Refractive surgeons should offer wide range of procedures
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NEW ORLEANS — The $210 billion spent annually on global vision correction suggests potential growth for refractive surgery, according to a speaker.
“The stage has been set, and we’ve all learned that we really have a lot of business to come,” Michael C. Knorz, MD, said during a presentation at Refractive Surgery Subspecialty Day at the American Academy of Ophthalmology meeting. “More and more people are myopic, and more and more people will be presbyopic in the future, so the market is exceptional for us.”
Of this $210 billion, Knorz said, roughly $5 billion is spent on refractive surgery, while $130 billion is used for eyeglasses, $20 billion for reading glasses, $15 billion for contact lenses and $40 billion for eye exams. The compound annual growth rate of laser vision correction and lens surgery is 1.7% and 4.5%, respectively, in the U.S. and 3% and 3.5%, respectively, in Europe, he said.
Knorz said that laser vision correction will likely grow due to an increase in myopia and that refractive lens exchange using multifocal IOLs has the most potential for growth due to the increasing prevalence of presbyopia. He also said that it is important for ophthalmologists to “think big” when it comes to their range of services.
“We really need to offer the whole spectrum of surgery,” he said. “We have to offer SMILE, we have to offer LASIK, we have to offer PRK, we have to offer ICLs, and we have to offer refractive lens exchange with multifocal IOLs.”
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Knorz MC. Building on new interest in refractive surgery and how to keep momentum going. Presented at: American Academy of Ophthalmology meeting; Nov. 12-15, 2021; New Orleans.
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