InView Brings Intraocular Lens Procedure to Atlanta; Vision Correction Center Offers Contact Lens Implants.

ATLANTA -- Recently, the FDA announced approval of the Verisyse lens, a new lens implanted in the eye to treat nearsightedness. InView Vision of Atlanta -- the first center to implant such a lens in Atlanta -- has announced the availability of this advanced procedure to patients.

Inview Co-Founder George Waring, M.D., F.A.C.S., FRCOphth, has been implanting the Verisyse style lens for more than 11 years, initially outside the U.S. and for the past four years as one of 30 surgeon investigators in the U.S. FDA trial, implanting approximately 200 cases.

Intraocular lenses (IOLs) are plastic optical devices placed inside the eye to correct refractive vision errors -- rather like placing a miniature contact lens in the eye. IOLs are used routinely in cataract surgery. The new lens for nearsightedness is implanted between the cornea and the iris, the colored part of the eye, using small clips attached to the front of the iris. The natural lens is not removed. Approximately 20 minutes in length, the procedure is done under topical anesthesia with no shots around the eye and no eye patch after surgery, allowing the patient to return to normal activities within 48 hours.

Unlike LASIK surgery, this procedure is reversible.

The procedure gives patients who are not good candidates for LASIK surgery the opportunity to live without glasses or contacts. Primary candidates for the Verisyse lens procedure are those with large amounts of nearsightedness or who have thin corneas. According to analysts, there are about 3 million individuals worldwide who are severely myopic, making them prime candidates for the Verisyse lens.

This style of Intraocular lens has been in clinical use for approximately 25 years, used to correct nearsightedness for approximately 17 years and tested by the FDA for seven years in the U.S. by Ophtec USA, a subsidiary of Ophtec BV, the Dutch company that invented the lens and sells it in Europe under the "Artisan" brand name. Advanced Medical Optics (AMO) sells the lens in the U.S. under the Verisyse brand name. More than 150,000 lenses have been implanted worldwide over the past 17 years. Due to the fact that the procedure must take place in a completely sterile operating room, the cost is approximately $4,500 per eye.

Dr. Waring has performed corneal and lens implant surgery for 25 years, including approximately 1,000 corneal transplants, 10,000 LASIK procedures, and thousands of cataract removals. This year he was honored for his achievements in vision correction as one of Bausch & Lomb's five "visionaries" worldwide whose life work has been committed to the perfection of vision, received the American Academy of Ophthalmology's Lifetime Achievement Award, and received both the Castroviejo and Rayner honorary medals in eye surgery.

InView is a state-of-the-art vision surgery center founded in 1994. The Verisyse lens was first implanted by InView surgeons in 1993. InView surgeons have performed more than 40,000 LASIK procedures. The Center offers patients the widest range of options for vision correction surgery and treatment. InView is located at 4170 Ashford Dunwoody Road, Suite 300, Atlanta, Ga. 30319. For more information, go to www.inviewvision.com or call 404-843-EYES (3937).