MONROVIA, Calif., Nov. 14, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- STAAR Surgical Company (NASDAQ: STAA), a leading developer, manufacturer and marketer of minimally invasive ophthalmic products, today announced that it is hosting an investor breakfast and webcast on Saturday, November 16 during the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) Annual Meeting in New Orleans, LA.

Dr. Erik Mertens, Medical Director and founder of the Medipolis Eye Centre in Antwerp, Belgium, will provide an update on his results from the Visian ICL CentraFLOW technology as well as the benefits his patients are receiving.  The CentraFLOW technology has been a key driver in the 35% ICL procedure growth in Europe during the first nine months of 2013.  Dr. Mertens will also present his data on the procedure time savings, which he expects from the Preloaded Visian ICL that will begin commercialization in Europe early next year. 

Barry G. Caldwell, STAAR's President & CEO, will provide a brief update on the Company's operational progress, upcoming catalysts, as well as an overview of STAAR's latest product under development, the Visian V6 models, which are designed to treat the stages of presbyopia.  Presbyopia is a progressive loss of the ability for the natural lens to focus on objects near. 

Investors participating in AAO and interested in attending the breakfast meeting, should contact Leigh Salvo at [email protected] or call (415) 568-9348.  A live audio webcast of the presentation will be available at 5:00 a.m. PT/7:00 a.m. CT/8:00 a.m. ET from the investor section of the Company's website at www.staar.com/html/investor-info.html. The webcast will also be archived and available for 90 days following the event.

About STAAR Surgical
STAAR, which has been dedicated solely to ophthalmic surgery for over 25 years, designs, develops, manufactures and markets implantable lenses for the eye and delivery systems therefor. All of these lenses are foldable, which permits the surgeon to insert them through a small incision. STAAR's lens used in refractive surgery as an alternative to LASIK is called an Implantable Collamer® Lens or "ICL." A lens used to replace the natural lens after cataract surgery is called an intraocular lens or "IOL." Over 375,000 Visian ICLs have been implanted to date; to learn more about the ICL go to: www.visianinfo.com. STAAR has approximately 300 full time employees and markets lenses in over 60 countries. Headquartered in Monrovia, CA, it manufactures in the following locations: Nidau, Switzerland; Aliso Viejo, CA; and Monrovia, CA. For more information, please visit the Company's website at www.staar.com. 

Collamer® is the registered trademark for STAAR's proprietary biocompatible collagen copolymer lens material.

Safe Harbor
All statements in this press release that are not statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements, including statements about any of the following: the plans, strategies, and objectives of management for future operations or prospects for achieving such plans, including but not limited to, statements regarding new products, CE Mark approval and launch of the Visian ICL Preloaded System, and plans for the Visian V6, as well as expectations for success of these products in the U.S. or international markets or government approval of them, and any statements of assumptions underlying any of the foregoing.  These statements are based on expectations and assumptions as of the date of this press release and are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements.  Important additional factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements are set forth in the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 28, 2012, under the caption "Risk Factors," which is on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission and available in the "Investor Information" section of the company's website under the heading "SEC Filings."

SOURCE STAAR Surgical Company