Update on Femtosecond Laser-Assisted Cataract Surgery: A Review.

The advent of femtosecond lasers has resulted in a new standard in cataract surgery, intended to overmatch the paradigm of conventional phacoemulsification. Femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery (FLACS) enables a higher level of reproducibility, precision, accuracy, and customization when performing several steps of cataract (or lens) surgery. Capsulotomy, corneal incisions, lens fragmentation, and arcuate incisions are the main procedures performed using FLACS. As the demand for better refractive outcomes and spectacle independence increases, the features of FLACS are highly relevant, especially when considering the implantation of premium intraocular lenses, such as toric, enhanced depth-of-focus, or multifocal lenses. The present article reviews the state of the art of femtosecond laser-assisted cataract (lens) surgery, contemplating the advantages and limitations of the two types of femtosecond laser pulses available (high and low energy) by evaluating their reported outcomes and complications.

Pupil versus 1st Purkinje capsulotomy centration with femtosecond laser: Long term outcomes with a sinusoidal trifocal lens.

PURPOSE: To assess the role of femtosecond laser-assisted capsulotomy centration in the long-term intraocular positioning of a multifocal intraocular lens. DESIGN: Prospective comparative study. METHODS: A total of 60 eyes of 30 patients underwent femtosecond laser-assisted Refractive Lens Exchange (RLE). For every patient, capsulotomy centration was randomly performed according to pupil centre (PC) in one eye and first Purkinje reflex (FPR) in the other. The intraocular lens (IOL) positioning, visual acuities, spherical equivalent, internal aberrometry and quality of vision were assessed and compared at 3 years' follow-up between groups (PC and FPR). RESULTS: Intraocular lens positioning showed a statistically significant difference between groups, with a closer centration to the visual axis in the FPR patients (p < 0.001). Internal aberrometry showed higher values in the PC capsulotomy centration group (p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: FPR centered capsulotomy is associated to a closer centration of the IOL to the visual axis.