The Clinical Relationship of Anterior Capsular Tears and Vertical Spacing in the Femtosecond Laser Capsulotomy Procedure.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the frequency of anterior capsule tears and capsule edge irregularities in femtosecond laser anterior capsulotomy, including the effect of optimized vertical spacing settings. METHODS: Three thousand eight hundred thirty-four cases were examined and grouped according to the femtosecond laser capsulotomy settings using manufacturer default settings with a vertical spacing of 10, 15, and 20 µm. Capsulotomy edge irregularities and anterior capsule tears were recorded intraoperatively. RESULTS: The anterior capsule tear rates for the 10, 15, and 20 µm groups were 0.79%, 0.35%, and 0.09%, respectively. The capsule edge irregularity rates for the 10, 15, and 20 µm groups were 6.25%, 1.13%, and 1.15%, respectively. The treatment times for the 10, 15, and 20 µm groups were 1.6, 0.7, and 0.8 second, respectively. The risk reduction of anterior capsule tears positively correlated with the 15 and 20 µm group settings. The anterior capsule tear rate difference between the 10 and 20 µm group settings was statistically significant. Capsule edge irregularity rates were reduced in the 15 and 20 µm group settings. Eye movement was monitored in the 20 µm group and was observed in 9 of 13 patients with capsule edge irregularities. CONCLUSIONS: Anterior capsule tear rates are low with femtosecond laser cataract surgery. The rate can be further reduced with optimization of the settings, including an increase in vertical spacing. [J Refract Surg. 2019;35(5):280-284.].

Comparison of vitreous loss rates between manual phacoemulsification and femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery.

PURPOSE: To compare the vitreous loss complication rate of manual phacoemulsification cataract surgery with that of femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery. SETTING: Mercy Eye Specialists, Springfield, Missouri, USA. DESIGN: Retrospective single-center case series. METHODS: Cataract surgeries from 2010 to 2014 performed by 4 surgeons were audited for rates of vitreous loss. Vitreous loss data were statistically analyzed with and without exclusions. RESULTS: Of the total 7155 cases from 2010 to 2014, 3784 were consecutively performed using manual phacoemulsification from 2010 to 2012 and 3371 were performed using femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery from 2013 to 2014. The rate of vitreous loss with exclusions was 1.17% in the manual phacoemulsification group and versus 0.65% femtosecond laser-assisted group; without exclusions, the rate was 1.40% versus 0.77%. In absolute terms, the rate decreased for every surgeon in the study. The chi-square test showed a statistically significant association between the date of surgery, and thus technique, and vitrectomy cases (P < .05). Odds ratio analysis with exclusions versus without exclusions indicated that surgeries performed from 2010 to 2012 using manual phacoemulsification were 1.6 times and 1.8 times, respectively, more likely to have vitreous loss than surgeries performed from 2013 to 2014 using the femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery technique. CONCLUSIONS: Conversion from manual phacoemulsification to femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery resulted in a statistically significant decrease in vitreous loss. Because vitreous loss increases the risk for other serious complications of cataract surgery, this new finding has important implications for the safety of cataract surgery. FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE: Proprietary or commercial disclosures are listed after the references.