Despite rising inflation and lingering COVID issues, the world of ophthalmic surgery navigated 2022 with reasonable success. The latest data from Market Scope shows continued growth in almost all surgical sectors of ophthalmology. For the first time ever, the total number of surgical procedures for a quarter (the second quarter of 2022) topped 5 million cases.
Intraocular lens (IOL) surgery continued its growth trend, with a 1.2 percent increase over last year. The premium IOL market continues to increase slowly, inching its way up to 19 percent of the overall market. The femtosecond laser market showed similar growth, now at about 13 percent of all cataract surgeries. Glaucoma surgeries showed the biggest jump, with a 16 percent increase over 2021, with shunt-based surgeries making up the lion’s share of these procedures. Retina continues to be a specialty revolving around mostly intravitreal injections; surgical procedures have been essentially flat for the year, with no growth in vitrectomies or other surgeries.
The ASC continues to be the dominant location for ophthalmic surgery, as 86 percent of all surgeries now take place there. The hospital accounts for 12 percent, while under 2 percent of procedures are performed in an office-based surgical suite.
The industry side of ophthalmology continues to be an active environment of investment and mergers. Continued consolidation in the surgical devices space has resulted in a small group of players representing the bulk of the surgical instrument market. Six companies (Alcon, Bausch + Lomb, BVI, Zeiss, DORC, and Geuder AG) represent over half of the $1.5 billion market. But investors continue to look closely at surgical ophthalmology and seem very willing to fund the many start-ups that are creating a very crowded field.
So, the future of surgical ophthalmology in 2023 looks pretty bright, right? Well, yeah ... sort of. There are still lots of challenges and headwinds to navigate. I think inflation and continuing interest rate hikes are going to make life difficult. The modest increase in ASC reimbursement for this year, I fear, will quickly get gobbled up by the rising cost in staffing and goods. Supply chain issues are likely to continue through the first half of the year. The optimist in me feels we will navigate these obstacles and others and have a successful 2023, but the realist in me knows it will be a challenge. One thing is certain, The Ophthalmic ASC will be there to provide all the insights you could possibly need to make 2023 your best year. OASC
