Starr Surgical (Monrovia, Calif.) recently announced that it has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with the Smile Eyes group in Germany and Austria.
The Smile Eyes group is an alliance of more than 80 eye experts in 13 vision correction eye centers in Germany and Austria. Through the agreement, EVO Visian ICL lenses will be offered as a premium and primary refractive procedure for patients who are nearsighted.
“We have only our patients’ eyes in mind at the Smile Eyes group so high medical and aesthetic standards are especially important to me, as I consider the comfort and well-being of our patients,” Dr. Laszlo Kiraly, sounder and medical director of the Smile Eyes Clinic in Leipzig, Germany, said in a press release. “I see the patient as diopter independent and justice each by the cornea, and patient needs, not by the diopter in terms of EVO Vision ICL excellence and safety. To me there is no difference in the precise and excellent outcome with EVO Visian ICL, whether I treat a low or high refractive error.”
EVO is Starr Surgical’s implantable collated lens that works with the person’s natural eye to correct vision and provide patients with visual freedom from spectacles and contact lenses. The EVO lens’s central hole gives the eye a natural nourishing aqueous flow and a single surgical procedure.
“The EVO Visian ICL procedure is fascinating to me because of its effectiveness and quality of vision only a few hours after surgery. During the 10 years I have been performing ICL surgery, I have seen happy EVO patients with outstanding results and the ICL procedure has become a premium and primary solution for vision correction within our treatment spectrum,” Dr. Martin Bechmann, founder of the Smile Eyes group, said. “Over time, we have learned the limitations of different refractive procedures, and we have learned that the ICL family of lenses can treat nearly every patient’s refractive error with stable and excellent results, no matter if the patient is myopic, hyperopic – with our without astigmatism. I am looking forward to our cooperation as an official strategic cooperation partner with Starr Surgical, as I believe that working with strong partners is a crucial element of practice success today.”
Starr Surgical announced its first strategic cooperation agreements with customers in 2016. The company also offers patient education, surgeon training and co-marketing support in exchange for committed levels of growth and patient education by clinics and offering the ICL family of lenses as premium and primary.
“Our new agreement with the Smile Eyes group positions the EVO Visian ICL intraocular family of lenses as a primary and premium option for patients seeking visual freedom from glasses and contact lenses,” Caren Mason, president and CEO of Starr Surgical, said. “Surgeon owners Dr. Laszlo Kiraly and Dr. Martin Bechmann have demonstrated a high level of excellence and dedication to our ICL lenses. They are considered experts in the field of refractive surgery and have each been awarded the EVO Visian ICL award several times including in 2018. Both surgeons have performed the ICL procedure on physician colleagues who now speak as testament to their visual freedom experiences to potential patients. Germany is the fifth largest market for refractive vision correction procedures in the world and represents an important market for Starr Surgical’s lenses. We look forward to working closely with the Smile Eyes group on patient education, marketing and surgeon training under this new strategic cooperation agreement.”
