Femtosecond cataract surgery overcoming clinical challenges

Abstract

Cataract surgery has been undergoing revolutionary changes over the last 5 years, welcomed by a number of surgeons, reluctantly observed and sometimes critically commented upon by others. The femtosecond laser has introduced new standards in precision and reproducibility when it comes to corneal incisions and capsulotomies, it has changed the way we deal with the lens: originally conceived as a 'pretreatment', the laser is on the way to render the original treatment -phacoemulsification -obsolete. In a relatively short time, challenging clinical situations have been tackled successfully: small pupils, mature cataracts and even congenital cataracts. With growing experience, the use of ultrasound energy could be substantially reduced, in most cases even eliminated and thus the chance of ultrasoundrelated complications. We also have reason to envision performing cataract surgery without employing ophthalmic viscosurgical devices. These developments have the potential to make cataract surgery significantly safer.

Zero Phaco: A new technique for dealing with soft cataracts

“…Application of endocapsular phaco, femtosecond laser pretreatment, and dispersive Ophthalmic Viscosurgical Devices (OVD) are few steps toward minimizing the damage caused by ultrasound on the corneal endothelium. [ 5 ]…”