favorable price on that purchase
from a manufacturer whose prod-
ucts you use in high volume. If
your center bought $250,000
worth of their IOLs last year, be
sure to let the vendors' rep know.
It will be interesting to see how
the next generation of phaco
machines accommodate to the use
of femtosecond lasers in cataract
surgery. The cost of laser technolo-
gy and skepticism over its clinical
necessity have limited its adoption,
but it is an advance we can't
ignore, and it may be even more
common in 5 or 6 years. However,
no manufacturer has yet rebuilt a
phaco system to truly dovetail with
the femto laser — featuring, for
example, aspiration and phaco tips
that can vacuum up larger pieces.
Future phaco advances will have
to go hand-in-hand with laser capa-
bilities, and yet also serve the
users who haven't implemented
laser technology. We'll see. OSM
Dr. Whitman (jeffrey.whitman@keywhit-
man.com) is the president and chief sur-
geon at the Key-Whitman Eye Center in
Dallas, Texas.
