Faster Laser Introduced for LASIK Surgery

March 24, 2006

On Thursday, Irvine-based company IntraLase unveiled its fourth generation femtosecond laser at the American Society of Cataractand Refractive Surgery annual meeting held in San Francisco.

The newest laser is intended for use at the beginning stage of the LASIK surgery as an alternative to microkeratome, the surgical blade that’s typically used to cut a flap on the surface of the cornea.

The new FS Laser works twice as fast as the previous one, taking off approximately 15 seconds from the whole procedure, which decreases the time patients are uncomfortable during the surgery, according to Dr. Lawrence Chao, associate professor of ophthalmology at University of California, Irvine.

“During the LASIK procedure, the patient’s eye is under suction,” he says. “It can be tight and uncomfortable, so the shorter the amount of time, the better.”

While the new laser isn’t as fast as microkeratome, which takes corneal and refractive surgeons about three to six seconds to create a flap with the blade, it has its advantages.

The FS Laser will be especially popular with patients who are fearful of a surgical blade, which sometimes discourages them from undergoing the procedure.

Additionally, Chao says that the new laser is also right for patients who have a high degree of nearsightedness. “You can set it to cut thinner or thicker and it saves or conserves a greater amount of corneal tissue than does the microkeratome,” he explains.

More uses for the laser are being evaluated. Dr. Roger Steinert, director of cornea, refractive, and cataract surgery at UCI and president of the ASCRS, is conducting studies on corneal transplants using IntraLase’s FS laser at the University.

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