Outcomes of Femtosecond Laser-Assisted Cataract and Refractive Lens Surgery in Patients with Prior Radial Keratotomy

Femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery for complex cataracts - A review

Since its inception in 2009, femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery (FLACS) has become an alternative to conventional phacoemulsification cataract surgery (CPCS). Clinical studies were unable to demonstrate superior visual outcomes, but revealed reduced endothelial cell loss. More recently, the cost-effectiveness of FLACS over CPCS in routine cataract surgeries has been challenged. However, the unique abilities of FLACS to customize anterior capsulotomies precisely, soften and fragment the nucleus without capsular bag stress, and create corneal incisions may have special utility in complex cataract and less-common scenarios. In this article, we review the unique role of FLACS in complex cataract surgeries and how it could play a role to improve the safety and predictability of nonroutine cataract surgery.

Automated precision pulse capsulotomy vs manual capsulorhexis in white cataracts: reduction in procedural time and resource utilization

PURPOSE

To compare the utility of precision pulse capsulotomy (PPC) with manual capsulorhexis for capsulotomy in white cataracts.

SETTING

Hospital-based academic practice.

DESIGN

Retrospective analysis of surgical case records and surgical videos from a single surgeon.

METHODS

Cases involving intumescent and nonintumescent white cataracts were identified. Capsulotomy outcomes, surgical outcomes, procedural time, and resource utilization, as well as patient demographic and health data, were analyzed and subjected to statistical testing.

RESULTS

15 cases of white cataract (10 intumescent and 5 nonintumescent) performed using continuous curvilinear capsulorhexis (CCC) were compared with 20 cases (9 intumescent and 11 nonintumescent) performed using PPC. The cases covered a period of 14 months before and 30 months after surgeon adoption of PPC. There were no significant differences between the 2 groups in patient age, sex, ethnicity, ocular history, medical history, and medications. PPC resulted in complete capsulotomies without tags or tears and intracapsular intraocular lens implantation with 360-degree capsular overlap in all 20 cases. There was 1 CCC case resulting in the Argentinian flag sign. Compared with CCC, PPC white cataract cases also demonstrated significant advantages in capsulotomy time, reduced use of trypan blue and ophthalmic viscosurgical device, and less overall procedural time.

CONCLUSIONS

PPC is a safe and highly effective method to create consistent capsulotomies in both intumescent and nonintumescent white cataracts. The use of PPC provides benefits of significant reductions in capsulotomy time, overall procedural time, and resource utilization, resulting in a streamlined treatment of these complex cataract surgery cases.

Femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery: Update and perspectives

Cataract surgery is among the most frequently performed surgical procedures worldwide and has a tremendous impact on patients' quality of life. Phacoemulsification (PCS) is accepted as a standard of care; its technique has continuously evolved and already achieved good anatomical, visual, and refractive outcomes. Lasers in ophthalmology are widely used in clinical practice, femtosecond lasers (FSLs) for corneal surgery in particular. It was natural to assess the usefulness of FSL in cataract surgery as this technology was within reach. Indeed, precise and reproducible cuttings provided by FSL platforms could improve standardization of care and limit the risk associated with the human element in surgery and provide a step toward robot-assisted surgery. After docking and planning the procedure, femtosecond lasers are used to perform corneal incisions, capsulorhexis, lens fragmentation, and arcuate incisions in an automated manner. A well-constructed corneal incision is primordial as it offers safety during the procedure, self-seals afterward, and influences the refractive outcome. Capsulorhexis size, centration, and resistance to shearing influence the surgery, intraocular lens (IOL) centration and stability, and posterior capsular opacification formation. Lens fragmentation is where most of the energy is delivered into the eye, and its amount influences endothelial cell damage and potential damage to other ocular structures. The arcuate incisions offer an additional opportunity to influence postoperative astigmatism. Femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery (FLACS) has been a topic of research in many studies and clinical trials that attempted to assess its potential benefits and cost-effectiveness over PCS and is the subject of this mini-review.