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Femtosecond lasers can affordably be incorporated into private practices
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MILAN — The femtosecond laser can affordably be incorporated as an essential tool to help surgeons meet the demands of the growing market of refractive cataract surgery, according to one surgeon here.
“Market Scope projections anticipated that laser refractive cataract surgery will have a steadily robust growth in future years, reaching 1.76 million procedures by 2017,” Richard L. Lindstrom, MD, said at the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons meeting.
Richard L. Lindstrom
But a diffused anxiety still holds back many American ophthalmologists from investing in femtosecond technology. In an American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery survey this year, 82% of the respondents expressed concern about the costs and affordability of the new procedure within their practices.
These fears, according to Lindstrom, should be abandoned.
“Laser cataract technology provides considerable benefits. The baby boomer generation will continue to drive the market for better outcomes and will be prepared to pay for better quality,” he said.
Patients’ refractive goals and lifestyle choices should be discussed, and surgeons should offer the femtosecond option as part of a package that includes premium IOLs and any additional refractive procedure required to achieve postoperative spectacle independence.
Lindstrom also suggested shared access and mobile laser strategies to defray the initial cost of the femtosecond laser.
“One laser can serve many surgeons. Privately owned centers could offer laser facilities to area surgeons, and mobile lasers could serve smaller practices in remote areas,” he said.
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Disclosure: Lindstrom is a consultant for LenSx, Abbott Medical Optics, Bausch + Lomb and LensAR.