Laser Cataract Surgery More Accurate Than Manual

Laser Cataract Surgery More Accurate Than Manual.
Cataract surgery, already an bloody risk-free and successful procedure, can be made more precise by combining a laser and three-dimensional imaging, a unique study suggests. Researchers found that a femtosecond laser, used for many years in LASIK surgery, can abridge into delicate eye tissue more cleanly and accurately than manual cataract surgery, which is performed more than 1,5 million times each year in the United States health. In the ongoing procedure, which has a 98 percent achievement rate, surgeons use a micro-blade to cut a circle around the cornea before extracting the cataract with an ultrasound machine.

The laser modus operandi uses optical coherence technology to customize each patient's optic measurements before slicing through the lens capsule and cataract, though ultrasound is still used to remove the cataract itself. "It takes some experience and energy to break the lens with the ultrasound," explained foremost researcher Daniel Palanker, an associate professor of ophthalmology at Stanford University beli acai beri. "The laser helps to dart this up and make it safer".

After practicing the laser procedure on pig eyes and donated kind-hearted eyes, Palanker and his colleagues did further experiments to confirm that the high-powered, rapid-pulse laser would not cause retinal damage. Actual surgeries later performed on 50 patients between the ages of 55 and 80 showed that the laser detached circles in lens capsules 12 times more rigorous than those achieved by the ancestral method. No adverse effects were reported.

The study, reported in the Nov 17, 2010 delivery of Science Translational Medicine, was funded by OpticaMedica Corp of Santa Clara, Calif, in which Palanker has an open-mindedness stake. The results are being reviewed by the US Food and Drug Administration, while the laser technology, which is being developed by several eremitic companies, is expected to be released worldwide in 2011.

Dr. Julia R. Erwin ophthalmologist

Ophthalmology is the branch of medicine that deals with the diseases, physiology and anatomy of the eye. An ophthalmologist is a specialist in surgical eye problems.