By Jonathan M. Frantz, MD, FACS
If you have cataracts, making the decision to have Bladeless Laser Cataract Surgery or Traditional Cataract Surgery can sometimes be daunting. At Frantz EyeCare, we present you with a tremendous amount of information to digest and then do our best to help you understand it. One important part of this process is helping you realize the benefits of Bladeless Laser Cataract Surgery so you can make an informed decision. Sometimes the best decision is simply to have traditional cataract surgery, which is certainly fine.
Since performing the first laser cataract surgery in Southwest Florida in May of 2012, I have had the privilege of performing thousands of these procedures. Alcon, the company that makes the LenSx laser, which has the lion’s share of the laser cataract surgery market, tells us that I am one of the Top 5 Laser Cataract Surgeons in the Country.
To help you make your decision about whether to have traditional cataract surgery or laser cataract surgery, I thought this list of some of the proven benefits of laser cataract surgery may be helpful.
• Laser incisions placed in the cornea to correct astigmatism are more precise than those that can be produced with a hand held blade used in manual cataract surgery. It is impossible for the human hand, no matter how steady, to produce incisions to correct astigmatism that are consistently precise. The literature is abundantly clear that the laser performs much better than manual at correcting astigmatism.
• The capsulotomy (a circular opening in the capsule that contains the cataract) created by the laser is more precise than what can be created by a hand held blade. The capsulotomy step is thought to be particularly important in visual outcomes. A precisely round, perfectly centered and properly sized capsulotomy is thought to influence the position of the lens implant or IOL in your eye. The more precise the placement of the IOL, the better your vision. One study compared manual capsulotomies to laser capsulotomies and showed that only 10% of the time were manual capsulotomies as good as laser, 90% of the time the laser performed this step more precisely.
• Laser cataract surgery allows us to fragment the lens so that it can be removed more safely and with less ultrasound energy and fluid flow through the eye than manually breaking up the cataract for it to be aspirated from the eye. Because the inside of the eye is so delicate, decreases in ultrasound energy and fluid flow through the eye lead to better outcomes.
• Laser cataract surgery utilizes a sophisticated imaging system called Optical Coherence Tomography or OCT, which allows us to precisely map and image your eye down to the fraction of a millimeter. This, combined with the precision of a laser, allows us to perform your cataract surgery more precisely and safer than with a manual, hand held blade.
Frantz EyeCare is pleased to offer you such incredible sight saving technology. Many surgeons are still using the same technology now that they used 20 years ago, depriving their patients of the benefits of this remarkable procedure and the potentially better vision they could obtain.
To make an appointment for your cataract evaluation online, visit www.bettervision.net or call the Naples office of Frantz EyeCare at 239-430-3939.
Jonathan M. Frantz, MD, FACS, is named in The Guide to America’s Top Ophthalmologists. He and his team of doctors at Frantz EyeCare offer a broad spectrum of patient-focused comprehensive care from eye exams and eyewear to bladeless laser cataract removal, bladeless WaveLight LASIK, treatment of dry eye and eye diseases, and facial and body rejuvenation, with office locations in Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Punta Gorda, Lehigh Acres, and Naples.
239-430-3939
www.BetterVision.net