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Brazilian surgeons wait to adopt femtosecond laser technology
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GOIANIA, Brazil — The main problems with the adoption of femtosecond lasers in Brazil are the hefty price and a lack of adequate maintenance, Fabricio Witzel, MD, of São Paulo, Brazil, said in an interview with Ocular Surgery News at the International Congress of Cataract and Refractive Surgery.
Few surgeons in Brazil and only about 30% of American surgeons are using femtosecond lasers, he said. His experience with femtosecond lasers comes from his fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic Cole Eye Institute.
"The results of the 60 kHz femtosecond laser are even more impressive than the first-generation 15 kHz machines," he said. "The next step for improvement is optimization and reduction of the amount of energy per pulse."
Dr. Witzel said that femtosecond lasers represent a cutting-edge technology that could greatly benefit patients and called it a necessary technology, even in terms of cost-benefit ratio.
"With femtosecond lasers, we can control the flap thickness much better. It provides much greater safety and a much lower incidence of inflammation and complications," he said.
"Unfortunately, we don't have adequate support to keep this machine working in Brazil right now," Dr. Witzel said. "I hope with new machines, like Ziemer's, that will change in the next couple of years, both in terms of price and maintenance."
He said IntraLase (Advanced Medical Optics) is still the most popular femtosecond laser both in the United States and in Brazil. "We'll have to wait and compare prices with lasers from other companies to make sure we're making the best choice for the Brazilian reality," he said.