LCAV (MM)

LCA-Vision Opens LasikPlus Vision Center in Salt Lake City Entry into new market brings total number of new vision centers opened in 2004 to seven CINCINNATI, Dec. 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- LCA-Vision Inc., a leading provider of fixed-site laser vision correction services at its LasikPlus vision centers, today announced the opening of a new LasikPlus vision center in Salt Lake City, Utah, its first facility serving this region of the United States. The new center is equipped with technologically advanced lasers and diagnostic equipment, including Bausch & Lomb, VISX and Alcon lasers, offering patients a wide choice of traditional laser vision correction and advanced custom wavefront procedures. Sally Thompson, M.D., a board-certified ophthalmologist, will lead the LasikPlus Salt Lake City team of health care professionals. "With the opening of our Salt Lake City vision center, we have now opened seven vision centers in 2004, meeting our previously announced target for new vision center openings in 2004," commented Stephen N. Joffe, LCA-Vision's chairman and chief executive officer. "We have specific criteria for vision center locations, including the expectation that a site can reach a breakeven point within six months of opening. To date, the response we have received in our new markets has been strong, and our new vision centers have reached profitability well ahead of our six-month target." Mr. Joffe continued, "Approximately 150 million Americans require eyeglasses or contact lenses with 63 million currently eligible for laser vision correction surgery. Since FDA approval of laser eye surgery in the United States in 1995, approximately 4.5 million patients have been treated. We believe the potential market remains largely untapped, and the pool of potential patients continues to grow faster than the number of treatments performed. This highly fragmented market should provide significant growth opportunities for us, in both new and existing markets. We believe we are in a strong position for continued expansion, and have plans to open 10 to 12 vision centers in 2005." About LCA-Vision & LasikPlus LCA-Vision (NASDAQ:LCAV) currently operates 44 laser vision correction centers, including 41 wholly-owned LasikPlus vision centers located in large metropolitan markets throughout the United States and three centers in a joint venture in Canada. This news release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties that may result in actual results to differ materially from current expectations. For a discussion of risks and uncertainties that LCA-Vision faces, please refer to the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission including, but not limited to, its Forms 10-K and 10- Q. DATASOURCE: LCA-Vision Inc. CONTACT: Stephen N. Joffe, Chairman & CEO, +1-513-792-9292, or , or Patricia Forsythe, V.P. Investor Relations, +1-513-792-5629, or , both of LCA-Vision Inc. Web site: http://www.lca-vision.com/ http://www.lasikplus.com/

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