Visian ICL Surging in Popularity

The Staar Surgical Company, based in Monrovia, CA, is a manufacturer of vision enhancement products. One of their products is currently in the news for its dramatic rise in popularity -- the Visian ICL[TM] (Implantable Collamer Lens).

What is the Visian ICL?

The Visian ICL is a contact lens which can be implanted to correct the eye's refractive error, and is an alternative treatment to LASIK. It was given FDA approval in December, 2005. Of the 1.4 million LASIK procedures that are performed annually in the U.S., the Visian ICL has so far captured less than one percent. But this gives it a lot of room to grow, and there is not a lot of competition.

Staar's shares have increased 72% in Nasdaq trading so far this year. Analysts are expecting sales this year of $80.7 million, and $90.5 million next year. That would bring it close to $100 million, at which point a larger company would probably want to buy it. The Visian ICL's technology is ingenious, making it an excellent product, and a company like Bausch & Lomb or Johnson & Johnson would likely want to acquire it.

A Worldwide LASIK Study

The American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery issued a press release on March 6 this year announcing the results of the first review of world scientific literature in regard to LASIK. It was found that 95.4 percent of LASIK patients were pleased with their results. There have been 16.3 million patients worldwide, and this study focused on 19 peer-reviewed studies of 2,199 patients.

That leaves a bit under five percent of LASIK patients who have not been pleased with their results. LASIK procedures have recently slowed down in numbers. However, ICL surgeries increased about 50% during 2007, according to a MarketScope, LLC estimate.

The ICL procedure is fairly new, which means that there is no history of results comparable to that of LASIK, which was given FDA approval in 1995, ten years earlier than the Visian ICL. Consequently, one cannot make any direct comparison of the two vision correction methods and their relative success rates.

Visian ICL Benefits

The ICL is a reversible procedure, so that if your eyes change over the years, the ICLs can be replaced to match. They are made of collamer, a pure collagen copolymer which the body will not reject.

• You would not feel or see the ICLs within your eyes
• Your visual clarity would be vastly improved, as well as your vision quality -- no halos around lights, starbursts in low light conditions, etc.
• Others would not be able to detect the presence of the ICLs in your eyes
• Based on 55,000 eyes worldwide, the ICLs have an excellent safety record

If you would like to know more about the Visian ICL and whether it might be a better option for you than LASIK, the best course of action would be to consult with an experienced ophthalmologist.