Top five fact vs. fiction analysis of femtosecond laser cataract surgery

More than 3 million Americans undergo cataract surgery each year, with more than half of them older than 65 years. Cataract surgery as we know it today is one of the safest and most commonly performed surgeries in the United States. The challenges faced by ophthalmologists are higher expectations from our patients because cataract surgery today is treated like refractive surgery and the financial pressures of obtaining advanced technology to meet these expectations.

Our newest armamentarium of technology includes advanced IOLs (aspheric, toric, multifocal, accommodating), femtosecond lasers (limbal relaxing incisions, clear corneal incisions, anterior capsulotomy, lens fragmentation) and intraoperative wavefront aberrometry. Recent surveys show that only 2.5% of ophthalmologists are performing femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery (as of the first quarter 2013), although a significant percentage wants access to the technology. Obviously, the financial burden involved with femtosecond laser cataract surgery is making it difficult for many surgeons to pull the trigger on this technology. There are also many misconceptions among ophthalmologists on femtosecond laser technology, so I present my top five fact vs. fiction analysis to help the premium surgeon decide on making this surgical change to his or her armamentarium.

Click here to read the full publication exclusive, The Premium Channel, published in Ocular Surgery News U.S. Edition, December 10, 2014.