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Femtosecond lasers may offer some advantages over other refractive techniques
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BUDAPEST, Hungary — Ultrashort-burst lasers can offer more precise intrastromal cutting, possibly giving surgeons better safety profiles over current refractive techniques, according to a study.
Imola Ratkay-Traub, MD, PhD, and colleagues compared four femtosecond cutting procedures in 46 eyes undergoing LASIK for myopia up to –14 D. The patients ranged in age from 23 to 55, with a mean age of 37.
Sixteen patients received intracorneal ring segments, five patients each with one highly myopic eye had ultrashort-burst LASIK performed, and 13 patients, each with one myopic or hyperopic eye underwent intrastromal ablation. All the femtosecond LASIK procedures were performed with the IntraLase Pulsion FS laser.
No significant differences were found between conventional LASIK and ultrashort-burst LASIK. No refractive effects occurred when the created flap was not elevated.
“Our initial experience with the femtosecond laser surgical system reveals a number of clinical advantages over traditional techniques,” the authors wrote in the March/April issue of Journal of Refractive Surgery. “The flaps we created in animal experiments and in the human clinical trials displayed excellent stability immediately without loss of corneal clarity. Pulse spacing and refinement can optimize the dissection, surface quality, side cut and hinge architecture, as well as centration techniques.”
For more about the laser and the trials, go to www.osnsupersite.com/view.asp?ID=5081.