Cataract Femtosecond Laser Technology
Purpose
To evaluate femtosecond-assisted cataract surgery for reduction in phacoemulsification energy, infusion volume and to evaluate the efficacy of femtosecond-assisted arcuate incision for the reduction in refractive astigmatism.
Methods
This retrospective, single center study analyzed the data from 800 eyes. Conventional phacoemulsification (control group) (n=500) was compared to the subset of first 100 eyes treated with Femtosecond laser-assisted [LENSAR Laser] cataract surgery (n=100) and a more recent subset, eyes 301-500, after further experience with FSL usage (n=200) to evaluate phacometrics and infusion volume. A subset (n=96) was evaluated for titration of femtosecond-assisted arcuate incision performed with a residual stromal bed depth of 75 microns and an average arc sweep of 40 ± 5 degrees and diameter of 9.0 mm.
Results
There was a 78% reduction (P <0.01) in Effective Phaco Time (EPT) [Ozil- Infinity, Alcon Surgical] between experienced femto-assisted and conventional surgery; 8% reduction (p = 0.36) of infusion volume between experienced femto-assisted (110 cc BSS) and conventional surgery (146 cc BSS). Cylinder was reduced from 1.09 ± 0.25 D preoperatively to 0.31 ± 0.29 D postoperatively (P <0.01).
Conclusion
Within a limited number of surgical cases, femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery can potentially reduce the effective phacoemulsification time without significantly increasing intracameral manipulation or affecting infusion volume. In addition, femto-assisted arcuate incisions have the potential to reduce the refractive astigmatism.