San Francisco – The American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS) today installed Stephen S. Lane, MD as its 18th president during the opening general session of its annual scientific symposium.
“As I look at the papers to be presented at this year’s meeting, I am struck with the large volume and scope of new information. Wavefront LASIK, microincision phacoemulsification, Intra Ocular Lenses (IOLs) that will go through microincisions, adjustable power IOLs, and IOLs that have the potential to give excellent simultaneous distance and near vision are but a handful of exciting topics that will be detailed at this meeting. I applaud industry for their continued active support of research and development activities, which bring these new and innovative products to us despite the decrease in reimbursement [from Medicare] that they too face,” Lane added.
Lane’s address noted that organized medicine and the healthcare delivery system face many challenges, and that government has a particularly important role to play. “With all of the competing demands for federal money, our challenge is to find a way to prevent the decline of the world’s finest healthcare delivery system into one of mediocrity,” Lane told the audience of ASCRS members during his opening address.
Dr. Lane was one of the original clinical investigators for the Excimer Laser and has performed laser refractive surgery for more than 15 years. Based upon data provided by Dr. Lane and the other investigators, the FDA approved the use of the Excimer Laser for general use in 1995.
In addition to his private practice at Associated Eye Care in St Paul, Minnesota, Dr. Lane is a Clinical Professor of Ophthalmology in the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Minnesota. He instructs and teaches courses, gives presentations and lectures extensively on cataract and refractive surgery both nationally and internationally. Dr. Lane is a visiting faculty member of ORBIS International, which is involved in the teaching of specialized surgical techniques to physicians in Third World countries around the world. Dr. Lane was involved in extensive research including the Excimer laser and has over 50 publications in medical journals and books. Dr. Lane has been a Board Member of the International Society of Refractive Surgery (ISRS) and a Board Member of the Minnesota Academy of Ophthalmology. He is also on the editorial boards of several ophthalmic journals and newspapers.
Dr. Lane joined Associated Eye Care in 1985. He received his medical degree from the University of Minnesota and completed his ophthalmology residency at Pennsylvania State University. Following completion of his residency training, a fellowship year was spent training in cornea and external disease, and refractive surgery at the University of Minnesota. Dr. Lane’s expertise is in cornea/external disease, anterior segment surgery and refractive surgery.
