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Comparative Study
. 2018 Feb 2;18(1):26.
doi: 10.1186/s12886-018-0693-6.

Femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery in a public teaching hospital setting

Alfonso Vasquez-Perez  1 , Andrew Simpson  1 , Mayank A Nanavaty  2   3
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery in a public teaching hospital setting

Alfonso Vasquez-Perez et al. BMC Ophthalmol. .

Abstract

Background: To evaluate the efficiency and practicality of femtosecond laser assisted cataract surgery (FLACS) in a public teaching hospital setting using a mobile FLACS system compared to conventional phacoemulsification cataract surgery (CPCS).

Methods: Ninety eyes from 90 patients underwent either FLACS or CPCS (45 in each group). Cataracts were graded using the Lens Opacities Classification System III system. Outcome measures included total surgery duration, femtosecond laser treatment time, vacuum time (VT), total phacoemulsification time (TPT) and total phacoemulsification power (TPP).

Results: No differences were observed in the preoperative mean cataract grades and co-morbidities. FLACS took longer than CPCS with a mean difference of 5.2 ± 4.5 min (range: 0-18.8 min). The average femtosecond laser treatment time was 4.3 ± 3.4 min (range: 1-15.5 min). The VT was 2.51 ± 0.45 min (range: 1.59-4.10 min). Although not significant, TPT in FLACS showed a trend towards improvement (mean 1.0 ± 0.6 s; range: 0.1-2.4 s) compared to CPCS (mean 1.2 ± 0.6 min; range: 0.5-2.5 min). Whereas, TPP was significantly less in FLACS (mean 17.9 ± 5.0%; range: 5-27%) compared to CPCS (mean 20.3 ± 4.1%; range: 12.0-28.7%)(p = 0.031).

Conclusions: The mobile FLACS system housed in the same operating room increased the surgical duration by 5.2 min. The average VT was 2.51 min, which was lower in comparison to published experience using non-mobile FLACS systems.

Keywords: Conventional cataract surgery; FLACS; Femtosecond laser cataract surgery; Phacoemulsification; Teaching hospital.

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Conflict of interest statement

Ethics approval and consent to participate

This study was approved by the Audit and Research department at the Sussex Eye Hospital, Brighton & Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust and followed the tenets of the Declaration of Helsinki. A written and informed consent was obtained from all participants.

Consent for publication

Not applicable as this study does not contain any individual patient’s data in any form.

Competing interests

MAN is a consultant to Alcon, Rayner and Ziemer. one of the other authors have any financial or proprietary interests in any products or procedures mentioned. Ziemer Ophthalmic Systems, Switzerland funding the publication costs of this manuscript.

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
The arrangement of the mobile femtosecond laser, phacoemulsification machine, scrub trolley and the microscope. This shows the mobile femtosecond laser housed in the same theatre with the phacomachine next to the patient’s bed
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Graph showing difference in total surgical duration between FLACS and CPCS. FLACS showed significantly longer total surgical duration
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Graph showing difference in TPT (seconds) between FLACS and CPCS. FLACS showed less TPT but it was not statistically significant
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Graph showing difference in TPP (percentage) between FLACS and CPCS. This was significantly less with FLACS
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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