Femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery in eyes with Fuchs endothelial corneal dystrophy

Abstract

Purpose. The purpose of this comparative study was to assess the efficiency and safety of the Femtosecond Laser Assisted Cataract Surgery (FLACS) and the conventional manual phaco in eyes with Fuchs endothelial corneal dystrophy. Material and methods. The study included 72 patients (72 eyes) with Fuchs endothelial dystrophy which were divided into 2 groups. The patients of the group 1 (n=33) underwent the FLACS procedure (using the Victus B&L laser and the Infinity Alcon inc. phaco-device), the conventional manual phaco-surgery (the Infinity Alcon inc. device) was performed in the group 2 (n=39). The endothelial cell density was evaluated in the center and at 6 areas in the mid periphery of the cornea (using the Tomey EM 3000 device) preoperatively, and 1 day, 1 week, 1 month after the surgery. Results. The mean endothelial cell loss comparison in all potentially assessed points showed a significantly lower loss in the group 1 (FLACS) for all the analyzed follow-up periods (p<0.05). Conclusions. For a preservation of endothelial integrity, the FLACS proves to be a safer procedure.

Keywords

• phacoemulsification
• femtosecond laser
• fuchs endothelial corneal dystrophy