Eyeworld Daily News

4 Wednesday, April 22, 2015 EW SHOW DAILY Pearls for getting started with laser cataract surgery by Lauren Lipuma EyeWorld Staff Writer way around, Dr. Cionni said, show- ing just how much attitudes have changed about the procedure. Ronald Yeoh, MD, Singapore, said that current cataract surgery is arguably the best procedure in all of surgery, and any new technology physicians adopt has to be better, safer, or cheaper than the existing options. We know that using the femtosecond laser has some advan- tages, such as a rounder and more precise capsulotomy and reduced phaco energy, he said, but does it really matter? In Dr. Yeoh's opinion, the answer is both yes and no. For standard cataracts, the jury is still out, he said, but for complex cases, it has a clear advantage. Dr. Yeoh believes that LACS will allow average T he "Femtosecond Laser Refractive Cataract Surgery" session provided attendees with an open discussion about the clinical benefits of laser-assisted cataract surgery (LACS) and pearls for getting started with it. The purpose of the session was to provide useful information for physicians so that they could make an informed decision about whether to adopt LACS, said Robert J. Cionni, MD, Salt Lake City, the session's moderator. In an opening audience re- sponse question, 89% of attendees responded that they believe LACS is the future of cataract surgery, and 11% said that they believe it's just a fad. Two years ago, when the same question was posed, it was the other Dr. Cionni moderates the "Femtosecond Laser Refractive Cataract Surgery" session. Best paper of session winners Session: 4-A Keratorefractive—Keratoconus CXL Current Review and Simplified 5-Point Management Algorithm for Keratoconus Luci Kaweri, MD Coauthors: Rohit Shetty, DNB, FRCS, Vishal Arora, MD, Chaitra Jayadev, MD, Natasha K. Pahuja, DOMS Session: 4-B Cornea—Imaging and Topography New Tearscope Made of Paper for Lipid Layer Evaluation in Tear Film-Related Disease Hosik Hwang, MD, PhD Coauthors: Eunchul Kim, MD, Man Soo Kim, MD, PhD Session: 4-C Presbyopia—PC IOLs Visual Outcomes of New Presbyopia-Correcting Extended Range of Vision IOL Eduardo F. Marques, MD Coauthor: Tiago B. Ferreira, MD Session: 4-D Cataract—Toric IOLs Prediction of Refractive Outcome With Toric IOLs Adi Abulafia, MD Coauthors: Graham D. Barrett, FRANZCO, Guy Kleinmann, MD, Shay Ofir, MD, Adi Levy, Arie L. Marcovich, continued on page 6 surgeons to become better, and it will allow older surgeons to practice for longer. "As we age, we lose a bit of our sharpness, and the laser helps us maintain that," he said. For those surgeons who don't have access to a laser but want to get started, William B. Trattler, MD, Miami, gave pearls for overcoming the hurdles in accessing a laser and how to get started with the first few cases. Even if you don't have influence over capital equipment decisions, you have more power than you think, Dr. Trattler said. Make the business case that the laser will increase surgical volume and let your passion show when you make your argument, he said. After going through the device manufacturer's certification pro- cess, find a mentor, Dr. Trattler said. Observe senior doctors performing surgery and ask if they will observe your first few cases. LACS is a power- ful tool, Dr. Trattler concluded, but it isn't appropriate for every patient, so be careful in selecting the best patients to operate on. EW Editors' note: Dr. Cionni has financial interests with Alcon (Fort Worth, Tex- as). Dr. Trattler has financial interests with Abbott Medical Optics (AMO, Abbott Park, Ill.), and Bausch + Lomb (Bridgewater, N.J.). Dr. Yeoh has finan- cial interests with AMO and Alcon. Dr. Yeoh said at the session that any new technology physicians adopt has to be better, safer, or cheaper than the existing options.

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