Posters

Femtosecond laser versus conventional phacoemulsification: a randomized controlled study

Poster Details

First Author: T.Grover INDIA

Co Author(s):    M. Sachdev   H. Gupta           

Abstract Details

Purpose:

To compare the visual outcome and patient preference at 3weeks between fellow eyes randomized to femtosecond assisted cataract surgery or conventional phacoemulsification.

Setting:

Centre for Sight , New Delhi , India

Methods:

A randomized controlled paired eye study was performed. Sixteen patients (32 eyes) underwent cataract surgery of both eyes at an interval of one week. One eye of each patient was randomized to femtosecond laser assisted cataract surgery(LenSx, Alcon) . The fellow eye to conventional phacoemulsification (Infiniti, Alcon). All cases were performed by a single surgeon . The visual outcome and patient preference were compared between the two groups at 3 weeks.

Results:

•No intra-operative complication was noted in any of the cases. •UCVA at day 1 was significantly better following femtosecond assisted cataract surgery (P<0.05) .75% of patients in the femto assisted cataract group achieved a UCVA of 6/6 on day 1 compared to 31.25% patients in conventional phaco group. •BCVA at week 3 was comparable with both techniques (P>0.05). 87.5% patients achieved UCVA of 6/6 at 3 weeks in the femto assisted group compared to 75% in conventional phaco group. •At 3 weeks, out of the 16 patients 9 preferred femto assisted cataract surgery, 3 preferred conventional phaco and 4 preferred none.

Conclusions:

•The femtosecond laser offers to refine the present day cataract surgery to enhance visual outcomes. •Quicker post-operative recovery is a key differentiator. •Patients more likely (not significantly) to achieve 6/6 unaided vision - more so on day 1. •A significant trend of patient preference of the femtosecond laser procedure was seen in our series. Pre-operative counselling and the perception of a 'bladeless laser' procedure were important contributors to the same. FINANCIAL INTEREST: NONE