Things to think about before Cataract Surgery (It’s not your parent’s cataract surgery anymore!)

1. Should I consider laser cataract surgery instead of traditional cataract surgery?
2. What type of lens implant would be best for me after cataract surgery, a monofocal or multifocal lens implant?

What is Bladeless Laser Cataract Surgery?

This new advancement in cataract surgery is known laser cataract surgery and involves the use of femtosecond lasers. The usage of femtosecond lasers in cataract surgery is to assist or replace several aspects of the manual cataract surgery. These steps include:

• The creation of the initial surgical incisions in the cornea
• The creation of the capsulotomy
• The fragmentation or breaking of the cataract lens

* This femtosecond laser may also produce incisions on the periphery of the cornea to correct astigmatism.

The benefits of Bladeless Laser Cataract Surgery compared to traditional cataract surgery are revolutionary:

• The femtosecond laser is heatless and bladeless, thereby improving overall recovery time.
• The ability to remove the cataract using less energy makes the procedure safer even for very hard or mature cataracts and standardizes the size of the incision, which allows reproducible, accurate and predictable surgical outcomes.
• Use of the laser means it’s gentler and more precise, with cleaner cuts.
• The laser cataract surgery now takes less than 15 minutes to complete.
• We now have the ability to create incisions and reduce astigmatism without the use of blades. These laser-made incisions are more accurate and precise, thus eliminating some of the variables that have complicated cataract surgery results in the past.