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On March 5, Shi Weiyun, a deputy to the National People's Congress and president of Shandong Provincial Eye Hospital, suggested in an interview with the media that myopia people aged 18 to 45 who meet the conditions for surgery should undergo laser corneal refractive surgery, stay away from corneal infections caused by long-term wearing of contact lenses, reduce the deepening of myopia, and protect eye health.
The topic quickly appeared on the hot search and triggered a heated discussion among the majority of netizens.
Last year, Shi Weiyun once attracted widespread attention for his suggestion that "it is not recommended that young people wear beautiful eyeglasses".
Shi Weiyun said that he encountered many patients in the clinic because of wearing contact lenses and wearing beautiful pupils, and their eyes were infected. The study found that the regression rate after the corneal refractive surgery was very low (refractive regression refers to the phenomenon that the naked eye vision of the surgical eye decreases and the refractive degree increases compared with the postoperative period of time after the corneal refractive surgery), which is less than the increase in the degree of wearing glasses.
"Corneal disease, as the second most general blind eye disease in mainland China, affects more than 4 million people. The disease has a great impact on patients, who lose the ability to work or even take care of themselves after becoming blind. Shi Weiyun introduced that there is a certain technical accumulation in the diagnosis and treatment of corneal diseases (especially infectious corneal diseases) in China, and it also ranks at the international advanced level, but in general, the diagnosis and treatment of corneal diseases is difficult to recover, there are many technical difficulties, and the available drugs and suitable medical devices are relatively single, which has a big gap with the needs of doctors and patients.
At the same time, Shi Weiyun suggested that a national laboratory should be set up in the field of corneal disease to comprehensively promote the innovative development of corneal disease research.
Although contact lenses have the risk of causing corneal disease, myopia surgery is also a treatment method that "the masses need and clinical needs". But Shi Weiyun's suggestion quickly sparked heated discussions.
Some netizens questioned Shi Weiyun's identity as an "ophthalmologist" in advertising;
Some netizens questioned the "reliability" of the proposal because Shi Weiyun himself also wore glasses;
Some netizens reported that they had done myopia surgery but suffered from sequelae;
Some netizens proposed that the cost of myopia surgery is high and unbearable, and they hope to be included in medical insurance;
Of course, some netizens recognized Shi Weiyun's suggestion, and said that the operation had been done for more than twenty years, the effect was very good, and there was no rebound or other sequelae.
Over the years, more and more people have undergone myopia surgery.
Many people have a lot of worries before doing myopia surgery: after myopia surgery, will there be sequelae? Will I be blind or myopia rebound?
Is myopia surgery about moving a knife in the eye? What if I do it wrong?
The reporter learned from the interview that usually, before the myopia surgery, the regular channels will screen out the people who are not suitable for surgery through inquiries and preoperative examinations. In addition to disease limitations, myopia surgery also has age requirements and is usually recommended between the ages of 18 and 45.
Image source: Dr. Lilac
It is understood that myopia surgery is mainly based on laser corneal surgery and lens implantation, and laser corneal surgery can be roughly divided into three categories: flap making, with half-femtosecond surgery as the surgical representative; surface class, represented by Trans-PRK; lens technology, represented by full femtosecond surgery.
Simply put, these 3 kinds of surgery are "cutting" the cornea - using a laser knife to "cut" the cornea thin and correct vision.
Another type of myopia surgery is becoming more common: intraocular lens implantation (ICL), in which an intraocular lens (equivalent to a contact lens) is implanted in the eye to correct vision.
According to the statistics of the Head Leopard Research Institute, in terms of price, the unit price of Myopia surgery in China has increased year by year, and the highest unit price of surgery is ICL lens implantation surgery, the unit price is about 28,000 yuan to 40,000 yuan, of which a large part of the cost lies in custom ICL crystals; PRK surgery is relatively cheap, between 5,000 yuan and 8,000 yuan. Half-femtosecond surgery is the most common surgical method, with a price of about 12,000 yuan to 20,000 yuan, and the price of full femtosecond surgery is about 16,000 yuan to 25,000 yuan.
The number of femtosecond surgeries in the world has exceeded 4 million, and China accounts for more than 50%. In the private hospitals, Aier Ophthalmology is far ahead, accounting for 28%, followed by Amarsch, Huaxia Ophthalmology, Puri Ophthalmology and other companies have a share.
The ophthalmologist of a third-class hospital in Beijing told reporters that myopia surgery is a very high degree of clinical maturity, with small trauma, fast recovery, and overall safety. But not the most expensive is the best, the one that suits you is the best. Specific to whether each person can do it, whether it is suitable for that kind, or whether it is necessary to go to a regular hospital to check the various indicators of the eye, and then make a decision with the doctor.
From half-femtosecond surgery and T-RPK surgery to full femtosecond surgery and ICL surgery, the "evolutionary trend" of myopia surgery is becoming more and more automated, leaving smaller and smaller wounds on the eyes, more expensive, but also safer.
In the above myopia surgery, ICL lens implantation surgery has more advantages because the surgery is "reversible". Patients can choose to remove or replace the intraocular lens at any time. However, because the operation requires an incision, it also has a high risk of surgical infection, is prone to infection, and is not suitable for older patients and some patients with anterior segment of the disease. And because the crystals used in surgery are completely monopolized by STAAR Surgical, imported and need to be customized, the price is more expensive and the market acceptance is low. Aibo Medical's ICL pipeline is currently accelerating clinical trials and will strive to be approved in 2023, and overseas registration will also be synchronized after domestic registration.
Ophthalmology is known as "Golden Eye" due to less medication and more surgery, easy to create high profits, strong dependence on equipment and weak dependence on doctors, which is conducive to standardized diagnosis and treatment and replication expansion.
This golden track is really profitable. The market size has grown from 46.1 billion in 2012 to 141 billion in 2020, of which the growth rate of private ophthalmic medical institutions is higher than that of public ones, and the compound annual growth rate of the industry is more than 20%.
With the hot industry, some ophthalmology companies have expanded by landing in the capital market.
In June last year, Huaxia Ophthalmology was held, Puri Ophthalmology was held in July, and He's Ophthalmology was held in August. In addition, Chaoju Ophthalmology, Zhaoke Ophthalmology and Eagle Pupil Technology have successively landed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
Edit: Quan Zeyuan
Proofreader: Sun Jiehua
Editor: Zhang Dawei
Producer: Ji Yuliang
Editor-in-charge: Shao Ziyi
Producer: Pu Hongyi
Issued: Pan Linqing