Every year, patients fly from the United States, the Middle East, South Asia, and across Europe to be examined and treated at ELZA Institute. They are not coming simply because ELZA is in Switzerland, or because our facilities are excellent. They come because the specialists here are, by independent objective measure, the most knowledgeable people in the world in their field.
World's #1 and #2 experts in corneal cross-linking (Expertscape 2024)
Three of the global top five experts, all practicing at ELZA
Protocols developed here are now used by clinics worldwide
OUR APPROACH
Expertscape is a medical publication analytics company that ranks physicians and researchers based on their published body of work in PubMed — the world’s leading database of peer-reviewed medical literature. Rankings are based on the recency, volume, quality, journal prestige, and authorship position of published research. It is an objective measure, not a popularity vote or a paid listing.
MD, PhD, FARVO
Chief Medical Officer, ELZA Institute
Professor of Ophthalmology, University of Geneva
Clinical Professor, Keck School of Medicine, USC, Los Angeles
★ World’s #1 Expert in Corneal Cross-Linking (Expertscape 2024)
★ Top 0.01% of CXL experts globally
★ Top 0.057% of cornea specialists worldwide
MD, PhD, FWCRS, FEBO
Corneal, Cataract & Refractive Surgeon, ELZA Institute
Researcher, Ocular Cell Biology Laboratory, University of Zurich
★ World’s #2 Expert in Corneal Cross-Linking — Expertscape 2024
★ Fellow of the World College of Refractive Surgery & Visual Sciences (FWCRS)
★ European Board-Certified Ophthalmologist (FEBO)
★ Swiss Board-Certified Ophthalmologist (FMH)
What makes the 2024 Expertscape rankings genuinely remarkable is not that ELZA has one world-leading expert — it is that three of the global top five CXL specialists in the world are based at a single clinic in Zurich. Prof. Hafezi ranks first, Dr. Torres-Netto second, and Dr. Mark Hillen fifth.
But CXL and keratoconus are not the only areas where ELZA’s surgical team carries internationally recognized expertise. Our full team includes:
Across the full breadth of ophthalmic care – cornea, refractive surgery, keratoconus, glaucoma, cataract, oculoplastics, orbital disease, and retina – ELZA’s specialists consistently rank among the most published and most recognized professionals in their respective fields.
Protocols Used at Clinics Around the World Developed by ELZA
One of the most meaningful measures of a medical team’s expertise is whether their work changes how medicine is practiced beyond their own clinic. At ELZA, this has happened repeatedly.
ELZA-sub400
A cross-linking protocol for corneas below 400 microns in thickness, which were previously considered too thin for safe CXL treatment – was developed and first validated at ELZA, and is now performed by corneal specialists across Europe, the Americas, and Asia.
ELZA-PACE
A customized approach that tailors the energy, timing, and riboflavin protocol to the specific biometric profile of each individual cornea – originated at ELZA and has been presented at the leading international ophthalmology congresses.
ECO-CAIRS and Femto-CAIRS
Novel approaches combining cross-linking and corneal ring segment implants using femtosecond laser technology to both stabilize and improve vision in keratoconus – have been pioneered at ELZA in collaboration with international partners and represent the current frontier of keratoconus surgery.
These are not experimental procedures. They are clinically validated, published in peer-reviewed journals, and increasingly adopted as standards of care. When you are treated at ELZA, you benefit from the most current version of these protocols — at the source.
Awards and Recognition
The recognition that ELZA’s team has received comes from the world’s most respected ophthalmology societies and institutions — not from local or regional bodies, but from the global professional community.
Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, 2019 Appointment as a Fellow of ARVO is reserved for distinguished researchers who have made exceptional contributions to the field of vision science. Prof. Hafezi is one of fewer than 200 FARVO designees worldwide.
Most Influential People in Ophthalmology
by The Ophthalmologist, London.
The Ophthalmologist's Power List is a peer-voted ranking of the 100 individuals globally who are most shaping the future of ophthalmology. Prof. Hafezi has appeared on this list multiple times - a distinction shared by very few.
Media Mice, 2021, Dr. Emilio Torres-Netto
American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO), United States, Prof. Hafezi
What this means for you
It might be tempting to think that rankings and research credentials are impressive but ultimately abstract – that any competent ophthalmologist can perform a cross-linking procedure or a LASIK assessment.
There is a meaningful distinction, however, between a surgeon who has performed a procedure many times and a surgeon who has spent twenty years studying every aspect of that procedure at the deepest scientific level, who has developed new variants of it for patients who were previously considered untreatable, who has trained hundreds of surgeons around the world in its technique, and who is consulted on the most complex cases globally precisely because they have seen and treated what others have not.
For patients with straightforward conditions, the difference may be modest. For patients with complex presentations – thin corneas that complicate standard cross-linking eligibility, progressive keratoconus that has not responded to prior treatment elsewhere, failed refractive surgery requiring complex reconstruction – this difference is frequently the decisive factor.
ELZA’s specialists regularly receive referrals from ophthalmologists in other countries who have encountered cases that require capabilities beyond what is available to them locally. These are patients whose cases have already been reviewed, sometimes by more than one specialist. They come to ELZA because ELZA has the protocols, the experience, and the diagnostic infrastructure to attempt what others cannot.
If you are a patient in that category – or simply a patient who wants the most knowledgeable assessment available for your eyes – that is exactly what ELZA is designed to provide.
Get in touch
Send us a message and one of our international patient coordinators will be in touch within 24 hours. You can also reach us directly by phone or email.
Address
ELZA Institute AG
Weinbergstrasse 16
8001 Zurich, Switzerland
+41 44 741 81 81
international@elza-institute.com
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