STAAR Surgical Company (NASDAQ: STAA), the global leader in phakic IOLs with the EVO™ family of Implantable Collamer® Lenses (EVO ICL™) for vision correction, today released a new report entitled The Future of Refractive Surgery, the first comprehensive global market analysis showing a consistent, multi-market migration toward implantable lens correction driven by durable tailwinds on the demand and clinical sides of the market.
The report examines patient sentiment, procedure volume trends, and clinical practice patterns across Japan, China, South Korea, the United States, Germany, Spain, and the UK and Ireland. Drawing on a consumer survey of 7,800 respondents and data from leading academic research, this groundbreaking report demonstrates a consistent, multi-market migration toward implantable lens correction.1
The STAAR Surgical team will be available to discuss the results of the report at the upcoming 44th Congress of the ESCRS in London from September 11–15, 2026, where the Company will engage with ophthalmic surgeons and industry leaders from around the world.
A Market in Transition from Laser to Lens
The report documents the shifts happening simultaneously on the demand and clinical sides of the market. Across every geographic region surveyed, excimer laser procedure volumes have declined or stagnated, while phakic IOL (implantable lens) adoption has continued to increase — even in markets where ICL brand awareness remains relatively low.
The most striking divergence is in the United States, where laser procedure volume has declined 52% since 2022 — four consecutive years of double-digit losses — while EVO ICL adoption has expanded 76% over the same period, more than tripling its market share.
Patient Sentiment Is the Primary Leading Indicator in the Shift
The report identifies shifting patient attitudes as the clearest leading indicator of future procedure volume. As stated in the report, 80% of consumers surveyed said they want to be free of glasses and contacts altogether, and 58% said they are attracted to a reversible option. More than half (59%) stated they are not open to laser correction. Globally, safety concerns (38%) and fear of the procedure (38%) outrank cost (32%) as primary barriers to laser correction.
Japan, where ICL already accounts for more than half of all refractive procedures, represents the most advanced market for lens-based vision correction. ICL awareness is high: Of those polled in Japan for the Future of Refractive Surgery Report, 46% had unaided awareness of ICL compared to 40% for LASIK.
While the U.S. and key European markets are showing the same directional signals at an earlier stage, awareness of laser alternatives remains low: fewer than one in five consumers are aware of implantable lens correction in Germany (18.9%), the U.S. (19.3%), and the UK and Ireland (20%). Awareness in Spain is 27%.
The Forces Behind the Shift Are Structural
The report identifies two converging forces accelerating the transition:
- The information environment has changed. Patients now research vision correction through search engines, social media, online communities, and AI tools before and alongside clinical consultations. In the U.S., 53.5% of consumers say they would use search engines and 25.5% would use AI tools such as ChatGPT to research vision correction, exposing more patients to peer accounts of regression and laser complications, such as dry eye and corneal neuropathy.
- Clinical practice patterns are adapting. According to an AECOS study of 1,882 eyes across 19 U.S. practices, ICL was the most-performed refractive procedure (72%) in patients with -8.0 diopters and above.2 As surgeon training and familiarity expand, the clinical case for recommending lens-based correction as a first-line option is increasing.
Growing Patient Population is a Long-Term Tailwind
The report projects that the structural tailwinds behind this shift will intensify. Global high myopia (-6D and above) is projected to approach 1 billion people by 2050, with the largest concentrations in East and Southeast Asia.3 Globally, phakic IOLs have more than quadrupled their share of refractive procedures over the past decade while laser volumes have been broadly flat. The shift is most advanced in Asia: Japan has by far the highest phakic IOL share of any refractive market; South Korea has the highest per-capita phakic IOL penetration of any country; and China is the largest phakic IOL market in the world by volume.4
STAAR also has secured expanded label indications for EVO ICL in key markets, including down to -0.5D in Brazil and an expanded age range of 21–60 in the United States, broadening the eligible patient population.
“The question is no longer whether lens-based correction will define the future of refractive surgery,” the report concludes. “The evidence across seven markets suggests the question is how quickly each market will complete the transition.”
The full report, including market-by-market findings, is available at https://www.staar.com/future-of-refractive-surgery.
References
- STAAR Surgical Consumer Survey, Global Combined Summary (n=7,800). Fieldwork: March 2025 (UK), August 2025 (US), March 2026 (Germany, Spain), May 2026 (China, Japan, South Korea).
- AECOS US Refractive Surgery Study Data 2024, n=1,882 procedures, Internal Data on File.
- Holden BA, Fricke TR, Wilson DA, et al. Global prevalence of myopia and high myopia and temporal trends from 2000 through 2050. Ophthalmology. 2016
- Market Scope. 2025 Refractive Surgery Market Report. Market Scope, LLC; 2025.
About STAAR Surgical
STAAR Surgical (NASDAQ: STAA) is the global leader in implantable phakic intraocular lenses, a vision correction solution that reduces or eliminates the need for glasses or contact lenses. Since 1982, STAAR has been dedicated solely to ophthalmic surgery, and for over 30 years, STAAR has been designing, developing, manufacturing, and marketing advanced Implantable Collamer® Lenses (ICLs), using its proprietary biocompatible Collamer material. STAAR ICLs are clinically proven to deliver safe long-term vision correction without removing corneal tissue or the eye’s natural crystalline lens. Its EVO ICL™ product line provides visual freedom through a quick, minimally invasive procedure. STAAR has sold more than 4 million ICLs in over 85 countries. Headquartered in Lake Forest, California, the Company operates research, development, manufacturing, and packaging facilities in California and Switzerland. For more information about ICL, visit www.discovericl.com. To learn more about STAAR, visit www.staar.com.
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