Comparison of Effective Phacoemulsification Time With Different Lens Fragmentation Patterns in Femtosecond Laser–Assisted Cataract Surgery
Purpose
To compare the effect of different lens fragmentation patterns in femtosecond laser–assisted cataract surgery on effective phacoemulsification time (EPT).
Methods
We conducted cataract surgery using the LenSx Laser System (Alcon Laboratories). 104 eyes of 67 patients underwent femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery from September 2013 to March 2014. Patients were evaluated preoperatively with the Lens Opacities Classification System III (LOCS III). 37 eyes of 23 patients were treated with the Chop pattern (4 pieces), 37 eyes of 24 patients with the Hybrid pattern(12 pieces) and 30 eyes of 20 patients with the Grid pattern. After phacoemulsification was performed with the Alcon INFINITI Vision System (Alcon), the mean EPT was evaluated.
Results
The mean preoperative LOCS III grade was 3.17 ± 0.84 (SD) in the Chop pattern group, 3.24 ± 0.92 in the Hybrid pattern group and 3.20 ± 0.81 in the Grid pattern group. The mean EPT was 5.64 ± 4.12 seconds in the Chop pattern group, 5.89 ± 3.50 seconds in the Hybrid pattern group and 1.59 ± 2.33 seconds in the Grid pattern group, respectively. There were no significant difference between the Chop pattern group and the Hybrid pattern group in the EPT, but the Grid pattern group was statistically significantly lower than the others in the EPT. (p<0.05).
Conclusion
By using different lens fragmentation patterns with the LenSx femtosecond laser in cataract surgery, the Grid pattern using femtosecond laser results in significantly lower EPT when compared to the Chop pattern and Hybrid pattern.