Femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery without OVD: a prospective intraindividual comparison.
OBJECTIVE
To compare femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery without the use of ophthalmic viscosurgical device (OVD) with standard phacoemulsification using OVD.


METHODS
This was a prospective, randomized, single-center trial of 37 patients (74 eyes) diagnosed as having significant cataract in both eyes. Randomly, one eye underwent standard phacoemulsification with OVD (the OVD group); this group acted as controls. The other eye was treated with the femtosecond laser; the subsequent manual part of the procedure was performed without OVD (non-OVD group). Time of surgery, amount of fluid used during phacoemulsification, central corneal thickness, intraocular pressure, endothelial cell count, and visual acuity were documented over the 6-month follow-up.


RESULTS
There were no major complications and no significant difference in overall surgery time (non-OVD: 375 ± 81 seconds; OVD: 362 ± 43 seconds; P = .713) and in the quantity of fluid passing through the eye (non-OVD: 187 ± 35 mL; OVD: 186 ± 27 mL; P = .952) between groups. Endothelial cell loss after 6 months was not significantly different between groups (non-OVD: -2.4%; OVD: -2.7%; P = .880). Central corneal thickness was not different at 1 week postoperatively between groups (non-OVD: 575 ± 45 µm; OVD: 573 ± 46 µm; P = .820). Three patients in the OVD group and one patient in the non-OVD group experienced intraocular pressure greater than 25 mm Hg at 1 day postoperatively. There were no significant differences in corrected distance visual acuity between groups (logMAR non-OVD: 0.024; OVD: 0.038; P = .461).


CONCLUSIONS
Femtosecond laser-assisted treatment allows the cataract surgeon to perform phacoemulsification and intraocular lens implantation without the use of OVD at no additional risk to the corneal endothelium. Furthermore, there was a tendency toward fewer increases in intraocular pressure in patients treated with the femtosecond laser.
Marc
M
Schargus
Nathanael
N
Suckert
Tim
T
Schultz
Vinodh
V
Kakkassery
H Burkhard
HB
Dick
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002452:Cell Count; D002809:Chondroitin Sulfates / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D055954:Corneal Endothelial Cell Loss / Q000175:diagnosis*; D004338:Drug Combinations; D004728:Endothelium, Corneal / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006820:Hyaluronic Acid / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D007429:Intraocular Pressure / Q000502:physiology; D053685:Laser Therapy; D019654:Lens Implantation, Intraocular; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D061646:Operative Time; D018918:Phacoemulsification / Q000379:methods*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D055675:Viscosupplements / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D014792:Visual Acuity / Q000502:physiology
D004338:Drug Combinations; D055675:Viscosupplements; C501944:chondroitin sulfate, sodium hyaluronate drug combination; D006820:Hyaluronic Acid; D002809:Chondroitin Sulfates