The use of the erbium Yag laser in cataract extraction and other applications in ophthalmic surgery

摘要

One of the most important dreams of all ophthalmologists working in anterior segment surgery has always been to perform cataract extraction through an ever smaller incision in the hope which is not so far off to one day have an injectable biocompatible intraocular lens in order to preserve accomodation. With this aim in mind there are many different today techniques exploiting different energy sources at different stages of development. Amongst those laser phacoemulsification has now overtaken an advanced clinical experimentation phase. It is now a new effective technique which flanks the classical ultrasonic phacoemulsification. For the last 7 years we have been working with an Er:YAG laser for cataract extraction. Many technological improvements have been made since the first machine which have led to increasingly efficient and safer prototypes. Opinions have also changed in the sense that five years ago there was a lot of scepticism regarding the possibility of using laser rather than ultrasounds in cataract surgery. Instead today there is an increasing interest on the part of both surgeons and companies, an interest justified by the encouraging results that we are achieving. In 1997 in 37 of these patients we followed with other two sites in Europe an international protocoll of study which allowed the machine to obtain CE approval.