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Baby boomers and Generation Y expected to boost refractive numbers

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NEW YORK — As baby boomers begin moving away from LASIK and into the premium IOL market, preliminary data indicate that lens-based refractive surgery could eventually become the second leading elective medical procedure in the United States, according to a surgeon speaking here at the OSN New York meeting.

LASIK numbers have been declining slightly in recent years. However, Generation Y — the 20- to 30-year-old children of baby boomers — is expected to significantly boost the number of patients seeking LASIK. The same is expected for older patients moving to IOLs, according to Steven J. Dell, MD.

"This is about the best that you could possibly hope for," he said.

If only 20% of the cataract market goes premium, this will become the No. 2 elective medical procedure in the United States, he said.

New data indicate that 10% to 30% of Medicare patients want premium IOLs; in pre-Medicare patients, statistics are closer to 50%, Dr. Dell said.

"We also have the No. 1 procedure, which is LASIK, so we can't complain, although we often do," he said.