Surgery Center of
Ophthalmology Consultants
in Fort Wayne, Ind. "The out-
come is the true, ethical
thing to measure. Not speed
or newest technology — just
patient satisfaction."
2. "Combination" femto
lasers. You can now use at
least 3 femtosecond cataract
laser machines for either
cataract surgery or LASIK.
We asked our panel how
attractive a "combination"
femtosecond laser machine
would be as compared to a
machine that can only do
cataract surgery. The reviews
were mixed: 13.1% say it's
very attractive, 31.3% say it's somewhat attractive, 30% say it's not too
attractive and 25.6% say it's not attractive at all. Many respondents say
their surgeons either don't perform LASIK or, if they do, they perform
it in their offices. Some also cited a diverse patient mix: LASIK
patients tend to be younger and cataract patients tend to be older.
"We do a limited number of LASIK procedures, but our LASIK laser
is near the end of its life," says the director of surgical services at an
ophthalmic ASC. "If cost were not prohibitive, we would consider a
combination laser."
3. Refractive cataract surgery. Our respondents are making good
use of a variety of refractive cataract surgery technologies, including
5 6 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • A U G U S T 2 0 1 6
• COST CONSCIOUS If a new product is going to increase case
costs, it had better improve outcomes or efficiency, says our survey.
