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Less laser energy improves lenticule surface during SMILE
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Lowering femtosecond laser energy level to less than 115 nJ during small incision lenticule extraction can improve the surface quality of the lenticule, according to a study.
Researchers investigated the effect of laser energy level on the surface of the lenticule for 40 age- and diopter-matched female patients with moderate myopia who underwent SMILE. The patients underwent the procedure with different energy levels between 100 nJ and 150 nJ along with fixed spot separation. Five lenticules from eight energy level groups were evaluated after the procedure.
All lenticules that underwent SMILE with the energy level of 150 nJ had three times higher measurements in the anterior and posterior surface roughness compared with those that underwent 100 nJ. The measurements included average roughness, root mean square roughness and 10-point mean height of the lenticules.
“Interestingly, all values of surface roughness were significantly positively correlated with laser energy for both anterior and posterior surfaces of the lenticule,” the researchers wrote.
They concluded that anterior and posterior lenticule surfaces can become regular with no cavitation bubbles when using lower energy during SMILE. – by Robert Linnehan
Disclosures: Ji reports no relevant financial disclosures. Please see the full study for all other authors’ relevant financial disclosures.
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