[Femtolaser-assisted phacoemulsification of intumescent cataract]
E S Pirogova1, O L Fabrikantov1,2, S I Nikolashin1,2
1Tambov branch of the S.N. Fedorov National Medical Research Center «MNTK «Eye Microsurgery», Tambov, Russia.
Purpose:
To optimize the technique of intumescent cataract phacoemulsification by involving the use of femtosecond lasers.
Material And Methods:
Group 1 included 29 patients (30 eyes) with mature intumescent cataract, who underwent femtolaser-assisted phacoemulsification using a new, optimized technique. Group 2 included 20 patients (20 eyes), in whom the femtolaser stage was performed using the standard technique. Patients of groups 1 and 2 were almost identical in all preoperative parameters. The optimized femto-capsulorhexis technique included: preoperative assessment of intralenticular pressure, staining of the anterior capsule of the swelling lens with trypan blue, introduction of a viscoelastic with high molecular weight into the anterior chamber to balance intraocular and intralenticular pressures, increasing the laser energy when performing anterior capsulorhexis up to 10 mJ.
Results:
In group 1, there was a non-penetration of the anterior capsule in 2 eyes, in one of them in the 30° sector, in the second - in the 45° sector. Leakage of lens material into the anterior chamber and the floating anterior capsule were not observed in patients of group 1. In group 2, non-penetration of the anterior capsule was observed in 6 eyes, in the 45-60° sector - in 2 eyes, in the 90° sector - in 3 eyes, in the 180° sector - in 1 eye. Floating anterior capsule was observed in 5 cases. Leakage of lens material into the anterior chamber was observed in 9 eyes.
Conclusion:
The optimized technique of femtolaser-assisted intumescent cataract phacoemulsification eliminates leakage of lens material into the anterior chamber and allows performing anterior capsulorhexis of given size and shape.
