ing a video game," says
Chirag Shah, MD, MPH, a
retina specialist at
Ophthalmic Consultants of
Boston (Mass.), as he
describes tracing the tiny
vapor clouds with the laser's
aiming beam before pulling
the trigger to blast them into
oblivion. "Obviously, the
stakes are much higher, but
it's truly an enjoyable proce-
dure to perform."
Floaters occur when vitre-
ous gel separates from the
retina to form large, circular
shaped spots in the visual
field. Dr. Shah co-authored a
recent pilot study that was
the first randomized control trial to assess the efficacy and safety of
using a nano-pulsed YAG laser to eliminate Weiss ring floaters in the
vitreous gel. In the study, 36 patients treated with the YAG laser experi-
enced, on average, a 53% improvement in their symptoms. "But there
was a broad range, meaning some patients weren't satisfied with the
procedure," says Dr. Shah. Still, there was a clinically and statistically
significant difference in floater reduction between patients who under-
went the laser treatment, and those who did not.
Dr. Shah was encouraged by the study's findings, which, he says,
demonstrate the promise of YAG laser vitreolysis. "Choos-ing patients
who have reasonable expectations increases post-op satisfaction with
1 2 4 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 7
• DO NO HARM Subthreshold micropulse lasers limit the amount of
heat delivered to retinal tissue and eliminate nearly all of the risk asso-
ciated with delicate eye procedures.
Peter
Karth,
MD,
MBA