Outcomes up for femtosecond laser-assisted cataract Sx

(HealthDay)—Femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery (FLACS) is associated with improved outcomes compared with conventional cataract surgery, according to a study published online Aug. 27 in Lasers in Surgery and Medicine.

A-Yong Yu, M.D., Ph.D., from the Eye Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University in China, and colleagues examined the preliminary clinical outcomes of FLACS with a noncontact femtosecond laser system. The prospective study included 25 eyes that underwent FLACS and 29 control eyes that underwent conventional cataract surgery.

The researchers found that the trial group had 51.5 and 65.1 percent reductions in phacoemulsification time and overall energy, respectively, compared with the control group (both P = 0.02). At one and three months, there were significant absolute differences between attempted and achieved capsulorhexis diameter (one month: 192.9 ± 212.0 µm and 626.9 ± 656.6 µm, respectively [P = 0.04]; three months: 256.6 ± 181.9 and 572.1 ± 337.0 µm, respectively [P = 0.03]); the absolute difference between attempted and achieved spherical equivalents at three months was significant (0.16 ± 0.16 D and 0.74 ± 0.65 D, respectively; P < 0.01). There was no significant difference noted in mean corneal endothelial cell loss at one or three months.

"With the noncontact femtosecond laser system, FLACS can significantly improve the accuracy and repeatability of capsulorhexis, reduce the phacoemulsification time and overall energy, and enhance the predictability and stability of postoperative refraction," the authors write.

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