Implantable Collamer Lens (ICL) surgery actually has quite a long history. It was developed in the 1980s, before LASIK (laser in situ keratomileusis) was first reported in 1990. The director general of Sanno Eye Center, Dr. Kimiya Shimizu , was the first doctor in Japan to introduce the ICL procedure in 1997. After clearing a series of clinical trials in 2002, ICL surgery was approved by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare in 2010. However, conventional ICL surgery interfered the circulation of aqueous humor (flow of clear fluid in the eye), and consequently there was a risk of 1~2% of patients developing cataracts.

Dr. Shimizu devised and developed the Hole ICL (ICL KS-AquaPORT) surgical procedure of opening up a miniscule hole in the center of the lens to eliminate the complication of cataracts. Then in 2007, he successfully performed the world’s first lens implant. Dr. Shimizu’s Hole ICL surgery improves the circulation of aqueous humor, and subsequently reduces the risks of cataracts developing. It is now approved in over 70 countries around the world as a global standard surgical procedure.