STAAR Surgical Site Map

The Visian ICL™ – STAAR® Surgical Company's Phakic IOL

Made from Collamer, the Visian ICL (Implantable Collamer Lens) is one of the latest technological advancements in vision correction. The Visian ICL is a long lasting solution for refractive error. Through its myopia treatment, the Visian ICL offers excellent quality of vision.

Advantages of the Visian ICL

The Visian ICL and its unique Collamer composition offer numerous advantages including:

  • Quality of Vision – The Visian ICL produces not only improved visual acuity (20/20 vision is considered normal visual acuity), but also excellent visual quality. Many patients experience the "Wow" factor when they experience the immediate improvement in the quality of their vision.
  • Biocompatibility – Collamer, the 100 percent pure collagen copolymer lens material of the Visian ICL, is not viewed as a foreign object by the body's immune system.
  • Versatility – The Visian ICL offers a wider treatment range for myopia than LASIK and PRK procedures.
  • Simplicity – Unlike traditional contact lenses, once the Visian ICL is implanted in the eye, there is no additional maintenance needed.
  • Safety – After implantation in over 55,000 eyes worldwide, the Visian ICL has established a proven track record of safety.
  • Lens Placement – The placement of the Visian ICL makes the lens invisible to the patient and any observer.
  • Removable – The Visian ICL was designed to be permanently placed in the eye. However, the lens can be removed if a patient's vision changes or if it otherwise needs to be removed or replaced.

[ back to top ]

Visian ICL Models Available

In the United States, one version of the Visian ICL is FDA approved to treat myopia (nearsightedness). Internationally, two additional models of the Collamer ICL are available. The Visian TICL* (Toric Implantable Collamer Lens) can be used for patients with nearsightedness and astigmatism. The hyperopic version of the Visian ICL is used to treat farsightedness.

Each of the Visian ICL models function similar to a contact lens, except the lens is implanted into the eye, not placed over it. Because of the similarities between the phakic intraocular lens and contact lenses, many replace the word "Collamer" in the ICL acronym and call the lenses "implantable contact lenses." (This term is widely accepted in international markets.)

[ back to top ]

Obtain Additional Visian ICL Information

For additional information on the STAAR Surgical Company's phakic intraocular lens, visit the Visian ICL website and review the answers to frequently asked questions about the Visian ICL corrective eye surgery.

*Not available in the US

[ back to top ]