Type of cataract surgery - I need to choose

[ValveJob]

I have progressive, degenerative myopia.  I just saw my RS after having had two A-scans within 5 months.  My axial length is very long, but luckily, from one A-scan to another during the 5 months, it did not change.  So, my ever-increasing myopia is due (at least recently) to the nuclear cataracts.

In any case, I am going to have cataract surgery, and my RS has written a brief letter about my situation that I will take along with me.  I have decided to go private.  There is one private clinic that does femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery using the LenSX femtosecond laser.  The other one does not, but it is much more convenient.  When I asked my RS about the femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery, he basically said that it is the skill of the surgeon that counts in either way of doing cataract surgery.  He admitted that it probably is the wave of the future.  However, he said that while the particular clinic might have done hundreds of them, that thousands have been done the traditional way.  Basically, he left me in limbo.  I was hoping to hear that this new way of doing it would be a good thing for a person with retinal problems, but it does not seem to necessarily be so.

Would you please give me your opinion regarding the femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery as opposed to the more traditional way of doing it.

[ValveJob]

Thank you for your honest answer.  This does not make my decision easy. I will let you know what I finally decide to do.

[Doreen Fazio, M.D.]

I agree with your retinal specialist.  Many millions of cataracts have been removed successfully with traditional phacoemulsification.  The femtosecond laser will make the incisions, perform the capsular opening in the front of the lens (capsulorhexis), and soften the core of the lens (nucleus).  A phaco handpiece must still be used to aspirate the cataract.  I do think that femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery is the wave of the future, but you can still have an excellent result without it.  Either way, cataract surgery does increase the risk of a retinal detachment in someone with high myopia, regardless of the technique used.  Post-operatively, if you develop a sudden new floaters and/or flashing lights, you must see your retina specialist again right away.