Improved Safety and Precision with Femtosecond Laser-Assisted Cataract Surgery
Improved levels on surgical control and surgery outcome in Femtosecond Laser-Assisted Cataract Surgery or FLACS as observed by an increasing number of eye care experts lead for this method to be perceived as a paradigm shift in eye care
more specifically in the area of cataract surgery.
Cataract surgery procedures have included laser technology as early as the 1970s. In recent years, the development of Femtosecond Laser technology has advanced ocular surgery to new levels. With FLACS, the placement of the cuts is determined through the process of imaging the anterior segment of the eye with the use of integrated optical tomography. As a result, techniques such as anterior apsulotomy, lens segmentation, and corneal incisions delivered increased precision in ocular surgery procedures and outcome.
What is a Femtosecond Laser?
Ocular surgeries utilize Femtosecond Laser (FSL), an advance laser technology that delivers ultrafast pulses that functions almost like infrared wavelengths which prevents absorption by optically clear tissues. FSL allows reduced unintended destruction of surrounding tissues and is often used due to its decreased energy requirements.
In Femtosecond Laser-Assisted Cataract Surgery, the process of Photodisruption is achieved with the use of FSL which induces vaporization of target tissues. Once focused laser energy reaches a level capable of generating plasma, plasma expansion, shock wave, cavitation, and bubble formation occurs which eventually leads to tissue separation.
Research Based Advantages
Recent findings have shown the following advantages of Femtosecond Laser-Assisted Cataract Surgery:
- Based on findings of several surgery results, this process have shown minimal tissue damage.
- Processes during surgery such as corneal incision creation, nuclear fragmentation, and continuous circular capsulorhexis are observed to have improved with this method’s capability for extreme precision.
- In coaxial or biaxial procedures, the mean ultrasound power needed to emulsify the nucleus is significantly lowered thus decreasing the risk of corneal injury
- The impact of phaco emulsification energy and its effects on corneal cell loss and how this process reduces its effect on the corneal endothelium is an an aspect that is currently being studied with results being compared to manual surgery.
Perceived Disadvantages
- This method requires an intricately technical procedure that includes a rather extensive learning curve period.
- Financial costs to learning and mastering the technique and costs to administering FLACS is significantly higher as compared to other methods.
FSL is expected to change how cataract surgeries are performed. The preliminary results of Femtosecond Laser-Assisted Cataract Surgery indicates considerable improved levels in terms of precision, safety, and efficacy of this method.
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References
1 The Journey to Femtosecond Laser-assisted Cataract Surgery – New Beginnings or a False Dawn?,
S Trikha, A M J Turnbull, R J Morris, D F Anderson, P Hossain, 2013
Medscape News, News, Multispecialty, http:// www . medscape .com
2 Femtosecond Laser-Assisted Cataract Surgery with Integrated Optical Coherence Tomography, Daniel V. Palanker et al, Sci Transl Med, Volume 2, Issue 58, p58-85, November 17, 2010
Science Translational Medicine, Research Article, Cataract Surgery
http:// www . m . stm . sciencemag . org / content
3 Femtosecond Laser Assisted Cataract Surgery Followed by Coaxial Phacoemulsification or Microincisional Cataract Surgery: Differences and Advantages, Current Opinion in Ophthalmology Volume 25 Issue 1, p 81-88, Alio Jorge L et al, January 2014, http:// journals .lww .com / co-ophthalmology / Abstract / 2014 / 01000 / Femtosecond_laser_assisted_cataract_surgery .14 .aspx
4 Femtosecond Laser-Assisted cataract Surgery: A Current Review, Middle East African Journal of Ophthalmology, Majid Moshirfar et al, October 2011, http:// www . ncbi . nlm . nih . gov / pmc / articles / PMC