt a prescription onto a patient's cornea-still remains the most widespread current trend in vision treatment. But it's estimated that three million Americans with vision problems are not candidates for LASIK because they have extreme vision problems, thin corneas or other medical conditions. The implantable lens is a better alternative for these individuals because they produce less glare or hazy vision than LASIK, and surgeons can remove and exchange them for another lens if the patient isn't satisfied with their vision quality.

The American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery offered its endorsement of the new procedure, with Director of Communications John Ciccone saying, "You can take someone who is legally blind [without glasses], give them these intraocular lenses, and get some of them to the point where they can drive without glasses."

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