This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Femtosecond laser may be advantageous for wavefront LASIK flap formation
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
SAN FRANCISCO — The femtosecond laser may induce fewer aberrations than standard microkeratomes and therefore have a role in wavefront-guided LASIK, according to a presentation given here.
Stephen G. Slade, MD, speaking at the VisionQuest 2002 meeting, said the IntraLase femtosecond laser “may have applications in producing a more wavefront-friendly flap.”
Dr. Slade uses the femtosecond laser in conjunction with the Technolas excimer laser (Bausch & Lomb). The computer-controlled femtosecond laser allows great consistency and reproducibility in the flaps it creates, Dr. Slade said.
“Because of the ability to reproduce the depth accurately, this might induce fewer aberrations” than a blade-based microkeratome, Dr. Slade said.
Dr. Slade presented a comparison of a flap created with a standard microkeratome and another created with the femtosecond laser.
“Postoperatively [the femtosecond laser] was very neutral as far as changing the aberrations,” he said. He is involved in a randomized, prospective evaluation comparing flaps created with blade based microkeratomes to flaps created with the femtosecond laser.
“We’ll see if that holds up,” he said.