title: Visual and refractive outcomes of laser cataract surgery.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Femtosecond laser is a promising new technology for the field of cataract surgery. Early studies have investigated many factors including visual outcomes, complication rates, and financial overhead costs. This review analyzes the most recent clinical studies of visual and refractive outcomes in laser cataract surgery, including those that make comparisons to outcomes found in conventional phacoemulsification cataract surgery.
  
  
  RESULTS
  As femtosecond laser cataract surgery has only emerged recently, there is limited literature available regarding visual outcomes. Most but not all existing studies showed no statistically significant difference in visual acuity and mean absolute refractive error between laser and conventional cataract surgery cases.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The majority of studies examined found visual acuity or refractive outcomes of femtosecond laser to be statistically equivalent to those of conventional phacoemulsification cataract surgery. However, the learning curve involved with laser use may account for these early results, which could potentially improve as better technology and surgical techniques are developed. Further long-term outcomes studies are necessary to more accurately evaluate the benefits and drawbacks of femtosecond laser cataract surgery.
authors.affiliation: Shiley Eye Institute, Department of Ophthalmology, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, California, USA.
authors.forename: Heather
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hyatt
authors.forename: Natalie
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Afshari
mesh_terms: D001699:Biometry; D002387:Cataract Extraction / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D053685:Laser Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D019654:Lens Implantation, Intraocular; D012029:Refraction, Ocular / Q000502:physiology*; D012030:Refractive Errors / Q000503:physiopathology*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014792:Visual Acuity / Q000502:physiology*