                                                                    EXHIBIT 99.1
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Press Release                                     Source: STAAR Surgical Company

STAAR Surgical Reports Second Quarter 2003 Results


Thursday July 31, 4:04 pm ET


International  ICL(R)  Sales Up 38% in Second  Quarter  Gross  Profit  Margins
Improve  for  Fifth  Consecutive   Quarter  Company  Devotes   Additional  R&D
Resources to ICL

MONROVIA,  Calif.,  July 31  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/  -- STAAR  Surgical  Company
(Nasdaq:  STAA - News),  a  leading  developer,  manufacturer  and  marketer  of
minimally invasive  ophthalmic  products,  today announced financial results for
its second quarter which ended July 4, 2003.

Total  product sales for the quarter were  12,950,000 up 8% from the  comparable
period one year ago.  Total revenue for the quarter was  $12,951,000  up 7% from
$12,088,000  reported in the same period one year ago.  The  difference  between
total revenue and product sales are royalties generated from previously licensed
technology that terminated as of March 31, 2003.

Gross  margins  improved for the fifth  consecutive  quarter and continued to be
above 54% which  compared  favorably  with the 49.8% reported in the same period
one year ago.  Comparable  operating  expenses (which exclude charges related to
subsidiary  closures  during the  second  quarter  of 2002)  increased  by 3% to
$8,013,000 million, compared with the same period one year ago and reflect a 41%
increase in spending  for research and  development  as well as increased  costs
related  to  clinical   and   regulatory   activities.   However,   general  and
administrative  expenses were down 3.5% in the quarter from second  quarter 2002
levels primarily as a result of a decrease in legal fees and other  professional
services.

Net loss for the quarter was $1,115,000,  or $0.06 per share. This compares with
a net loss of $3,909,000  million, or $0.23 per share during the same period one
year ago.  During the second quarter of 2002, the Company  incurred a $1,225,000
charge in conjunction  with subsidiary  closures that were primarily  related to
the  recognition of deferred  losses  resulting from the  translation of foreign
currency statements in U.S. dollars. Without the charge, net loss for the second
quarter of 2002 would have been $2,684,000 or $0.16 per share.

For the six-month period ended July 4, 2003, total sales were $25,729,000, up 9%
from the  comparable  six-month  period  of 2002.  Total  revenues  for the same
six-month  period of 2003  increased 8 % from the same period of 2002.  Net loss
per share for the six-month  period ended July 4, 2003 was $0.10, an improvement
from the net loss of $0.29 per share reported  during same period for last year.
Without the costs related to the subsidiary closures, net loss for the six-month
period ended June 28, 2002 would have been a loss of $0.27 per share.

"During the second quarter,  international  sales remained strong,  particularly
with the ICL," said David Bailey,  President and CEO of STAAR  Surgical.  "Total
international  sales were up 19% from the  second  quarter of last year and were
led by a 38% increase in ICL sales.  International  ICL sales were also impacted
favorably by an increase in Toric ICL sales. In addition, year to date ICL sales
also improved with revenues up 42% from the same period last year.

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"The U.S. market continued to be challenging during the quarter,"  continued Mr.
Bailey. "Despite a 3% decline in U.S. sales as compared to the second quarter of
2002,  we were  encouraged  that  sales were  actually  up 3%  sequentially  and
further,  that the second quarter  year-over-year  comparison was more favorable
than the  yearly  comparison  for the first  quarter  of 2003,  when U.S.  sales
declined 6%. We continue to generate  operating  efficiencies,  which led to our
fifth consecutive  quarter of gross profit margin improvements and we believe we
are well positioned to capitalize on a recovery in the U.S. IOL market.

"Once again, unit sales of our specialty Toric and Collamer  one-piece lenses in
the U.S. grew during the quarter.  In fact, growth in unit sales of the Collamer
one-piece  lenses have  accelerated  both  sequentially  and year over year.  In
addition we are working on the  introduction of an improved  injector system for
the  three-piece  Collamer  lens that we believe  will  eventually  help us grow
market share in the U.S.," he said.

"ICL  development  continues  to  reach  and  surpass  milestones,"  Mr.  Bailey
continued.  "Obviously, the biggest news of the quarter was the FDA's acceptance
of our ICL PMA with an expedited review status.  We believe we are on track with
the timeline that we outlined for  shareholders  during the first  quarter,  and
would   expect  to  be   included  on  a  panel  this  year  with  a  target  of
commercializing the ICL in the U.S. early in 2004.

"We also continued to gain additional mindshare among the scientific and medical
communities  with  the  publication  of two  significant  articles  based on two
different studies.  Among other findings, the articles highlighted the efficacy,
safety,  predictability  and overall  better  image  quality that the ICL offers
compared  with LASIK.  Another  important  outcome of one of the studies was the
creation of a mathematical  model whereby  doctors and patients will now be able
to generate an actual image that will pictorially  illustrate the superior image
quality that the ICL offers over LASIK.  We believe that image  quality is a key
component of postoperative  patient  satisfaction and will encourage patients to
choose ICL as their vision correction procedure."

During the second quarter, the Company completed a private placement transaction
to  sell   1,000,000   shares  of  newly  issued   common  stock  and  collected
approximately  $830,000  for the  repayment of notes and loan  obligations  of a
former officer and director of the Company.  The Company also recently announced
that  early  in  the  third  quarter  of  2003  it  had  additionally  collected
approximately  $2,300,000  for the  repayment of notes and loan  obligations  of
another  former officer and director of the Company.  Over the past year,  STAAR
has secured the  repayment  of about $5.2  million of a total of $7.2 million in
loans to former  officers and  directors.  $3.1 million was received in cash and
the  remaining  $2.1  million  was  settled  through the return of shares of the
Company's common stock.

As part of their review of historical financial reporting, STAAR's new auditors,
McGladrey & Pullen,  LLP, are  evaluating the past  accounting  treatment of the
notes,  including  prior reserves taken against income in 2000 and 2001 totaling
$3.6 million,  and the treatment of certain  interest on the notes.  At present,
the results of this evaluation are unknown. The final determination could result
in no  changes,  or it could  affect the timing of past  accruals,  or result in
non-cash charges, and corresponding credits, to various items on STAAR's balance
sheet or income  statement  for current or  historical  periods,  including  the
financial data reported by STAAR today.  STAAR is currently  consulting on these

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issues with McGladrey & Pullen,  LLP and with BDO Seidman,  LLP,  STAAR's former
auditors,  who advised STAAR in the original accounting treatment of the officer
and director notes. Any changes that might be made in accounting  treatment will
not affect the  availability  of the cash received on repayment of the notes for
STAAR's working capital and general corporate needs.

STAAR exited the second quarter with  approximately  $8,414,000 in cash and cash
equivalents  on its balance  sheet  compared  with  $1,009,000 at the end of the
fourth  quarter of 2002.  STAAR had  $3,062,589 in debt at the end of the second
quarter.

Looking ahead, Mr. Bailey offered the following  outlook for the full year 2003.
"We  believe  we  will  continue  to  generate   double-digit  sales  growth  in
international  markets  while the U.S.  market will remain a challenge  until we
bring  to  market,  perhaps  late in the  third  quarter,  our  state of the art
injector  system for the  three-piece  collamer IOL product.  We believe our new
injector  system  will begin to  meaningfully  impact IOL sales  starting in the
beginning of 2004.  Overall,  we believe we can achieve sales growth in the high
single  digits to low double  digits for the full year compared to 2002. We will
continue to remain vigilant about expenses,  but with the accelerated regulatory
review  progress  on the ICL for the U.S.  market,  we will  ramp up  sales  and
marketing  expenses over the next two quarters in  anticipation of a robust 2004
launch  for the  product.  As a result,  we now expect  operating  profitability
during the first half of next year, assuming a 2004 U.S. launch of the ICL."

Conference Call

The Company will host a conference  call and webcast  today  Thursday,  July 31,
2003 at 4:30 p.m.  Eastern Time to discuss  second  quarter  results and current
corporate  developments.   The  dial  in  number  for  the  conference  call  is
800-257-1836  for  domestic  participants  and  303-262-2140  for  international
participants.

A  taped  replay  of the  conference  call  will  also  be  available  beginning
approximately  one hour after the call's  conclusion  and will remain  available
through 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday, August 1, 2003 and can be accessed by
dialing  800-405-2236 for domestic  callers and  303-590-3000 for  international
callers,  using passcode 544651#.  To access the live webcast of the call, go to
STAAR Surgical's website at www.staar.com and select  Investors/Media then go to
the  Calendar  of  Events.  An  archived  webcast  will  also  be  available  at
www.staar.com until the release of the Company's third quarter 10-Q.

About STAAR Surgical

STAAR  Surgical is a leader in the  development,  manufacture  and  marketing of
minimally  invasive  ophthalmic  products  employing  proprietary  technologies.
STAAR's  products are used by  ophthalmic  surgeons and include the  Implantable
Contact  Lens(TM) as well as  innovative  products  designed to improve  patient
outcomes for cataracts and glaucoma.

About the STAAR Surgical's ICL

STAAR  Surgical's ICL is a phakic  refractive  lens that is currently  under FDA
review for approval in the U.S. The current  submission is for the correction of
myopia,  or  near-sightedness,  in the range of -3.0D to -20.0D.  The Company is
presently  enrolling  candidates in the clinical trial for the hyperopic ICL for

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the  correction  of  far-sightedness,  as well as the Toric ICL,  which  reduces
myopia combined with astigmatism.

The ICL Pre-Market Approval  Application (PMA) has been accepted for substantive
review by the U.S.  Food and Drug  Administration  (FDA) and has been granted an
expedited  review  status.  The official  filing date for the ICL PMA was May 8,
2003.

STAAR's ICL has  received  the CE Mark  approving  use in the  countries  of the
European  Union,  is approved for sale in 37 countries and has been implanted in
more than 30,000 eyes worldwide.  If granted  approval by the FDA, STAAR will be
allowed  to  market  the  ICL  in  the  United   States  for  the  reduction  of
near-sightedness.

Safe Harbor

All statements in this press release that are not statements of historical  fact
are forward-looking statements, including any projections of earnings, sales, or
other financial items, any statements of the plans,  strategies,  and objectives
of management  for future  operations,  any statements  concerning  proposed new
products,  services or  developments,  any statements  regarding future economic
conditions  or   performance,   statements  of  belief  and  any  statements  of
assumptions  underlying  any of the  foregoing.  These  statements  are based on
expectations  and  assumptions  as of the  date of this  press  release  and are
subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to
differ materially from those described in the  forward-looking  statements.  The
risks and uncertainties  include the need to obtain regulatory  approval for new
products, acceptance of new products by medical practitioners and consumers, the
rapid pace of technological change in the ophthalmic industry,  general domestic
and international  economic conditions,  and other factors beyond the control of
STAAR  Surgical  Company,  including  those  detailed from time to time in STAAR
Surgical  Company's  reports filed with the Securities and Exchange  Commission.
STAAR Surgical Company assumes no obligation and does not intend to update these
forward-looking statements.

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                             STAAR Surgical Company
                 Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income
                      (In 000's except for per share data)
                                    Unaudited

                             Three Months Ended        Six Months Ended
                            July 4,     June 28,     July 4,     June 28,
                              2003        2002         2003        2002

    Sales                   $12,950     $12,008      $25,729     $23,639
    Royalties                     1          80           48         180
      Total revenues         12,951      12,088       25,777      23,819

      Total cost of
       goods sold             5,895       6,064       11,742      12,083

    Gross profit              7,056       6,024       14,035      11,736

      General and
       administrative         2,218       2,298        4,504       4,699
      Marketing
       and selling            4,421       4,500        8,582       8,502
      Research and
       development            1,374         977        2,551       2,054
      Other charges               0       1,225            0       1,225

        Total selling,
         general and
         administrative
         expenses:            8,013       9,000       15,637      16,480

    Operating loss            (957)     (2,976)      (1,602)     (4,744)

    Total other expense         180       (575)          425       (694)

    Loss before
     income taxes             (777)     (3,551)      (1,177)     (5,438)

    Income tax provision
     (benefit)                  315         304          644       (627)

    Minority interest            23          54           42          95

    Net loss               ($1,115)    ($3,909)     ($1,863)    ($4,906)

    Net loss per share      ($0.06)     ($0.23)      ($0.10)     ($0.29)


    Weighted average
     shares outstanding      18,112      17,163       18,228      17,161


    Proforma Loss Per Share

    Net loss per share     $(1,115)    $(3,909)     $(1,863)    $(4,906)

    Other charges                --       1,225           --       1,225
    Income tax benefit           --          --          ---       (958)

    Proforma loss
     per share             $(1,115)    $(2,684)     $(1,863)    $(4,639)

    Proforma net loss
     per share              $(0.06)     $(0.16)      $(0.10)     $(0.27)

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                             STAAR Surgical Company
                      Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet
                                   (in 000's)


                                                   July 4,       January 3,
                                                    2003           2003
                                                  Unaudited       Audited

    Cash and cash equivalents                      $8,414         $1,009
    Accounts receivable, net                        6,932          5,992
    Inventories, net                               11,874         11,761
    Prepaids, deposits, and other current assets    2,586          2,958
    Deferred income tax                                --             --
      Total current assets                         29,806         21,720
    Investment in joint venture                       461            462
    Property, plant, and equipment, net             6,682          7,438
    Patents and licenses, net                       8,566          9,038
    Goodwill, net                                   6,427          6,427
    Deferred income tax                                --             --
    Other assets                                      174            280
      Total assets                                $52,116        $45,365

    Notes payable                                  $3,063         $5,845
    Accounts payable                                4,439          4,394
    Other current liabilities                       4,799          4,386
      Total current liabilities                    12,301         14,625
    Other-long term liabilities                        86             89
      Total liabilities                            12,387         14,714
    Minority interest                                 162            100
      Stockholders' equity - net                   39,567         30,551
      Total liabilities and equity                $52,116        $45,365

CONTACT:  Investors,  Douglas  Sherk,   +1-415-659-2285,   or  Jennifer  Cohn,
+1-415-659-2289,  or Media, Sheryl Seapy,  +1-949-640-4515,  all of EVC Group,
for STAAR Surgical Company.

Source: STAAR Surgical Company


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