
Cataract Laser Surgery?
20 September 2019
Thinking of having cataract surgery?
If so, you may be offered two surgical options to choose from: traditional cataract surgery or laser-assisted cataract surgery.
Traditional cataract surgery is one of the most common procedures in the world. It is recognized as safe and effective. Cataract laser surgery can offer some advantages, in terms of precision and consistency - under the right conditions. So how do you decide which type of cataract surgery to choose?
How is traditional cataract surgery practiced?
The surgeon creates a small manual incision at the edge of the cornea with a scalpel. An instrument is inserted through the incision into the area behind the pupil, where the lens is located inside a capsule or sac.
Currently, the most advanced technique used in cataract surgery is the femtosecond laser *, which allows customizing the procedure to the eye of each patient. Even though all human eyes share the same anatomical structure, each eye varies in terms of size, depth, corneal curvature, and other key characteristics, which is why each eye must be carefully measured and mapped. Using the laser produces less inflammation in the intraocular tissues, making visual recovery faster.
The femtosecond laser enables a higher level of predictability and precision that cannot usually be achieved with traditional surgery.
(* A femtosecond is a billionth of a second [10-15])
Today we can achieve that after cataract surgery many people can see well without the use of glasses or eyeglasses. However, in some patients there may be ocular reasons that require wearing glasses for very specific activities, and in very few cases, to wear them all the time after surgery.
Although it cannot be prevented, cataract can be detected by eye examinations. For this reason it is advisable to visit the ophthalmologist regularly.