Laser eye surgery has certainly come a long way over the years with new and improved lasers, such as the Femtosecond laser, which is used to treat cataracts. Dr. Peter Shriver is an ophthalmologist at Hartford Hospital’s Eye Surgery Center.
Q: What is this Femtosecond laser?
A: It’s a laser that we’re currently using for cataract surgery. The Femtosecond laser is a laser that has been around for a little more than 10 years in eye surgery. We’ve been using it with Lasik, and we’ve recently incorporated it into cataract surgery in the past five years. It’s really made a revolutionary change in our cataract surgery. So tell us about the procedure when this laser is used for cataract surgery. The laser assists us when we do our eye surgery. It will help us make of the steps for surgery: the incision to remove the front aspect of the cataract. It will help soften the lens, or the nucleus of the eye, which is the cataract, making the surgery a little bit safer, using less energy, less power while we do the surgery, and give us basically better results; more predictable, precise results in the end.
Q: Who would be the ideal candidate for this type of treatment?
A: Anybody who has visually significant cataracts should be a candidate for this, specifically those who really want to have the best vision afterwards possible. Correcting astigmatism with this to improve the vision, trying to reduce our dependence on glasses after the surgery, and really giving us pristine vision are really the candidates for this surgery.
Q: Does it hurt in any way?
A: No, it doesn’t hurt at all. We do have an anesthesiologist with you and really just topical eye drops for anesthesia. There should be no pain or discomfort with this.
Learn more about the services of the Hartford Hospital Eye Surgery Center here, or call 1.855.HHC.HERE (1.855.442.4373)