Expert discusses technology change, future of refractive surgery
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NEW ORLEANS — A move away from LASIK may occur in the future, one expert said during a presentation at Refractive Surgery Subspecialty Day at the American Academy of Ophthalmology meeting.
“What I’m looking at is, is LASIK itself going to be left behind like we have with other procedures?” Daniel S. Durrie, MD, said. “My feeling is that it’s not going to happen fast but that it is going to happen.”
One of the reasons Durrie expects this transition to happen is that companies are putting more money into research and development for femtosecond laser surgery than they are for excimer laser surgery. By 2030, Durrie said that he expects advanced diagnostics, automation and artificial intelligence will play a role in corneal-based refractive surgery and that PRK and advanced surface ablation will survive. In addition, he expects femto lenticular corneal shaping will “dominate” due to a lack of epithelial defects and a large amount of corporate investment.
Phakic IOLs are also likely to flourish in the field of lens-based refractive surgery, he said.
“There is a lot of movement toward refractive lens exchange, which we can call dysfunctional lens syndrome,” Durrie said.
There has been a lot of progress in corneal laser surgery over the past 30 years, and modern procedures that are safe, convenient and cost-effective are helping industry growth.
“We are in the middle of a technology change, both in our lens-based refractive surgery and our corneal refractive surgery, but the future just looks great,” Durrie said. “It’s an outstanding time to be a comprehensive refractive surgeon.”
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Durrie DS. State of the union — laser vision correction. Presented at: American Academy of Ophthalmology meeting; Nov. 12-15, 2021; New Orleans.
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