EyeWorld Asia-Pacific September 2015 Issue

33 Femto cataract clinical update September 2015 EWAP SECONDARY FEATURE Femtosecond cataract laser upgrades by Vanessa Caceres EyeWorld Contributing Writer Laser companies put more sophisticated plans into place M any cataract surgeons would agree that cataract surgery assisted with the femtosecond laser is a great way to boost efficiency and optimize outcomes. Yet as the technical capacities of the lasers evolve, there’s room for improvement. The companies that make femtosecond cataract lasers continue to fine-tune their products, and this year is no exception. Here are the latest upgrades to a number of femtosecond cataract lasers, as reported by surgeons who are familiar with each laser and AT A GLANCE • Femtosecond laser systems for cataract surgery continue to evolve to make surgery easier, faster, and more precise, according to some surgeons. • Recent upgrades to femto lasers for cataract surgery include real- time OCT, more sophisticated preop surgical planning systems, wireless transfer of data, and broader uses for the lasers. • Upgrades help to streamline surgery and to target more accurate outcomes, with greater patient convenience. respective upgrade. LenSx The LenSx Laser’s (Alcon, Fort Worth, Texas) incorporation of the Verion Image-Guided System makes surgical planning easier, said Kerry Solomon, MD , Carolina Eyecare Physicians, Charleston, SC. “The Verion does two things. It measures the cornea and allows you to take an image-guided picture of the scleral vessels and iris landmarks that can account for cyclorotation,” Dr. Solomon said. “That information is transferred to the laser, which helps orient the surgery in a precise and accurate fashion.” The second thing the Verion does is use a surgical planner, which leads to more consistent surgery, Dr. Solomon said. “I usually put my incisions in a typical spot and plan my astigmatic incisions based on my surgically induced astigmatism. My plan is transferred to the LenSx Laser. The laser can execute the plan I need by placing the incisions exactly whether they need to be,” he explained. The laser now also uses side- by-side imagery so surgeons can confirm they are operating on the exact location on or in the eye that was intended. If they aren’t, the laser allows surgeons to adjust accordingly. “A lot of things done at the planning stage are snapped into place with side-by- side imagery,” said Stephen Lane, MD, medical director, Associated Eye Care, and adjunct clinical professor, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. The latest LenSx upgrade also transfers patient data wirelessly, avoiding transcription errors, Dr. Lane said. Victus Updates this year to the Victus Femtosecond Laser Platform (Bausch + Lomb, Bridgewater, NJ) include swept-source optical coherence tomography (OCT), which gives surgeons a real-time view of what they are doing, said Robert J. Weinstock, MD , the Eye Institute of West Florida, Largo, Fla. The upgrade “improves the resolution of the OCT images and allows for live OCT images with a very fast refresh rate to be displayed during the docking, planning, and the laser treatment,” Dr. Weinstock explained. This includes an OCT view Overlay depicting the primary incisions, arcuate incisions, capsulotomy, and lens fragmentation pattern OCT image of the anatomy of the anterior segment with demarcation of the crystalline lens, iris, and cornea Source (all): Eric Donnenfeld, MD continued on page 34