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O P H T H A L M O L O G Y
Precise, accurate and safe
Patient prepping is the same for laser procedures as for traditional
surgery. Instead of heading directly to the OR, however, laser patients
first stop at a dedicated room for the laser portion of the procedure,
which takes minutes to complete. Surgeons place a cataract-lens-like
cone that's attached to the laser on top of the patient's cornea to start
the critical incisions of cataract surgery. The incisions made with the
laser are stable, meaning patients can sit upright and walk from the
laser room to the OR (although most facilities transport them in a
wheelchair). In the OR, surgeons use blunt instruments to fully open
the laser incisions before inserting the phaco tip to fragment the lens,
remove it and insert the new IOL. The second half of the laser procedure resembles conventional cataract surgery.
Ming Wang, MD, PhD, has performed approximately 1,000 femtosecond laser cases since adding the technology about a year ago. The
director of Wang Vision 3D Cataract and LASIK Center in Nashville,
Tenn., sums up laser cataract surgery's main advantage in a single
word: accuracy.
Dr. Wang says that benefit is best realized during creation of the
capsulorhexis — the large circular incision in the anterior lens capsule. To appreciate what surgeons face when operating manually, try
freehand drawing a perfect circle on a piece of paper. Darn near
impossible, right? Dr. Wang says studies have shown the capsulorhexis needs to offer predictable size and a precise diameter, and
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