EyeWorld Asia-Pacific December 2012 Issue

December 2012 13 EWAP FEATURE Overall, with the aging Gen Y population coming into the “sweet spot” for LASIK, Mr. Mahdavi predicts within the next 5 years, LASIK will once again reach the peak levels surgeons saw in 2000 and 2007. Femtosecond market Mr. Stubenbordt called 2012 a funny year. “Everything is doing well, but it shouldn’t be. Cataract volumes are pretty stable, and the femtosecond laser has given physicians a new reason to talk about actively marketing cataract surgery. We’re seeing a large impact on cataract volume for physicians who have bought the newer lasers— about 15%.” Because femtosecond technology has not been on the market very long, Mr. Ziemer said, “Worldwide there is a great potential market and clinics that need femtosecond technology,” both in refractive and cataract procedures. Stuart Raetzman , head of global commercial strategy, Alcon, is bullish about the femtosecond potential in refractive cataract, as the technology “delivers increased precision and customization while improving predictability, reliability, and reproducibility of patient outcomes.” By his calculations, Mr. Mahdavi said about 25% of current femtosecond refractive cataract users “are not making money, but patients like the concept and will pay for it.” He’s bullish on this, too, as multiple manufacturers received regulatory approvals within the first year, and “more may be coming.” “Just like when femto for LASIK was introduced, in this arena, if you’re not first with the femtosecond for refractive cataract, you’re last,” Mr. Stubenbordt said, adding most patients thought cataract surgery was already done with only lasers. Surgeons with the femtosecond refractive cataract lasers are seeing “dramatically increased” referrals from optometrists—close to a 50-60% increase, he said. Dr. Roberts said most surgeons are looking for boxes that are capable of multiple uses; Bausch + Lomb’s two largest markets are Europe and the U.S., with more business generated outside the U.S. “For us, we see the big growth in the U.S. driven by the demand for cataract surgery by baby boomers,” he said. “When femto first came out, there was some hesitation that it was going to slow the physicians down and decrease efficiency compared to regular cataract surgery, but we haven’t seen that.” Mr. Mahdavi believes consumers will pay more for perceived benefits, and physicians just need to become better skilled at packaging and promotion. “Phaco is going to continue to evolve in the years to come,” Mr. Raetzman said. Because the two procedures work synergistically, he expects femto use in cataract surgery to increase as well, but doesn’t limit the growth to just cataract. “Femtosecond refractive surgery will evolve further over the next 5 years and be even more broadly available around the world,” Mr. Raetzman said. Mr. Ziemer said his company followed the LenSx/Alcon introductions and announced at this past ASCRS•ASOA Symposium & Congress its own entry into the market. “We have to be a part of this market,” he said. “It’s a very interesting future for femto right now.” Dr. Roberts credits femto for helping cataract surgeons become bolder in recommending premium IOLs—“we’re seeing faster growth with this technology in cataract uses than we did in refractive,” he said. EWAP Editors’ note: Mr. Raetzman, Mr. Ziemer, and Dr. Roberts have financial interests with their respective companies. Mr. Mahdavi and Mr. Stubenbordt have financial interests with laser manufacturers. Cont act info rmation Mahdavi: 925-425-9900, shareef@sm2strategic.com Raetzman: Melissa.Mota@alconlabs.com Roberts: 585-338-6633, Cal.roberts@bausch.com Stubenbordt: 682-831-0900, paul@refractiveconsulting.com Ziemer: +41 32 332 70 10, Frank.Ziemer@ziemergroup.com A bullish - from page 9 New to the Family of PASCAL Lasers - PASCAL Synthesis with Endpoint Management r 1SFDJTJPO BOE DPOUSPM VTJOH 1"4$"- 5FDIOPMPHZ r "WBJMBCMF JO ON BOE ON XBWFMFOHUIT r %VBM QPSUT GPS DPOWFOJFOU TXJUDIJOH CFUXFFO B -*0 BOE MBTFS QSPCF r $PNQBDU EFTJHO GPS VTF JO BO PVUQBUJFOU DMJOJD PS 03 r *OUVJUJWF UPVDITDSFFO MBTFS DPOUSPM JOUFSGBDF &OEQPJOU .BOBHFNFOU ™ XJUI -BOENBSL ™ 1BUUFSOT 5SFBU XJUI DPOñEFODF BOE DPOUSPM XIJMF PíFSJOH OPO EBNBHJOH QBUUFSO MBTFS USFBUNFOUT &OEQPJOU .BOBHFNFOU 0í &OEQPJOU .BOBHFNFOU XJUI -BOENBSLT SFE EPUT &OEQPJOU .BOBHFNFOU 0O &OEQPJOU .BOBHFNFOU XJUI -BOENBSL 1BUUFSOT QSPWJEFT BO JODSFBTFE BEWBOUBHF PWFS PUIFS TVC WJTJCMF MBTFST r 'MFYJCJMJUZ BOE DPOUSPM XJUI WJTJCMF OPO WJTJCMF USFBUNFOU PQUJPOT r 7JTJCMF SFGFSFODF QPJOUT VTJOH -BOENBSL UFDIOPMPHZ r *ODSFBTFE QBUJFOU DPNGPSU r "EWBODFE BMHPSJUINT GPS USFBUNFOU BU OPO EBNBHJOH MFWFMT XIJMF NBJOUBJOJOH DMJOJDBM FîDBDZ "XBJUJOH SFHVMBUPSZ BQQSPWBM /PU GPS TBMF JO UIF 6 4 &OEQPJOU .BOBHFNFOU JT BO PQUJPOBM VQHSBEF 4FF VT BU UIF "1"0 UP MFBSO NPSF BCPVU 1"4$"- MBTFST BOE &OEQPJOU .BOBHFNFOU TOPCON SINGAPORE MEDICAL PTE LTD "MFYBOESB 5FSSBDF 5IF $PNUFDI 4JOHBQPSF 5FM &NBJM NFEJDBM@TBMFT!UPQDPO DPN TH 8FCTJUF XXX UPQDPO DPN TH