Implantable Contact Lens

Dr. Horsley is an FDA approved implanter and one of the most experienced implanters of ICL-like design lenses in New England. The ICL myopic study has completed a three year follow up in January and will be approvable in 12 to 18 months for implantation in myopic patients in the United States.

In August 2000 Dr. Horsley traveled to Tijuana, Mexico, to attend a training program for the STAAR Implantable Contact Lens™ (ICL™). The ICL™ is a refractive, implantable lens that is designed to correct moderate to high degrees of nearsightedness and farsightedness in a single surgical procedure. Ophthalmic surgeons who use advanced micro-incision cataract surgery skills have been traveling to the Codet Eye Center, in Tijuana, to observe ICL™ procedures and perform the surgery under the tutelage of Arturo Chayet", M.D., director of the Center.

Each month selected surgeons are invited to attend the ICL™ course, Through intensive training programs like these, physicians can get a head start in their education and qualification for new-technology ophthalmic products. In addition to learning to implant the ICL™, surgeons are taught protocol for patient selection, anesthesia and postoperative care.

Dr. Horsley was invited to attend the ICL™ course because he utilizes clear corneal incision techniques, which minimize postoperative astigmatism and shorten recovery time for cataract patients. These state-of-the-art, cataract surgery techniques are vital to becoming proficient in ICL™ surgery. In cataract surgery, a replacement lens is implanted where the eye's clouded lens once was; in ICL™ surgery, the lens is implanted directly above the natural lens just behind the iris. This surgery is performed on an outpatient basis usually under topical anesthesia. The ICL™ was developed by STAAR Surgical Company, a manufacturer of minimally invasive medical devices for use in cataract, refractive and glaucoma surgery. To date, more than 14,000 ICLs have been implanted worldwide. The lens is currently in various phases of studies, as required by the Food and Drug Administration.

Dr Horsley is Board Certified in Cataract and Lens Implant Surgery and LASIK Surgery by the American Board of Eye Surgery, and in Ophthalmology by the American Board of Ophthalmology. Dr. Horsley has been using the no-stitch, small incision surgery for more that ten years, performing over 5,000 surgeries using the STAAR plate lens, the most similar lens to the ICL™.Dr. Horsley is one of the most experienced surgeons in Massachusetts with this technique.