The diseases of the eye—cataracts, age-related macular degeneration, presbyopia—are largely degenerative conditions that are the result of aging and are every bit as prevalent as cardiovascular disease and the aches and pains that accompany joint degeneration. In 2006, ophthalmic surgical procedures represented approximately 23.2% of all surgeries performed in the US, and procedure numbers are expected to climb at a compound annual growth rate of 4.2% through 2014, according to US Surgical Procedure Volumes, a report recently issued by the Medtech Insight division of Windhover Information.
Demographics will fuel growth in the number of eye surgeries for conditions such as cataracts—20 million patients were treated in...
