Few acts of medicine are more important than ophthalmic surgery for seniors. Ophthalmologists perform eye surgery for seniors to restore their sight so that they can get back to their families, jobs, and things that they love to do. The most common procedures, cataract and retina surgery, have evolved greatly.

What was once a surgery performed in a hospital that required a cumbersome recovery shifted into the ambulatory surgery center setting where a patient could go home the same day. The ophthalmic surgery evolution is continuing today with office-based surgery. Over 40,000 ophthalmic surgeries have been successfully performed in the office-based setting.

The Evolution

Fifty years ago, ophthalmic surgeries were performed exclusively in hospitals. The introduction of the ambulatory surgery center (ASC) provided a high quality and more cost-effective option for patients. Medicare’s decision to allow for ophthalmic coverage in ASCs was the catalyst for a dramatic shift from the hospital to ASC setting for ophthalmic surgeries.

Fast forward to today, and over 40,000 cataract and retina surgeries are now performed in an office-based surgical suite of a physician’s office, and the results in the physician’s suite feature the same incredible outcomes and safety measures.