Immerse Yourself in an ICL Experience: Tour with Taj & Me

During Dr. Mitch Jackson ’s DJMJ event alongside the 128th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO 2024), I made a connection with a really uptempo surgeon: Dr. Taj Nasser, MD .?

Dr. Nasser, who hails from Yemen, knows the developing world well and gets out there often to make a difference. But he’s also making a difference there just by doing surgery in the United States.

“For every surgery we do in the US, we donate a certain amount of money to a developing country to have great vision as well,” he said. “You can be a part of something bigger. Our staff is energized and over the moon about that. We are part [of the world in need].”

So I was stoked to learn during my recent visit to the STAAR Surgical Experience Center, that Dr. Nasser would be coming out there as well in just another couple weeks to train a new batch of ICL-empowered surgeons for the first time at the facility.

Things are absolutely incredible there: a putt-putt practice range right outside the office doors, in the actual building; another room that provides driving range simulation; an energized STAAR staff group practicing a Diwali dance routine, etc.?

I found it fascinating because, in the office, STAAR was embracing the kind of lifestyle often enhanced by the ICL: an engaged, active lifestyle.?

In any event, I decided then and there to share more about my personalized tour at STAAR. What I didn’t realize was that I’d also have the opportunity to share a visit through the eyes of a top ICL trainer, and a new friend: Dr. Nasser himself.?

So without further ado, let Dr. Nasser and myself guide you around the STAAR Experience Center.?

The Nearby Laguna Beach

First of all, the STAAR Experience Center is in a beautiful area of the country — Lake Forest — but really near to Laguna Beach.?

I confess, I was a bit starstruck by the area because I have a ridiculous habit of watching old reality shows, including The Hills and Laguna Beach, about a group of youngsters and their OC lives, in the earlier 2000s. The shots around Laguna Beach are beautiful, and I was there among them all. Hi Lauren Conrad!

By the way, I still wear glasses or contacts, but I’ve come to learn that “high definition vision” is part of the ICL experience, so one of these days I could be convinced to upgrade given my packrafting hobby. Seeing potential dangers in fast-moving water is kind of a thing, and I’m often fiddling with lenses fogging up, falling off or the chance of a contact lens-induced infection.?

The funny thing is, when it comes to my whole body, I’m a risk taker, while when it comes to my eyes, I’m quite risk-averse. How’s that for an odd demographic? Refractive surgery industry, you’ve got your hands full here to get me to 20/happy someday. I digress.?

The Entrance

The following day I found myself at the steps of the STAAR Experience Center, and the sun was shining like a beautiful sign from above that this was going to be a good experience indeed.

Climbing the stairs, I soon found myself at the entrance of the center. The automatic sliding doors have this great digital artwork involving the ICL, so the facility sets a high-tech mood from the very start. It proclaimed boldly: Evolution in Visual Freedom.

Dr. Nasser recalled upon seeing those doors: “I’m in like an ICL paradise now. The light, the background, the spaciousness. It’s like Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory. It’s amazing.”

Inside I was greeted by CEO Tom Tom Frinzi and COO Warren Foust , against the backdrop of a massive screen that’s clearly used for great training purposes.?

The Putting Green

Tom actually walked outside of his office and across a putting green to say hello. I suppose having that competitive instinct, he then challenged me to sink a ball into one of the course holes.?

I have to say, it’s pretty novel to walk out of an office and across a putting green. I’d imagine every time you do that, it’s pretty enticing to put another round. How does Tom get any work done?! Kidding.?

Clearly, he and the whole team have been working hard, as STAAR has been growing from strength to strength.

The Wetlab

In the same room where Warren, Tom and I got our executive picture together, it was actually the wet lab training center. And for that, I’m going to turn it over to Dr. Nasser to explain more.?

“The purpose of this new facility is to bring surgeons in for training,” Dr. Nasser said. “When I was there it was the inaugural class. These surgeons have maybe done less than 15 ICLs. Some have not done any.”

Some of these trainees were young surgeons. Others had been in business for 20-30 years. Still others were academics that had transitioned into private practice. So the group was quite diverse.?

After sharing some brief history of the ICL, STAAR then starts on surgeon training.?

“How do you implant an ICL? Dr. Nasser said. “What are the surgical steps? How do you orient the ICL? How do you inject it? There’s hands-on experience. It’s amazing how much we take for granted.”

Plenty of diagnostic tools also are around, including an IOL Master, a Pentacam and a ZEISS Cirrus OCT.?

Training goes beyond the clinical to the marketing.?

“To fly surgeons to the facility and go through a comprehensive training is great,” he said. “We weren’t just talking about surgical pearls. We were talking about marketing. You are given added value overall. I think this is what sets STAAR Surgical apart from other companies. There is a huge dedication to education on many levels. There is a STAAR Surgical Summit. Now they are coming out with an OD summit. And they are focusing on practice champions as well. Their approach is refreshing. They pay a lot of attention to education — on every single level.”

I asked Dr. Nasser point blank, “Is training on the ICL difficult?” “Technically, it’s straightforward,” he said. “Psychologically, it is complex. [Surgeons have the sense of] ‘Oh my gosh, operating on a phakic eye intraoperatively is stressful. I’m operating intraocularly. I’m scared.”

Hence, surgeons need to train on the technical aspects, but also overcome some mental resistance.?

I, for one, enjoyed being a pseudo-trainer and got some great pics with the head of the class, Heather Ready, who asked a great question (which I had no idea how to answer).

The Culture

Apparently, while Dr. Nasser was there, there were some nice celebrations as well….

“It’s so cool that you have this huge emphasis on people coming to work [and enjoying it],” he said. The roster that STAAR Surgical has put together is impressive. Industry friends I know include Warren, Magda, the passionate superstar Dr. Scott Barnes , the always wonderful Heather Ready, our super liaison Paula Ommerli-Weber , the brilliant veteran who recently transitioned from OCULUS, Judith K?nig , and many others. These are people not only in California but all over the world.

I still remember the hospitality with which Paula welcomed me in 2020 at the STAAR office in Switzerland — fond times and memories before COVID hit.?

They also do things in really cool places. We at Media MICE had the privilege to cover the STAAR Surgical EVO ICL?APAC Experts Summit in Okinawa, Japan earlier this year.?

Japan is home to some of the most experienced ICL users because Japan as a whole has essentially eschewed LASIK in favor of the ICL. The ICL market share there is just incredible. In fact, here’s an interview we did with a top regional KOL.?

STAAR also has been making more inroads in Europe and hosted a user meeting alongside ESCRS. Here are some KOL interview highlights:?

So the global, robust company culture binding together staff and surgeons at STAAR is second to none. I’ve seen Paula Ommerli-Weber ’s Facebook posts over the years, and have come to realize “STAAR citizens,” so to speak, lead enriching lives by example. It really hasn’t been lost on me, Paula, and it’s been a pleasure being your friend in the field over the years and bearing witness to the journey of STAAR.?

The Factory

Apparently, a STAAR factory also is nearby, as Dr. Nasser mentioned the training group got to tour it.?

“We got to visit the manufacturing plants,” he said. “It’s incredible, the number of steps and diligence that occurs. To see the manufacturing of the ICL was amazing. People were able to have a much greater appreciation of it.”

The Background

One thing I must admit that I kept wondering to myself was: Dr. Nasser is such a young guy. He’s like a high-powered young ophthalmologist (YO), but how has he become such a top KOL in ICL surgery, such that he’s training the first batch of surgeons at the STAAR Experience Center?

I asked Dr. Nasser about this, as we both found it funny that KOLs of the earlier generation are like your Sam Maskets; almost god-like in ethereal knowledge and reputation. But now, Dr. Nasser — young, hip, laid-back — is your top KOL for this. In fact, there’s a story behind that.?

“I credit Dr. Greg Parkhurst,” he said. “I was a second-year resident on a pediatric ophthalmology rotation. I had a 16-year-old kid who was a minus 16 myope. He was functionally blind and had had an infection in his eyes from contact lenses. His parents pleaded, ‘Please do something for our son.’ I didn’t know what to do. I had to break the bad news [that there was nothing]. I remember how desperate and heartbreaking it was. So I researched ICLs [soon thereafter]. It was one of those pivotal moments. [There may have been a better option after all] but I had to adhere to dogma in that situation. I decided to investigate refractive surgery. I heard about Dr. Greg Parkhurst’s fellowship. He had the highest number of ICL patients at the time.”

So when Dr. Nasser joined the fellowship, he did 1,000 cataracts and 1,000 refractive procedures, including many ICL procedures.?

“I was one of the highest implanters of EVO ICL in that year,” he said. “I was able to accelerate my career five years ahead. “We even worked on an artificial intelligence nomogram for the EVO ICL, and we have a great relationship with STAAR Surgical.”?

The Future

Dr. Nasser even sees a future possibility of implanting more ICLs as charitable initiatives in developing areas. The reason is that glasses can be expensive to acquire for such patients, and also can break. Once an ICL implantation is done, it is a permanent (though reversible) solution.?

“What if we correct uncorrected refractive error?” Dr. Nasser asked. “You liberate not only the individual but the whole family,” which can be provided and cared for once at least one person sees better. That said, these days, Dr. Nasser senses that helping someone in a developing country with their vision, and helping someone at home, is converging in the sense of ‘mission’.

He has gone on mission trips and has performed cataract surgery on people who have been blind — in some cases for 20 years. “You open the patch, and it’s as close to a miracle as you ever get,” he said. “One patient was in Ethiopia. He was monocular. After the operation, he got up screaming and shouting. He said that he can now see and that if he were to go blind he wouldn’t care anymore. He got a glimpse of his people.”

But ICL implantation yields a similar experience.?

“When I see an EVO ICL patient — when I see them the next day — it’s that same kind of experience,” he said. “They don’t have to wear contacts or glasses anymore. They feel a sense of liberation. The experience is so profound. So to me, these two kinds of experiences are tied. With global refractive surgery, we are helping people see.”