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Femto-Cataract Surgery

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Albert and Jakobiec's Principles and Practice of Ophthalmology

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Abstract

Femto-cataract surgery has the potential to lead to more precise, geometrically perfect and reproducible capsulotomies, exact and non-penetrating corneal incisions, and highly effective lens fragmentation which in most clinical centers have led to a significant reduction in ultrasound power and effective phacoemulsification time (EPT). Visual acuity and refractive results after femto-cataract surgery tend to be excellent. The reported rate of complications is low, and there are limited contraindications. The technique profits from the innovative real-time imaging systems that most laser platforms provide. It has successfully been employed in pediatric cataract cases (off-label) and in challenging clinical situations like intumescent cataracts and corneal pathologies like cornea guttae and Fuchs’ dystrophy. With the rise of femto-cataract surgery, new techniques have been developed like primary posterior laser capsulotomy (PPLC), which has much promise for the prevention of posterior capsule opacification (PCO). Femto-cataract surgery is an evolving technology that has not yet reached its full potential. Ophthalmologists are in the pleasant position to offer their patients two very efficient and safe techniques: laser cataract surgery (LCS) besides the well-established conventional method of phacoemulsification.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Experimental Eye Research Institute, University Eye Hospital, Ruhr-University Bochum, Bochum, Germany

    H. Burkhard Dick

  2. Washington, DC, USA

    Ronald D. Gerste

  3. University Eye Hospital, Ruhr-University Bochum, Bochum, Germany

    Ronald D. Gerste

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  1. H. Burkhard Dick
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  2. Ronald D. Gerste
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Correspondence to H. Burkhard Dick .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Casey Eye Institute, Oregon Health & Science, Portland, OR, USA

    Daniel M. Albert

  2. Department of Ophthalmology, Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Massachusetts General Hospital, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Joan W. Miller

  3. Department of Ophthalmology, University of Illinois College of Medicine, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA

    Dimitri T. Azar

  4. Department of Ophthalmology, Massachusetts Eye and Ear, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Lucy H. Young

Section Editor information

  1. Department of Ophthalmology, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, USA

    Dimitri Azar

  2. Department of Ophthalmology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, USA

    Douglas Koch

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Dick, H.B., Gerste, R.D. (2022). Femto-Cataract Surgery. In: Albert, D.M., Miller, J.W., Azar, D.T., Young, L.H. (eds) Albert and Jakobiec's Principles and Practice of Ophthalmology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-42634-7_194

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-42634-7_194

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