NASA Approves iLASIK:
September 21, 2007

AMO's Advanced CustomVue(TM) LASIK with the IntraLase® Method Proves Ready for the Rigors of Space Travel

SANTA ANA, Calif., Sept. 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Advanced Medical Optics, Inc. (AMO) (NYSE: EYE), a global leader in ophthalmic surgical devices and eye care products, today announced that the National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA) has approved the company's LASIK technologies for use on U.S. astronauts. The NASA decision was made following review of extensive military clinical data using AMO's Advanced CustomVue™ LASIK with the IntraLase® Method, which showed the combination of technologies provides superior safety and vision.

Approved for use on consumers almost a decade ago, more than 30 million LASIK procedures have been performed to-date, making it the most-common elective surgical procedure in the U.S.

But it wasn't until LASIK developed into an all-laser procedure called iLASIK, that NASA approved it for use on pilots, mission and payload specialists who face extreme, physically demanding conditions in space. The all-laser LASIK technologies, which utilize wavefront guided and femtosecond lasers, have also been cleared for U.S. military personnel, including most recently Air Force pilots.

LASIK'S FINAL FRONTIER

Some notable results of the many clinical trials conducted include:

• An evaluation of Custom LASIK in 100 military personnel showed that 95 percent achieved 20/20 uncorrected vision or better; these patients, on average, were previously only able to read the first line (the big "E") of the vision assessment chart.(1)
• In a study of different methods to create the LASIK flap, 370 naval personnel underwent bilateral wavefront-guided LASIK with either the femtosecond laser or microkeratome blade. One week after surgery more than 76 percent of femtosecond laser patients achieved an uncorrected visual acuity of at least 20/16 (better than 20/20) compared to 58 percent of microkeratome patients.(2)
• In an evaluation of 785 aviators, 89% of Navy pilots rated their ability to land on an aircraft carrier as moderately to significantly better after laser vision correction. None said it was worse after surgery.(3)
• A separate study determined that over 90 percent of marksmen had improvement in marksmanship skills after laser vision correction; a significant result given the visual precision of marksmen.(4)

Reference:
1. Source: Captain (Retired) Steven C. Schallhorn, "US Navy study: Custom PRK versus custom LASIK". Presented at the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons annual meeting; September 8, 2006; London, UK.
2. Source: Tanzer DJ, Schallhorn SC. Comparison of visual outcomes with femtosecond and mechanical microkeratomes for wavefront-guided LASIK. Presented at the American Academy of Ophthalmology annual meeting; November 13, 2006; Las Vegas, NV.
3. Source: Schallhorn SC, Tanzer DJ, 'Refractive Surgery in Naval Aviation', Presented at the Aerospace Medical Association annual meeting, May 15, 2006, Orlando, FL.
4. Source: Captain (Retired) Steven C. Schallhorn, "Refractive Surgery in the Navy", Presented at the Aerospace Medical Association annual meeting; May 17, 1999; Detroit, Michigan.
5. Source: Binder PS: "One thousand consecutive IntraLase laser in-situ keratomileusis flaps" Journal of Cataract and Refractive Surgery. V32. June 2005.
6. Source: Durrie DS, Kezirian, GM: "Femtosecond Laser versus Mechanical Keratome Flaps in Wavefront-guided Laser in situ Keratomileusis: A Prospective Contralateral Eye Study" Journal of Cataract andRefractive Surgery, V31, Jan. 2005.

In the U.S. laser vision correction market, the Advanced CustomVue(TM) LASIK procedure with the IntraLase® Method has become the new standard and is rapidly becoming the most widely performed laser vision correction procedure. In fact, the majority of premier ophthalmic teaching institutions, including Duke University Medical School, the Wilmer Eye Institute at Johns Hopkins, the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute at University of Miami, and Stanford University, totals over 16 domestic and international teaching institutions use iLASIK (Advanced CustomVue(TM) LASIK with the IntraLase® Method) to train the next generation of LASIK surgeons.

"Best of the best" wavefront-guided LASIK

Source: Captain (Retired) Steven C. Schallhorn, "US Navy study

iLASIK improves upon traditional 20/20 blade LASIK results and is much safer because:

• Faster Visual Recovery than Blade LASIK
• Better Contrast Sensitivity than Blade LASIK
• Better Safety than Blade LASIK
• Fewer night vision problems than Blade LASIK