Femtosecond lasers can generate positive return for most cataract surgery centers, survey finds

A femtosecond laser for cataract surgery can pay for itself within 5 years if 19 procedures are completed per month, a threshold more than 70% of surgery centers with a laser exceed, according to a survey.

The 2013 Femtosecond Laser Usage in Cataract Surgery survey, conducted by SM2 Strategic and completed in March, was distributed to all 134 U.S. centers with femtosecond lasers installed by the end of 2012. Sixty-five centers, used by 205 surgeons, responded.

In the first quarter of 2013, 20% of cataract surgical procedures with a conventional IOL, 55% of procedures with a toric IOL and 74% of procedures with a presbyopic IOL were performed with a femtosecond laser.

By the second month after installation, the centers reported approximately 25% to 35% of all procedures used the femtosecond laser.

Conventional IOL patients were charged an average of $1,058 more for a femtosecond laser procedure, toric IOL patients were charged $664 more and presbyopic IOL patients were charged $673 more.

Based on these numbers, the weighted per-case margin was $532 greater for femtosecond laser procedures. Taking into account the $438,200 cost of the laser equipment and the $165,200 service cost for years 2 to 5 resulted in a need to perform 1,134 laser cases in the first 5 years to break even, or 19 cases per month.

Eighty-three percent of respondents would recommend to their peers to begin performing femtosecond laser cataract surgery, according to the survey.