Scott D. Barnes, MD, is the chief medical officer (CMO) at STAAR Surgical, developer, manufacturer and marketer of implantable lenses for the eye, headquartered in Lake Forest, Calif. Dr. Barnes joined the company after a 30-year career with the military. He previously served as chief of ophthalmology services, Womack Army Medical Center, Fort Bragg, N.C.; theater ophthalmology consultant and surgeon in Iraq and Afghanistan; Special Forces Battalion and Group Surgeon; and Deputy Surgeon for the U.S. Army Special Operations Command. He also held various ophthalmology positions at military bases and served as the Deputy Commander for Clinical Services for all combat trauma, medical, veterinary and dental care in Afghanistan.

Ophthalmology Management: Can you discuss your role as CMO at STAAR Surgical and how you got started in this role? Why did you move in this direction with your career and how?

Dr. Scott D. Barnes: As CMO, I serve on STAAR Surgical’s executive management team and provide strategic guidance for the company’s medical affairs, professional affairs and product development. In addition, I lead STAAR Surgical’s Surgeon Training and Certification programs, as well as the company’s Surgeon Working Groups. I joined STAAR Surgical in 2017, after a 30-year career in the military, retiring at the rank of Colonel.

About a year before I retired from the military, I had a meeting with Caren Mason, STAAR Surgical’s president and CEO. Knowing that I was coming to the end of my military career, she offered me the position as CMO. Prior to this, I never thought about working in industry. However, realizing that I could contribute my knowledge and share my perspective as a surgeon, I agreed.

Prior to joining the company, I had also seen first-hand the benefits of STAAR Surgical’s Myopic VISIAN implantable collamer lens (ICL) and how it helped patients who could not have laser surgery (due to high myopia, inferior steeping, thin corneas, dry eye conditions, for example). It was really disappointing as an MD and to the patient that there was nothing that we could do. But when STAAR Surgical introduced the Myopic VISIAN ICL, I was thrilled because we would now be able to help those patients we couldn’t help before. The ICL performed so well that we started offering it to many lower myopes who previously were only offered laser correction.

Staying clinically active was very important to me when I accepted this position, and I’ve been able to continue with clinical practice. Because this is a global role, I obtained a license in China where I began to work in the world’s first “ICL only” clinic until COVID restricted my ability to travel overseas. I thought it was important for me to be “hands on” with the EVO Visian ICL, which, at that time, was not yet approved in the United States.

OM: Is there anything from your time in the military you have brought to your role as an ophthalmologist and CMO?

SB: Before I became an ophthalmologist, I was in a Special Forces (Green Beret) Unit. We focus on becoming geographically, culturally and linguistically proficient in order to better interact with our foreign defense partners. I was fortunate enough to have earned a military language proficiency rating in Spanish, French and Thai, spending between 6 to 9 months each year deployed in a different country. I learned about PRK from my time in Thailand, which resulted in my getting PRK in Canada in 1991 and led to my desire to become an ophthalmologist to bring laser vision correction back to the Special Forces.

That linguistic and cultural sensitivity was tested and strengthened during my 13 months as the Deputy Commander for the Theater Medical Brigade in Afghanistan. I was responsible for managing all the surgeons, veterinarians, dentists, mental health providers and allied health-care workers from more than 38 different countries.

Those years of cultural sensitivity, language proficiency, expectation management and proper multinational integration and collaboration based on diplomatic requests for compromise and understanding have served me well in my position as CMO for a company that does business in more than 75 countries.

OM: As CMO, you also act as a liaison between surgeons and the industry. Can you explain why that is so important?

SB: I think it’s critical to have a surgeon on board who is a practicing clinician and has good working relationships with clinicians. I feel there is not a lot of communication between clinicians and industry, and because of that we don’t always understand each other. Working in this capacity allows me to be a bridge between clinicians and the industry, and I’ve found that to work really well. It’s a great position to be in to help shape and change the future and really bring in the surgeon’s perspective. I find it invaluable to have real-time feedback from a practicing surgeon rather than waiting to gather a focus group to gain such insight. It’s beneficial to the company and to the interests of our surgeon partners.

OM: What are some of the latest developments at STAAR Surgical and with its products?

SB: In March 2022, the FDA approved STAAR Surgical’s EVO/EVO+ Visian ICL for the correction of myopia and myopia with astigmatism. EVOs are implanted within the posterior chamber of the eye, directly behind the iris and in front of the natural crystalline lens. The EVO lens is added to the patient’s eye through a relatively quick surgical procedure where there is no removal of corneal tissue. Earlier versions of the Visian ICL lens in the United States required a preoperative peripheral iridotomy that is now eliminated with EVO. This has really made adoption much better since it is now just a single procedure.

As part of the US Launch campaign, Joe Jonas (entertainer), Max Strus (NBA player) and Peyton List (actor and internet personality) have been speaking about what led them to get EVO ICLs.

Another product that STAAR Surgical has introduced to the US market is the Lioli inserter system, made by AST. The Lioli makes it significantly easier for the surgeon to load the EVO ICL without requiring the specialized instruments used in the previous insertion device.

In addition, STAAR Surgical is also working on the next generation of EVO lenses, collamer lens material and delivery systems.

Finally, the EVO Experience Center was created at the company’s headquarters in November 2022 as a resource to introduce surgeons, surgical staff, optometrists and refractive coordinators to the EVO system. The center is equipped with advanced visualization and communications technology, allowing for in-person and virtual training, medical education and practice development programs. OM